The Hamptons

HamptonsFilm announced today honorees for the 32nd annual edition of the Hamptons International Film Festival, presented by Regina K. Scully’s Artemis Rising Foundation: Demi Moore, who will receive the Career Achievement in Acting Award; Liev Schreiber, accepting the festival’s Dick Cavett Artistic Champion Award; Malcolm Washington, recognized with the Breakthrough Director Award; and Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein, accepting the Achievement in Screenwriting Award which celebrates their work on Disney’s INSIDE OUT 2. HIFF will also screen Washington’s THE PIANO LESSON as this year’s Centerpiece presentation. The festival also revealed the full feature lineup for this year’s Compassion, Justice, and Animal Rights Signature Program. The 2024 Hamptons International Film Festival will run as an expanded, eleven-day event from October 4-14.

HIFF will screen the East Coast Premiere of Netflix’s THE PIANO LESSON on October 5 as a festival Centerpiece presentation, sponsored by Naturopathica. Directed and co-written by Malcolm Washington, and featuring an ensemble cast including honorary Academy Award winner Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, and Ray Fisher, the film is an adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name. The story follows the Charles household, where a prized heirloom piano is tearing two siblings apart. On one side, a brother (John David Washington) plans to build the family fortune by selling it. On the other, a sister (Deadwyler) will go to any lengths to hold onto the sole vestige of the family’s heritage. Malcolm Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, and John David Washington will attend and participate in a post-screening conversation about the film.

At the screening, and in recognition of his feature directorial debut, Malcolm Washington will receive this year’s Breakthrough Director Award, celebrating an up-and-coming filmmaker with an uncommonly bright future.

The festival will present the Career Achievement in Acting Award to actress, producer, and New York Times bestselling author Demi Moore in celebration of her work in this year’s critically acclaimed THE SUBSTANCE. Moore can most recently be seen in the second season of FEUD: CAPOTE VS. THE SWANS and will soon be seen in Paramount+’s upcoming drama LANDMAN from Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace, in which she stars alongside Jon Hamm and Billy Bob Thornton. The actress set a record in 1995 when she became the highest-paid actress in Hollywood, known for her work in ST. ELMO’S FIRE, ABOUT LAST NIGHT…, GHOST, A FEW GOOD MEN, INDECENT PROPOSAL, THE SCARLET LETTER, DISCLOSURE, G.I. JANE, CHARLIE’S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE, BOBBY, and MARGIN CALL among many others. Moore will also participate in an “A Conversation With…” event on October 13, sponsored by il Buco, where she will accept the award.

HIFF will also recognize actor and filmmaker Liev Schreiber with the 2024 Dick Cavett Artistic Champion Award. The award, created in 2017 by HamptonsFilm Chairman Emeritus Alec Baldwin, honors those in the creative arts who not only excel in their field, but who also support the arts and artists in other fields, such as education, related media, and other arts disciplines. Schreiber is a Tony and Golden Globe Award-winning and Emmy-nominated performer, known for his roles across film and television including SPOTLIGHT, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, THE HURRICANE, and RAY DONOVAN, and the upcoming THE PERFECT COUPLE and ACROSS THE RIVER AND INTO THE TREES. In 2022, Schreieber co-founded the BlueCheck Ukraine foundation, which has been instrumental in championing the Ukrainian people’s ongoing struggle for freedom. On October 5, Schreiber will sit for “A Conversation With…,” moderated by Baldwin and sponsored by Sotheby’s, where he will discuss his career and legacy and receive the award.

On October 13, HIFF will host a Morning Talk conversation, sponsored by Assemble Media, with the screenwriters of INSIDE OUT 2, Academy Award-nominee Meg LeFauve and Golden Globe-nominee Dave Holstein, where they will discuss the incredible commercial and critical success of the film. During the conversation, the pair will be presented with the festival’s Achievement in Screenwriting Award. INSIDE OUT 2 was adored by audiences, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2024, the highest-grossing animated film ever, and the tenth-highest-grossing film of all-time. Warmly received by critics, INSIDE OUT 2 offers a fresh way for parents to talk to children and adolescents about mental health, their burgeoning emotions, and how to deal with the myriad anxieties of our current climate.

“It is an honor to celebrate an esteemed group of accomplished artists and their indelible contributions to cinema at this October’s festival,” said HamptonsFilm Artistic Director David Nugent. “Our awardees have all experienced career-defining moments this year, and we are thrilled to share in their successes with our audiences.”

