The Hamptons

HamptonsFilm announced today that the 32nd annual edition of the Hamptons International Film Festival is set to open on Friday, October 4 with the East Coast Premiere of R.J. Cutler’s documentary feature MARTHA, profiling American businesswoman and lifestyle personality Martha Stewart, sponsored by Audi. The festival is also set to host the World Premieres of Erik Nelson’s DAYTIME REVOLUTION and Dori Berinstein’s A MAN WITH SOLE: THE IMPACT OF KENNETH COLE; as well as Daniel Robbins’ BAD SHABBOS, which will screen as a Spotlight selection. HIFF also announced several films screening as part of this year’s Air, Land, and Sea, Films of Conflict & Resolution, and Views From Long Island Signature Program lineups, including: Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan’s NOCTURNES, the New York Premiere of Michael Premo’s HOMEGROWN, and the North American Premiere of Tyler Taormina’s CHRISTMAS EVE IN MILLER’S POINT. The 2024 Hamptons International Film Festival will run as an expanded, eleven-day event from October 4 through October 14.

MARTHA, directed by Academy Award-nominated and Emmy and Peabody Award-winning director RJ Cutler, is the definitive documentary on Martha Stewart, featuring a series of candid interviews with the icon herself. From her early start on Wall Street to becoming the original influencer, the film follows Stewart as she continues to reinvent herself with each passing decade. Stewart and Cutler are both scheduled to attend the festival with the film and participate in a post-screening talkback. The documentary is scheduled to be released by Netflix later this year.

“It feels only fitting that we open this year’s event with R.J. Cutler’s portrait of Martha Stewart,” said HamptonsFilm Executive Director Anne Chaisson. “We are delighted to welcome Martha—a truly trailblazing cultural figure and an East End resident of more than three decades—back to the Hamptons community with open arms and give her space to graciously share her inspiring story with us all.”

HIFF will host the World Premiere screenings of Kino Lorber’s DAYTIME REVOLUTION, directed by Erik Nelson and transporting audiences back in time to the week that John Lennon and Yoko Ono descended upon a Philadelphia broadcasting studio to co-host the iconic Mike Douglas Show, at that time the most popular show on daytime television; and A MAN WITH SOLE: THE IMPACT OF KENNETH COLE, directed by Emmy Award-winner Dori Berinstein and following global fashion icon and social activist Kenneth Cole’s commitment to putting ’cause’ before ‘commerce’ for 40 years.

“We are incredibly grateful to the teams behind DAYTIME REVOLUTION and A MAN WITH SOLE: THE IMPACT OF KENNETH COLE for entrusting our festival to launch their projects for the first time,” said HamptonsFilm Artistic Director David Nugent. “Both of these films are uniquely compelling in the ways they reintroduce audiences to familiar subjects, while showcasing new sides to these characters and adding to their already vibrant legacies.”

HamptonsFilm also announced that Daniel Robbins’ narrative feature BAD SHABBOS will be presented as a Spotlight screening at this year’s festival. BAD SHABBOS, starring an ensemble cast featuring Kyra Sedgwick, David Paymer, and Cliff “Method Man” Smith, tells the story of an engaged interfaith couple who are about to have their parents meet for the first time over Shabbat dinner when an accidental death gets in the way.

The festival also announced a selection of films screening as part of this year’s Signature Program lineups. The Views From Long Island program will host the North American Premiere of IFC Films’ CHRISTMAS EVE IN MILLER’S POINT. The film, shot and set in Suffolk County and directed by Tyler Taormina, stars Matilda Fleming, Michael Cera, and Francesca Scorsese as members of a family gathering on Christmas Eve for what could be the last holiday in their ancestral home. In the Films of Conflict & Resolution Signature Program, the festival will also present the New York Premiere of Michael Premo’s HOMEGROWN, an unflinching chronicle of Americans at war with each other, and the growing movement pushing American democracy to the brink. Grasshopper Film’s NOCTURNES, a deeply immersive film directed by Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan that transports audiences to a rarely-seen place, and urges us all to look more closely at the hidden interconnections of the natural world, will screen as part of the Air, Land, and Sea program.

Passes and packages for the 32nd edition of HIFF will be on sale beginning September 4, 2024, at the HamptonsFilm website. Additional programming will be announced in the coming weeks.

The 32nd annual Hamptons International Film Festival will run October 4-14, 2024, with in-person screenings and events taking place across the Hamptons. HIFF thanks this year’s festival sponsors: new Presenting Sponsor Artemis Rising; returning sponsors Premiere Sponsor Audi; Signature Sponsors UBS and King & Spalding; official Media Partners WNBC, The Atlantic, The East Hampton Star, The Purist, and Variety; Contributing Sponsors Naturopathica, Silvercup Studios, Netflix, Assemble Media, and Dragon Hemp; and foundation supporters New York State Council on the Arts and Suffolk County Film Commission.

OPENING NIGHT FILM
Sponsored by Audi

MARTHA
East Coast Premiere
dir. R.J. Cutler (USA), 2024
The definitive documentary on Martha Stewart, featuring a series of candid interviews with the icon herself. From her early start on Wall Street to becoming the original influencer, Stewart continues to reinvent herself with each passing decade. A Netflix release.

