Congratulations to the Five Irish Winners at the Newport Beach Film Festival 2019
Posted: 9th May 2019
The 20th annual Newport Beach Film Festival has announced the winners of this year’s awards; amongst which are five Irish wins.
Director John Butler’s feature, Papi Chulo, won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film. The film stars Matt Bomer and Alejandro Patino and was produced by Rebecca O’Flanagan and Robert Walpole for Treasure Entertainment.
Writer Stuart Drennan and actor Moe Dunford won Jury Awards for Best Screenwriter and Best Actor, respectively, for their work on the Northern Irish drama The Dig. Drennan’s script was developed through Northern Ireland Screen’s New Talent Focus scheme and funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
Kerry native Jessie Buckley received a Festival Honour for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking for her performance in the Scottish musical-drama Wild Rose.
Moe Dunford was also honoured with the Breakthrough Artist Award at the Festival Honours reception on April 27. As well as The Dig, Dunford starred in two other of the Festival’s Irish films, Metal Heart, and Rosie.
Bonnie Dempsey also won an Audience Award for Best Short Film for her short All in Good Time.
The festival, located in Southern California, ran from April 25 to May 2 and featured 11 Irish feature-length films, 20 Irish short films and hosted a number of Irish talent and filmmakers.