Interview with Leslie Feibleman

Ten years ago, Balboa Island’s Leslie Feibleman left her architecture and design career to become a full-time mom. Of course, her creative passions still burned, so she volunteered for the Newport Beach Film Festival, then in its infancy. She thought it might be a fun project to occupy those two or three down moments moms of two get every day.

It certainly did that, and a whole lot more. In fact, it soon became a full-time – non-paying – job. But what it lacked in a paycheck it made up for in fun and excitement, and it soon became a labor of passion.

It’s a passion that’s remained hot for a decade and shows no signs of waning. So much so that Feibleman is also instrumental in two of the festival’s most successful offspring. First, in 2005, she co-created the Cinema Orange Film Series, a partnership with the Orange County Museum of Art that has so far screened over 100 films. Feibleman is also on the board of the OC Film Society, which screens a dozen films per year, with Q&As with the filmmakers.

Feibleman works so hard bringing films that might not otherwise get a shot at playing on the big screen to our local theaters because she feels they inspire and foster community dialog, in an entertaining way.

“The films and conversations provide us with fresh perspectives, inspiration and knowledge,” she says. “They confront us and make us laugh and make us cry, but most importantly, make us think.”

We asked Feibleman about her time with the festival, and what she’s excited to see at this year’s event, which takes place from April 26 through May 3.

You volunteer a lot of time to the festival. Why?
I went to the first festival and loved it so much I had to get involved. My friends think I’m crazy because it’s a tremendous amount of work, but it’s so fascinating that it doesn’t seem like work. Once you’re immersed in the world of art, culture and film, you wake up every day and can’t wait to see what kind of adventure will happen. It’s always interesting.

How do you help find the films that will be shown at the festival?
Part of the job is to travel to film fests. For example, I went to Sundance this year. We research titles from around the world and we invite filmmakers to submit. We also do an outreach campaign.

So how many films do you personally see a year?
I see about 200 a year. That’s a combination of narrative, documentaries, shorts, and animated films – every genre. I’m also in charge of making sure the program is balanced and that we have a certain amount of films in each genre represented, and a certain amount of countries represented.

How many films will screen at the festival this year and how many were considered?
This year we’ll probably take close to 400 films. I’d say collectively as a team, we view about 2,500 films to get the 400.

Who screens the films, besides you?
We have hundreds of screeners who watch anywhere from 10 to 200 movies every year. People from the community volunteer. Then there is a programming team, which is diverse, of all ages, from 21 to 70. So we have a great representation of our community.

So how does a film make the cut?
Artistically speaking, we’re looking for great story telling, strong acting, compelling characters, interesting subjects, and good cinematography. There has to be a certain level of artistry and professionalism. It has to engage the audience. We want to bring in films that align with our community and reflect what our community is about, but we also want to challenge and surprise viewers. So we’ll take risks and program films that are a little bit different. I think that’s exciting.

Taste is subjective, so how do you choose?
Programmers congregate weekly to discuss the films. Some films, everyone agrees, are not ready. Some everyone loves. It’s the gray area in between that’s difficult. Some people like it, some don’t. Those are the films where we have further discussion, sometimes heated dialogue. But it is a very organic process at the end of the day.

The films must range in production value quite a bit.
They do. We have films from teenagers all the way up to $30 million productions. We have directorial debuts as well as legends who come out. And probably about 40 countries are represented.

One of your specialties is the architecture and design series. What kinds of films are shown in that category?
They’re films about artists, architects, designers – generally films about creators of any type. We also have films about modernism or modern day architects and do that series in conjunction with the Orange County Museum of Art.

What were the beginning days of the festival like?
Primitive. Back then we didn’t have the technology that makes so many things easier. We had a small staff, a small office. And we had to bring in new partners, sponsors and, of course, get the films. It took a lot of vision and dedication, and tons of passion. But we grew very fast, and today, we bring in 500 volunteers every year.

What kept you optimistic?
I just felt that there were so many people in Orange County who enjoyed film and culture and wanted to connect and share their experiences with others. And we are one of the few events that bring so many people together on a casual basis. But it’s taken years to build our reputation.

Has the new era of social media made things easier or more difficult because of all the “noise” out there?
I think it’s easier. I think what’s happened is filmmakers have the tools to make and promote their films right at their fingertips. The newest trend is crowd sourcing. Filmmakers reach out through social media to the public and solicit funding for their projects. It can be very successful.

Why is the opening night film never decided upon until very near the opening night?
It always takes the longest to book the opening night and closing night films. Sometimes it comes down to negotiating with the distribution company. Sometimes it comes down to whether the talent is available for that particular night. There are so many moving parts and we know the opening night audience is a large one, so it takes a lot to get it right.

Any particular favorites for you this year?
In action sports we have 25 films this year, including a few world premieres. That’s always a huge series in our community. One is H2indO and the other is Decade of Dominance about 10-time world paddleboard champ Jamie Mitchell.

What’s the biggest challenge about putting on the festival each year?
Every film is its own event. Each film is someone’s dream and we want to take care of that filmmaker and make it the best experience it can be for them. Our festival is known to be incredibly friendly. In fact, we try to show the filmmakers around Newport a bit. I think it’s important to make it a warm, engaging experience for them because people are flying in from around the world to see us. It’s quite an honor.