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The idea, organizers say, is to draw in viewers who are curious – and make sure they leave inspired.
The Coast Film & Music Festival will run from Saturday, Nov. 9, through Nov. 17, expanding this year to nine days of films, music and environmentally focused discussions and gatherings set throughout Laguna Beach.
Created by local film enthusiasts Ben Warner and Enich Harris, the Coast Film & Music Festival started as a three-day event in 2019.
“We had no idea really what we were starting,” Warner said. “It’s natural for us to grow, in the sense that we’re gaining visibility among filmmakers, we’re getting more films submitted to us, we’re growing in our sponsors and our foundation support – so it kind of helps us do more. Our mission is to promote films that inspire change.”
The line up this year includes 15 features and 53 shorts to be screened at four venues throughout Laguna Beach.
“It’s important to share films that relate to inspirational and educational messages, with the notion that you know our tagline ‘Come curious and leave inspired,’” Warner said. “With all the films that we have curated, we built a sensible collection of films and speakers that really help create an awesome entertainment experience with an underlying point of education and inspiration for positive change.”
The newly-opened Rivian South Coast Theater and the home of the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters will serve as the main locations for feature films, live music performances, art exhibitions and the “Do Good Village.”
Opening night of the film festival will feature the award-winning film “Porcelain War,” with a live performance from Ukrainian pianist Leyena Antonyicq. “Porcelain War” documents the stories of Ukrainian artists as they stay behind to fight in the ongoing conflict.
The film won Best Documentary at Sundance and is shortlisted for an Academy Award, Warner said.
There will be a special program called “Explorations of Sight & Sound’ on Sunday, Nov. 10, with live music from Matt Costa and other music guests.
The short film program is broken up into four thematic blocks: Our Lands, Our Oceans, Every Day Wonders and Healed by Nature.
The Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center will be the home for short films and special presentations; while Hobie Surf Shop Laguna Beach on Nov. 12 will host its annual “locals night” with showings of “Return to the Bering” and “The Fisherman’s Son.”
Throughout the week, inspirational speakers will go to local schools to talk to the students about the environment, to show the youngsters there’s a career path into nonprofits and philanthropy and to help them “understand how important it is to protect all these amazing resources we have around us,” Harris said.
“That’s what we really love, to be able to just engage with the next generation of filmmakers and philanthropists and activists – they are the next generation,” Harris said. “So being able to ignite or light that spark, or inspire them on their journey, is really important.”
The Coast Summit presented by A New Earth Project at the Rivian Theater on Nov. 14 will feature a full-day event with keynote speakers, panel discussions, and networking opportunities focused on environmental and adventure topics, including marine conservation, material innovation and the role of elite athletes in driving change.
New this year that same evening is a free, outdoor event for the public on the Forest Avenue Promenade. The first-ever “Films on Forest Avenue” will be presented by ROARK, with films and live music.
The final weekend will feature outdoor experiences exploring Laguna Beach’s diverse land and seascape – everything from yoga, hikes, kayak tours and mountain biking excursions.
On Nov. 16, the festival will hold the Coast Student Filmmaker program, showcasing works from students across the country in middle school and high school.
Eight awards will be handed out, including the Coast Film Foundation MacGillivray Freeman Environmental Filmmaker of the Year, which includes a $3,000 cash prize.
On the final day of the event, Laguna Beach filmmaker Greg McGillivray will show his latest, “The Superhuman Body,” at 1 p.m. at the Festival of Arts.
The Southern California premiere of “Let it Kill You – The Arto Saari Story” is also a noteworthy film to catch on the final day, Harris said, detailing the life of a professional skateboarder from Finland who has to grapple with the impacts of the sport to his body.
Saari moved to Hawaii to become a world-renowned photographer.
“It’s kind of a second-act story,” Harris said. “It documents his whole story from being this world-renowned professional skateboarder, in transition to the second phase of his life.”
The festival ends on closing night with two films: Todd Jones’ “Falling into Place: The Kai Jones Story,” which chronicles a young skiing prodigy’s journey from viral fame to devastating injury, and Ben Sturgulewski’s “Champions of the Golden Valley,”a film that follows young Afghan skiers from rival ethnic groups as they unite through sport in remote Bamyan.
Individual event tickets, single-day passes, three-day passes and all-event VIP passes are available for purchase.
Purchase tickets and passes at the door or on the website, and get more information and schedules at coastfilmfestival.com.
