‘Behemoth!’ Starring Pedro Pascal to Close Newport Beach Film Festival

The 27th annual Newport Beach Film Festival will close with “Behemoth!” on Oct. 22, with writer and director Tony Gilroy set to attend.

Pedro Pascal stars as gifted cellist Alex Serian, who returns home to Los Angeles and embarks on a life-changing adventure after spending the past 20 years performing on the road. The film features nine composers and is set to premiere Dec. 4. “Behemoth!” production designer Jade Healy will also attend closing night and will join Gilroy in conversation prior to the screening.

“We couldn’t have picked a better way to celebrate 27 years of Newport than closing with a filmmaker as exciting as Tony Gilroy,” said Gregg Schwenk, the CEO and executive director of NBFF. “This film has a deeply personal story about what music demands of the people who live inside it — and having Tony and Jade here in person for Q&A is exactly the kind of up-close experience that makes Newport unlike any other festival in the country.”

Taking place Oct. 15-22, the festival’s line-up also features “A Talent for Murder,” “Ink,” “Josephine,” “La Bola Negra,” “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,” “Paper Tiger” and “Wild Horse Nine.” Aaron Burns’ Jimmy Stewart biopic, “Jimmy,” will also be featured, with the cast and crew set to be in attendance for a Q&A following the screening.

The Newport Beach Film Festival is the largest international cinema event in coastal Southern California, drawing in more than 50,000 attendees. Last year’s festival closed with Guillermo Del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” which stars Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Oscar Isaac and Christoph Waltz.