SPOTLIGHT FILMS
Sponsored by Audi

BAD SHABBOS
dir. Daniel Robbins (USA), 2024
An engaged interfaith couple are about to have their parents meet for the first time over Shabbat dinner when an accidental death gets in the way.

WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY

DAYTIME REVOLUTION
World Premiere
dir. Erik Nelson (USA), 2024
For one extraordinary week in February 1972, the Revolution WAS televised. DAYTIME REVOLUTION takes us back in time to the week that John Lennon and Yoko Ono descended upon a Philadelphia broadcasting studio to co-host the iconic Mike Douglas Show, at that time the most popular show on daytime television, with a national audience of 40 million viewers each week. What followed was five unforgettable episodes of television, with Lennon and Ono at the helm and Douglas gamely keeping the show on track. Acting as both producers and hosts, Lennon and Ono handpicked their guests, ranging from iconic musicians like Chuck Berry, to comic truth teller George Carlin, to radical activists like Yippie founder Jerry Rubin, Black Panther chairman Bobby Seale, and nascent consumer protection guru Ralph Nader. John and Yoko’s version of daytime TV was a radical take on the traditional format, incorporating candid Q&A sessions with their transfixed audience, frank conversations about hot-button issues like police violence and women’s liberation, impromptu conceptual art events, and of course, one-of-a-kind musical performances. A document of the past that speaks to our turbulent present, DAYTIME REVOLUTION is a time capsule reminding us of art’s power to break down barriers, and the bravery of two artists who never took the easy way out as they fought for their vision of a better world. A Kino Lorber release.

A MAN WITH SOLE: THE IMPACT OF KENNETH COLE
World Premiere
dir. Dori Berinstein (USA), 2024
With heart & ‘sole’ and unflinching determination, global fashion icon/social activist Kenneth Cole has put ’cause’ before ‘commerce’ for 40 years. Kenneth’s commitment to HIV AIDS, homelessness, LGBTQIA+ rights, social justice and mental health, has shattered stigmas, ignited social awareness, given voice to the voiceless, built coalitions and inspired action for good.

AIR, LAND + SEA
Sponsored by Dragon Hemp

NOCTURNES
dir. Anirban Dutta, Anupama Srinivasan (USA, India), 2024
In the dark of night, two curious observers shine a light on this secret universe. Together, they are on an expedition to decode these nocturnal creatures in a remote ecological “hot spot” on the border of India and Bhutan. The result is a deeply immersive film that transports audiences to a rarely-seen place and urges us all to look more closely at the hidden interconnections of the natural world. A Grasshopper Film release.

FILMS OF CONFLICT AND RESOLUTION

HOMEGROWN
New York Premiere
dir. Michael Premo (USA), 2024
Homegrown is an unflinching chronicle of Americans at war with each other. Three right-wing activists—a newly politicized father-to-be in New Jersey, an Air Force veteran organizing conservatives in New York City, and a charismatic activist from Texas—crisscross the country in the summer of 2020, campaigning for Donald Trump and building a movement they hope will outlast him. When they become convinced that the election is stolen, they take their fight to the streets. The result is a chilling portrait of a growing movement pushing American democracy to the brink.

VIEWS FROM LONG ISLAND

CHRISTMAS EVE IN MILLER’S POINT
North American Premiere
dir. Tyler Taormina (USA), 2024
On Christmas Eve, a family gathers for what could be the last holiday in their ancestral home. As the night wears on and generational tensions arise, one of the teenagers sneaks out with her friends to claim the wintry suburb for her own. An IFC Films release.

The 32nd annual Hamptons International Film Festival will run October 4 – 14, 2024. All-access passes are now on sale. HIFF thanks returning longtime Lead sponsor AUDI, New York State Council on the Arts, Suffolk County Film Commission, and the numerous local businesses and media that have supported HIFF over the years.

HamptonsFilm, home of The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF), based in the Hamptons on the Eastern End of Long Island, was founded in 1992 to celebrate the art of film and to introduce a unique and varied spectrum of international films and filmmakers to our audiences. A non-profit organization with year-round screenings of global narrative and documentary films, an annual Screenwriters Lab, a summer documentary showcase, and extensive educational initiatives, HamptonsFilm offers programs that enlighten, educate, and provide invaluable exposure for filmmakers, while also providing the East End of Long Island with an educational and cultural experience that enriches the lives of its citizens and contributes to the local economy. HIFF, celebrating its 32nd year in 2024, is an annual premiere film event in New York State, and an intimate showcase of some of the year’s best offerings in contemporary cinema from around the world. Awarding prizes to filmmakers in cash and goods and services of over $130,000, each year, with over $5 million awarded in competition funds and services over the decades, our program continues to play an important role during awards season. For eleven consecutive years from 2010 through 2020, the Festival screened the eventual Best Picture winner at the Oscars, making HIFF the only Festival in the world with such a distinction. For more information please visit hamptonsfilmfest.org

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