The idea, organizers say, is to draw in viewers who are curious – and make sure they leave inspired.
The Coast Film & Music Festival will run from Saturday, Nov. 9, through Nov. 17, expanding this year to nine days of films, music and environmentally focused discussions and gatherings set throughout Laguna Beach.
Created by local film enthusiasts Ben Warner and Enich Harris, the Coast Film & Music Festival started as a three-day event in 2019.
“We had no idea really what we were starting,” Warner said. “It’s natural for us to grow, in the sense that we’re gaining visibility among filmmakers, we’re getting more films submitted to us, we’re growing in our sponsors and our foundation support – so it kind of helps us do more. Our mission is to promote films that inspire change.”
The line up this year includes 15 features and 53 shorts to be screened at four venues throughout Laguna Beach.
“It’s important to share films that relate to inspirational and educational messages, with the notion that you know our tagline ‘Come curious and leave inspired,’” Warner said. “With all the films that we have curated, we built a sensible collection of films and speakers that really help create an awesome entertainment experience with an underlying point of education and inspiration for positive change.”
The newly-opened Rivian South Coast Theater and the home of the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters will serve as the main locations for feature films, live music performances, art exhibitions and the “Do Good Village.”
Opening night of the film festival will feature the award-winning film “Porcelain War,” with a live performance from Ukrainian pianist Leyena Antonyicq. “Porcelain War” documents the stories of Ukrainian artists as they stay behind to fight in the ongoing conflict.
The film won Best Documentary at Sundance and is shortlisted for an Academy Award, Warner said.
There will be a special program called “Explorations of Sight & Sound’ on Sunday, Nov. 10, with live music from Matt Costa and other music guests.
The short film program is broken up into four thematic blocks: Our Lands, Our Oceans, Every Day Wonders and Healed by Nature.
The Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center will be the home for short films and special presentations; while Hobie Surf Shop Laguna Beach on Nov. 12 will host its annual “locals night” with showings of “Return to the Bering” and “The Fisherman’s Son.”
Throughout the week, inspirational speakers will go to local schools to talk to the students about the environment, to show the youngsters there’s a career path into nonprofits and philanthropy and to help them “understand how important it is to protect all these amazing resources we have around us,” Harris said.
“That’s what we really love, to be able to just engage with the next generation of filmmakers and philanthropists and activists – they are the next generation,” Harris said. “So being able to ignite or light that spark, or inspire them on their journey, is really important.”
The Coast Summit presented by A New Earth Project at the Rivian Theater on Nov. 14 will feature a full-day event with keynote speakers, panel discussions, and networking opportunities focused on environmental and adventure topics, including marine conservation, material innovation and the role of elite athletes in driving change.
New this year that same evening is a free, outdoor event for the public on the Forest Avenue Promenade. The first-ever “Films on Forest Avenue” will be presented by ROARK, with films and live music.
The final weekend will feature outdoor experiences exploring Laguna Beach’s diverse land and seascape – everything from yoga, hikes, kayak tours and mountain biking excursions.
On Nov. 16, the festival will hold the Coast Student Filmmaker program, showcasing works from students across the country in middle school and high school.
Eight awards will be handed out, including the Coast Film Foundation MacGillivray Freeman Environmental Filmmaker of the Year, which includes a $3,000 cash prize.
On the final day of the event, Laguna Beach filmmaker Greg McGillivray will show his latest, “The Superhuman Body,” at 1 p.m. at the Festival of Arts.
The Southern California premiere of “Let it Kill You – The Arto Saari Story” is also a noteworthy film to catch on the final day, Harris said, detailing the life of a professional skateboarder from Finland who has to grapple with the impacts of the sport to his body.
Saari moved to Hawaii to become a world-renowned photographer.
“It’s kind of a second-act story,” Harris said. “It documents his whole story from being this world-renowned professional skateboarder, in transition to the second phase of his life.”
The festival ends on closing night with two films: Todd Jones’ “Falling into Place: The Kai Jones Story,” which chronicles a young skiing prodigy’s journey from viral fame to devastating injury, and Ben Sturgulewski’s “Champions of the Golden Valley,”a film that follows young Afghan skiers from rival ethnic groups as they unite through sport in remote Bamyan.
Individual event tickets, single-day passes, three-day passes and all-event VIP passes are available for purchase.
Purchase tickets and passes at the door or on the website, and get more information and schedules at coastfilmfestival.com.
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It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
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