The Newport Beach Film Festival has its own names for its big night. The 2026 edition revealed the honorages that will receive their recognition on October 18 at the Balboa Bay Resort in California during the third day of the competition, as it has advanced in exclusive Variety.
The great protagonist will be Taraji P. Henson, nominated for the Oscar, who will receive the Distinguished Artist Award for his work in 'Tis So Sweet. Along with her, Jack O'Connell, who will be seen in Ink, Danny Boyle's film on the origins of the Rupert Murdoch media empire, will be distinguished with the Prix for the Superb Trajectory in Actuation.
The list continues with Mckenna Grace, which is part of the distribution of the hunger games: dawn in the harvest and will take the Spotlight Prize. Sosie Bacon, for Family Movie, will get the Revelation Award, while casting director Sarah Finn will be awarded the Ventilary Casting Award by Wild Horse Nine, Martin McDonagh's new film.
Homecoming throughout the week
The examinations will not be concentrated in a single evening. On October 17, KJ Apa will receive the Spotlight Award during Jimmy's screening. Two days later, Justin Hartley will be honored with the Distinguished Artist Award at a special Sunset-cycle event, one of the most popular sections of the festival.
On October 19, the Mexican filmmaker Jonah Cuarón will receive the same award in the projection of the Gabacho Champion. The next night Gemma Chan will be the first to receive the award for the Special Action Trayectory, which coincides with the Josephine pass, one of the titles that the competition has reserved for its final line.
A gala with new talents and musical documentaries
The ceremony will also serve to recognize the list of the 10 actors to follow from Variety. It includes Esmé Creed-Miles (Sense and Sensitivity), Mariana Di Girólamo (Wild Horse Nine), Rosalind Eleazar (Misty Green), Spanish singer Guitariladelafuente (The Black Ball), Summer H. Howell (Carrie), Jaafar Jackson (Michael), Ruth Madeley (Being Heumann), Inde Navarrette (Obsession), Ray Nicholson (Mosquito Bowl: a party in full war) and Joseph Zada (The Games of Hunger: Sunrise in the Harvest).
The festival will start with Frampton, a documentary that reviews Peter Frampton's rise in the 1970s, the price he paid for fame and his diagnosis of myositis for inclusion bodies. After the screening, the musician and director Rob Arthur will participate in a live colloquium with the public.
The closing will be on October 22 at the Lido Theatre with Unleashed Spirits: The Rise of the Hollywood Vampires, documentary on the supergroup that makes up Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp, Joe Perry and Tommy Henriksen. The group takes its name from the secret drinking club Cooper led in the 1970s.
The award ceremony will be recorded and PBS SoCal will issue it in January, in the middle of the big film awards voting season, which will give the honors an added visibility at a key time of the race towards the awards.
