Hamptons Take 2 Documentary Film Festival
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here & there :: The Hamptons Take 2 Documentary Film Festival
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Gala Honoring “American Masters” Series Creator Susan Lacy
“Susan Lacy is one of the giants in the documentary field, who created the American Masters series for PBS and who for 26 years has produced, directed and written scores of documentaries highlighting Americans who made major contributions to our culture,” said HT2FF founder and executive director Jacqui Lofaro of Bridgehampton, who is a documentary filmmaker herself. “Susan Lacy has been responsible for building an exceptional archive of more than 185 documentary films about American cultural giants and has been involved in every aspect of the series, including selecting the artists to be profiled, hiring the teams to research and direct each film, writing grants, handling budgets and making final cuts on every documentary.” Documentaries written, directed or produced by Lacy include the film biographies of media mogul David Geffen (premiering nationwide November 20 on PBS), fashion designer Richard Avedon, talk show host Johnny Carson, opera star Placido Domingo, architect Buckminster Fuller, entertainer Judy Garland, actor Lillian Gish, singer Lena Horne, singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell, reporter Edward R. Murrow, television producer Rod Serling, musician Paul Simon, playwright Tennessee Williams, and many others. Lacy has said of her vision for the series: “I wanted to do for creative people and the creative process what ‘American Playhouse’ had done for drama, what ‘NOVA’ did for science on PBS.”
HT2FF Program Schedule for Films
Friday, November 30th, 4:30 pm to 10 pm
4:30 p.m. First off is a free screening of “The City Dark” (84 min.) by Ian Cheney, partly filmed in Montauk, on the subject of light pollution, featuring interviews with astronomers, naturalists and others, and a Q&A afterwards with long-time Dark Skies advocate Susan Harder. Saturday, December 1st, 10 am to 10 pm
10 a.m. The day opens with three short four-minute student films, which were winning entries in the Suffolk County Film Commission’s “First Exposure” annual competition: “The Kite” by Gaby Mikorenda of Northport High School, “Decisions” by Richard Anderson of Sachem East High School, and “Where You and I Exist” by Zachary Towlen of Bellport High School. These will be followed by a sneak preview of “The Wind That Blows” (60 min.) by New York City director Tom Weston, about the last Yankee whalers on the tiny island of Bequia in the West Indies. 12:15 p.m. “The Salt of the Sea” (53 min.) by award-winning director Tom Garber of Hampton Bays tells the story of a vanishing breed of independent commercial fishermen from Long Island and New England. 2 p.m. “Kings Park: Stories From an American Mental Institution” (108 min.) is a documentary by award-winning director Lucy Winer, a former inmate of the now-abandoned Long Island hospital. 4:30 p.m. “After” (22 min.) by director Jeremy Cohan tells of the grief suffered by a couple whose son, filmmaker Jesse Feigelman, took his life in 2002. This is followed by “Irene Williams: Queen of Lincoln Road” (24 min.) by director Eric Smith, who documents the life of an eccentric woman he met in South Beach, Miami. 6:30 p.m. The gala reception at Bay Street Theatre will be followed by a tribute to “American Masters” creator/executive producer Susan Lacy of Sag Harbor; 7:45 p.m. screening of her Emmy Award-winning film “Leonard Bernstein: Reaching for the Note” (120 min.); and panel discussion with Lacy and three American Masters directors. Sunday, December 2nd, 10 am to 9:15 pm
10 a.m. “Children of Chabannes” (93 min.) an Emmy Award-winning film by directors Lisa Gossels and Dean Wetherell tells the story of how the people in the tiny French village of Chabannes during World War II saved the lives of 400 Jewish refuge children, including Ms. Gossels’ father and uncle. The documentary represents the HT2FF’s first annual “Filmmaker’s Choice Award” and was nominated for this honor by Cat Del Buono of East Hampton, a filmmaker from last year’s festival. 1 p.m. “Deputized—Como Pudo Pasar?” (84 min.) by directors Sue Hagedorn and Amanda Zinoman, explores the 2008 Long Island hate crime whereby 37-year old Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero was assaulted and killed by a group of teenage boys. 3:30 p.m. “Harry Hellfire” (97 min.) by director Jim Morrison of Greenport tells about a great but unknown rock musician who lives in a tent behind the seaside graveyard in Greenport. 5:30 p.m. “Courting Justice” (54 min.) by director Ruth B. Cowan profiles the fearless female judges of South Africa who are charged with guarding human rights. This is followed by “Right There” (17 min.) by directors Florence Buchanan and Arthur Bijur, which recounts how the children of PS 234, just three blocks north of the World Trade Center, returned on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 to discuss what they remember of that day. 7:30 p.m. The closing film is “Plimpton: Starring George Plimpton as Himself” (89 min.), directed by Luke Poling and Tom Bean, co-edited by Casey Brooks, who grew up in East Hampton, which documents the life of the founding editor of The Paris Review, amateur sportsman, fireworks enthusiast and bon vivant in both New York City and the East End of Long Island. Tickets for each film segment are $15 ($13 for senior citizens, though no online sales). The Saturday night gala, including reception and “Leonard Bernstein” film is $25. A full festival pass for all three days of films including the gala is $100. Tickets may be purchased online at HT2FF.com or at the Bay Street Theatre box office in person, by phone at 631-725-9500 or baystreet.org or at the door; and in person at the Romany Kramoris Gallery, 41 Main Street, Sag Harbor, 631.725.2499. Further information is available from executive director Jacqui Lofaro at info@HT2FF.com.
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