The festival also revealed the full feature lineup for this year’s Compassion, Justice, and Animal Rights Signature Program. The section will present the US Premiere of Todd Bieber’s AMERICAN CATS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE CUDDLY, which explores the issue of cat declawing in the United States and the powerful industry lobby that not only promotes but profits from the controversial procedure; Joshua Zeman’s CHECKPOINT ZOO, documenting a daring rescue led by a heroic team of zookeepers and volunteers at a zoo at the center of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine; and the New York Premiere of Sally Aitken’s EVERY LITTLE THING, following subject Terry Masear as she finds a sense of healing from her own past through tending to fragile yet resilient hummingbirds.

Zeman’s CHECKPOINT ZOO will also receive the festival’s Zelda Penzel Giving Voice to the Voiceless Award, which recognizes a film in the Compassion, Justice and Animal Rights section that raises public awareness and provokes discussion about contemporary issues of social concern, with a focus on the rights, as well as moral and ethical treatment of animals. The film will be awarded a $2,500 cash prize at this year’s event.

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 Premier 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, Direct TV, Silvercup Studios, Netflix, Assemble Media, Wolffer Estate, Sotheby’s, il Buco, and Dragon Hemp; and foundation supporters New York State Council on the Arts and Suffolk County Film Commission.

CENTERPIECE FILM
Sponsored by Naturopathica

THE PIANO LESSON
East Coast Premiere
dir. Malcolm Washington (USA), 2024
A battle is brewing in the Charles Household. At the center stands a prized heirloom piano tearing two siblings apart. On one side, a brother (John David Washington) plans to build the family fortune by selling it. On the other, a sister (Danielle Deadwyler) will go to any lengths to hold onto the sole vestige of the family’s heritage. Their uncle (Samuel L. Jackson) tries to mediate, but even he can’t hold back the ghosts of the past.

Adapted from August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork, THE PIANO LESSON explores the intergenerational dynamics of identity, resilience and transcendence – revealing startling truths about how we perceive the past and who gets to define our legacy. The film is directed and co-written by Malcolm Washington in his feature directorial debut. From Oscar nominated producers Denzel Washington and Todd Black, and featuring an all-star cast including Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Erykah Badu with Danielle Deadwyler and Corey Hawkins. A Netflix release.

COMPASSION, JUSTICE, AND ANIMAL RIGHTS

AMERICAN CATS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE CUDDLY
US Premiere
dir. Todd Bieber (USA), 2024
In this documentary, comedian Amy Hoggart (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee) dives deep into the controversial world of cat declawing in the United States. On the surface, it appears as a simple, harmless surgery for the convenience of pet owners, but as Hoggart digs deeper, a disturbing nationwide conspiracy unfolds. Through interviews with veterinarians, activists, and pet owners, the documentary unveils a powerful industry lobby that not only promotes but profits from this inhumane procedure. As Hoggart navigates the maze of misinformation, she discovers the profound physical and psychological effects declawing has on our feline friends. AMERICAN CATS is a thought-provoking exposé that challenges the ethical implications of our choices and calls for a nationwide reflection on our treatment of animals. And also lots of jokes and cute kittens.

CHECKPOINT ZOO
dir. Joshua Zerman (USA), 2024
In the shadow of Russia’s shocking invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, a heart-wrenching drama unfolded at Ecopark Feldman, a beloved zoo near Kharkiv. As bombs fell and gunfire echoed, 5,000 innocent animals found themselves trapped in the crossfire of human conflict. Desperate and running out of hope, the zoo’s founder, Oleksandr Feldman, made an impassioned plea that touched millions worldwide. In a testament to human compassion, volunteers and zookeepers united, risking their lives to save these helpless creatures. Through the lens of filmmaker Joshua Zeman, we witness the raw emotion and unwavering dedication of those who refused to abandon these voiceless victims of war, reminding us of the profound connection between humans and animals even in the darkest of times.

EVERY LITTLE THING
New York Premiere
dir. Sally Aitken (Australia), 2024
A film of joy and wonder, EVERY LITTLE THING offers profound truths in a deceptively simple story. What does it mean to care for another, and what impact does this act have on us? In tending to fragile yet resilient hummingbirds, Terry Masear finds a sense of healing from her own past. Her diminutive patients—brought into sharp focus through breathtaking, beautifully detailed photography—become memorable protagonists in their own right. The viewer becomes emotionally invested in Cactus, Jimmy, Wasabi, Alexa, and Mikhail, celebrating their small victories and lamenting their tiny tragedies. The compassion and empathy that Masear shows her Lilliputian charges serves as a lesson to us all — a reminder that in the smallest of acts, and in the tiniest of creatures, we might find grace.

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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