The Hamptons

HamptonsFilm announced today the annual SummerDocs series will return for its 16th annual edition. This summer’s presentations will feature a selection of the year’s most anticipated documentary features from leading industry storytellers. The series will kick off with a screening of Netflix’s SKYWALKERS: A LOVE STORY, directed by Jeff Zimbalist and co-directed by Maria Bukhonina, on Friday, July 5th, at 7:00PM at East Hampton’s Guild Hall; followed by Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber’s WAR GAME on Saturday, July 20th, at 7:00PM at Regal UA East Hampton Cinema; and concluding with Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY on Wednesday, August 14th, at 7:00PM at Guild Hall.

HamptonsFilm Artistic Director David Nugent and Chairman Emeritus Alec Baldwin will lead conversations with attending filmmakers and guests, including co-director ​​Maria Bukhonina for SKYWALKERS: A LOVE STORY; directors Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss for WAR GAME; and Reeve’s son Will Reeve for SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY.

“Each year we strive to program our popular SummerDocs Series with some of the season’s most talked-about documentaries, and our 2024 edition is no exception,” said HamptonsFilm Artistic Director David Nugent. “The three titles we have curated this summer have each been met with incredible audience reception thus far, and it is a privilege to now preview them for our communities out East.”

The SummerDocs series includes a diverse selection of engaging and socially relevant documentaries: SKYWALKERS: A LOVE STORY follows a daredevil couple as they take their relationship to terrifying new heights in a wild scheme to climb the world’s last great skyscraper and perform a death-defying stunt on its spire; WAR GAME imagines a nation-wide insurrection, set on January 6th, 2025, in which members of the US military defect to support the losing Presidential candidate, while the winning candidate and his advisors war game the crisis in the White House situation room; and SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY tells the story of Reeve’s astonishing rise from unknown actor to iconic movie star, including his definitive portrayal of Clark Kent/Superman, before being injured in a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down, but catalyzed his activism for disability rights.

“The SummerDocs documentary showcase, a highlight of the Hamptons summer season, offers three uniquely powerful stories to stimulate conversation about the important challenges of our times: social media and internet stardom, America’s political divide, and the relentless spirit of humanity when faced with a seemingly insurmountable challenge,” said HamptonsFilm Executive Director Anne Chaisson.

Many past SummerDocs Series selections have continued down the awards path and have gone on to be shortlisted, nominated and even win an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature Film, including THE ETERNAL MEMORY (2024), NAVALNY (2023), FIRE OF LOVE (2023), SUMMER OF SOUL (2021), ICARUS (2017), TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOM (2013), SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN (2012), and THE COVE (2009). The series has also featured films from filmmakers including Maite Alberdi, Sara Dosa, Fisher Stevens, Rory Kennedy, Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing, Davis Guggenheim, Andrew Rossi, Daniel Roher, Chiemi Karasawa, Morgan Neville, Marina Zenovich, Louie Psihoyos, and Steve James.

Tickets for the 2024 SummerDocs Series individual screenings are now available for purchase for HamptonsFilm members at the HamptonsFilm website, with public sales beginning May 28th.

HamptonsFilm also announced the return of the FREE Outdoor Screening Series, featuring a lineup of classic crowd pleasers presented Wednesday evenings throughout the summer at East Hampton’s Herrick Park and Main Beach. Films screenings this season include JURASSIC PARK (July 17), SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (July 24), MOANA (July 31), THE NEVERENDING STORY (August 7), and JAWS (August 21). The series is supported in part by New York Council of the Arts, Serhant, The East Hampton Star, and The Purist.

Additional HamptonsFilm summer programming includes Film Camps for students ages 8-15, taking place July 8-12 in East Hampton at the HamptonsFilm offices; and July 15-19 in Southampton with partner Southampton Arts Center. Both Film Camp sessions are supported in part by the Luca Rizzo Fund.

As previously announced, the annual Hamptons International Film Festival will take place from October 4 – 14, 2024, as an expanded 11-day event. Please visit www.hamptonsfilmfest.org for further information on the SummerDocs series, the Hamptons International Film Festival, and all year-round programming.

SKYWALKERS: A LOVE STORY
Directed by Jeff Zimbalist and co-directed by Maria Bukhonina
Friday, July 5th at 7:00PM at Guild Hall in East Hampton
Part romance, part thriller, this film follows a daredevil couple as they take their relationship to terrifying new heights in a wild scheme to climb the world’s last great skyscraper and perform a death-defying stunt on the spire.

A daredevil couple risk it all to go where no one has gone before: the top of the world’s last great skyscraper. Angela and Vanya are Russia’s preeminent rooftoppers who defy the odds (and death) to scale the globe’s tallest buildings. As their acrobatic stunts go viral and rack up millions of online views, they form a dynamic duo and create a new artform that they call “skywalking.” Filmed over six years across six countries, Skywalkers: A Love Story captures extreme climbing in harrowing detail and is directed and written by Emmy-winning filmmaker Jeff Zimbalist (MOMENTUM GENERATION). SKYWALKERS: A LOVE STORY is a Netflix release.

WAR GAME
Directed by Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber
Saturday, July 20th at 7:00PM at Regal UA East Hampton Cinema
A real-life political thriller set on January 6, 2025, WAR GAME imagines a nation-wide insurrection in which members of the US military defect to support the losing Presidential candidate, while the winning candidate and his advisors—played by an all-star roster of senior officials from the last five administrations—war games the crisis in the White House situation room. They have 6 hours to save democracy as the country teeters on the brink of civil war.

SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY
Directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui
Wednesday, August 14th at 7:00PM at Guild Hall in East Hampton
SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY tells of Reeve’s astonishing rise from unknown actor to iconic movie star, and his definitive portrayal of Clark Kent/Superman set the benchmark for the superhero cinematic universes that dominate cinema today. Reeve portrayed the Man of Steel in four SUPERMAN films and played dozens of other roles that displayed his talent and range as an actor before being injured in a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. After becoming a quadriplegic, he became a charismatic leader and activist in the quest to find a cure for spinal cord injuries, as well as a passionate advocate for disability rights and care—all while continuing his career in cinema in front of and behind the camera and dedicating himself to his beloved family. From the directors of McQUEEN, Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, this film includes never-before-seen intimate home movies and an extraordinary trove of personal archive material, as well as the first extended interviews ever filmed with Reeve’s three children about their father, and interviews with the A-list Hollywood actors who were Reeve’s colleagues and friends. The film is a moving and vivid cinematic telling of Reeve’s remarkable story. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY is a presentation of DC Studios, HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films and Words+Pictures, and a production of Passion Pictures, Misfits Entertainment and Jenco Films.

JURASSIC PARK
Wednesday, July 17, at Sunset at Herrick Park in East Hampton Village

SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN
Wednesday, July 24, at Sunset at Herrick Park in East Hampton Village

MOANA
Wednesday, July 31, at Sunset at the Main Beach in East Hampton Village

THE NEVERENDING STORY
Wednesday, August 7, at Sunset at Herrick Park in East Hampton Village

JAWS
Wednesday, August 21, at Sunset at the Main Beach in East Hampton Village

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. For more information on the festival and HamptonsFilm’s year-round programming, please visit www.hamptonsfilmfest.org.

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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