Napa Valley Film Festival Hoping Quake Damage Doesn’t Shake Up Show

It’s white-knuckle time for the Napa Valley Film Festival’s organizers, filmmakers and fans, with a key venue and two hotels still fixing earthquake damage ahead of the Nov. 12 opening night. The post-quake craziness comes just as the four-year-old event is getting traction in Hollywood for its Oscar Season-adjacent timing, with companies setting encore screenings and star appearances, to tout awards contenders from earlier in the year.

The festival bills itself a mix of film, food and, of course, wine, with its own wine director pouring bottles from 150 of the region’s best-regarded vineyards. A recent Los Angeles event spotlighting the festival featured The Weinstein Co. President David Glasser, who said his company will use it to push awareness of several TWC awards contenders. Among those projects: The Imitation Game, with festival appearances scheduled for director Morten Tyldum and cast members for the biopic about martyred cryptography pioneer Alan Turing.

“I went there and it was amazing,” Glasser said of his initial visit to the festival, which last year saw 16 TWC people attend. “Harvey (Weinstein) and I love this film festival.”


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