The Hamptons

The Hamptons International Film Festival announced today that writer/director Jeff Nichols’ LOVING will be the Opening Night film of the 24th Hamptons International Film Festival on Thursday, October 6th in East Hampton. The film stars Joel Edgerton, Ruth Negga, Marton Csokas, Nick Kroll, and Michael Shannon, and tells the story of the couple whose love story led to the landmark Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia. Jeff Nichols will be at the festival. Focus Features will open LOVING in limited release on November 4th, expanding across the country in November. Opening Night is presented by Delta Air Lines and Altour International.

The festival’s closing night film is Ewan McGregor’s AMERICAN PASTORAL. The film adaptation of Philip Roth’s 1997 novel of the same name stars Ewan McGregor, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Connelly, David Strathairn, Rupert Evans and Valorie Curry. Set in the unrest of 1960s America, a man watches his seemingly perfect life fall apart as his daughter’s newfound political activism threatens to destroy their family. Lionsgate will open the film in limited release on October 21st. Actress Dakota Fanning will be at the festival. Closing Night is sponsored by Silvercup Studios.

“We are thrilled to have such powerful and thought-provoking films as LOVING and AMERICAN PASTORAL as our Opening and Closing Nights at the festival this year,” said HIFF Artistic Director David Nugent. “Jeff Nichols and Ewan McGregor are two tremendously talented filmmakers with impressive careers and we look forward to screening their projects.”

“Every year the festival aims to bring topical, timely and entertaining programming to our audiences, and both of our Opening and Closing Night films fit this bill,” said HIFF Executive Director Anne Chaisson. “LOVING and AMERICAN PASTORAL will showcase the filmmaking talent and programming that we strive to bring to the festival attendees each fall.”

The 24th annual Hamptons International Film Festival, which will be held over Columbus Day Weekend, October 6th – October 10th, 2016, greatly appreciates the support from their corporate sponsors, including Delta Air Lines, Altour International, BMW, and WNBC New York. Founder Passes and ticket packages are currently available for purchase. To purchase founders passes and ticket packages, or for additional information please visit www.hamptonsfilmfest.org. Individual tickets will go on sale on Monday, September 26.

LOVING
New York Premiere
Director: Jeff Nichols
From acclaimed writer/director Jeff Nichols, LOVING celebrates the real-life courage and commitment of an interracial couple, Richard and Mildred Loving (Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga), who married and then spent the next nine years fighting for the right to live as a family in their hometown. Their civil rights case, Loving v. Virginia, went all the way to the Supreme Court, which in 1967 reaffirmed the very foundation of the right to marry – and their love story has become an inspiration to couples ever since.

AMERICAN PASTORAL
New York Premiere
Director: Ewan McGregor
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Philip Roth novel, AMERICAN PASTORAL follows an all American family across several decades, as their idyllic existence is shattered by social and political turmoil that will change the fabric of American culture forever. Ewan McGregor (SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN, BEGINNERS) makes his directorial debut and stars as Seymour “Swede” Levov, a once legendary high school athlete who is now a successful businessman married to Dawn, a former beauty queen. But turmoil brews beneath the polished veneer of Swede’s life. When his beloved daughter, Merry, disappears after being accused of committing a violent act, Swede dedicates himself to finding her and reuniting his family. What he discovers shakes him to the core, forcing him to look beneath the surface and confront the chaos that is shaping the modern world around him: no American family will ever be the same. AMERICAN PASTORAL also stars Academy Award® winner Jennifer Connelly (Best Supporting Actress, A BEAUTIFUL MIND, 2001) as Dawn, Dakota Fanning (THE RUNAWAYS, The TWILIGHT Saga) as Merry, Emmy® winner Uzo Aduba (Orange Is the New Black), and Academy Award® nominee David Strathairn (Best Supporting Actor, GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK, 2005; LINCOLN).