Calling all experienced and budding filmmakers: The annual Hamptons International Film Festival just announced dates for this year’s week-plus-long cache of cinematic stunners. The 32nd annual event will take place from October 4 to 14, an expansion of past years with screenings galore, talks with directors, writers, actors and other fascinating personalities from behind and in front of the camera.
“After 31 successful editions, we are incredibly proud to witness our festival’s continued growth year after year,” said HamptonsFilm executive director Anne Chaisson in a press release. “It is thanks to our loyal and passionate audiences that we are able to expand our festival days and continue showcasing the year’s most exciting titles each fall. We are counting down the days until October!”
We are, too. The film festival draws heavy hitters for a reason. Last year’s opening film kicking off the 31st festival was Nyad, is in the running for both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress at this year’s Oscars, and also racked up two Golden Globes and two SAG awards, among other shiny winnings — and 42 other films shown here are also in the running for this year’s Academy Awards this Sunday.
But more than that, it’s a place to simply see a wide swathe of excellent contemporary films from the United States and around the world, both documentary and fiction, with the 17th annual pre-fall documentary teaser series, SummerDoc, whetting movie-goers appetites for the big show in the fall.
“It has always been critical to our mission at HamptonsFilm to support the cinematic arts year-round, beyond the yearly film festival,” said HamptonsFilm artistic director David Nugent. “Our Screenwriters Lab retreat has proven to be a unique opportunity to cultivate a new generation of talent, and the perennial favorite SummerDocs series allows us to showcase some of today’s most prolific documentarians and their works.”
Submissions are currently being accepted for this year’s week of film releases (click here to learn more), which qualify not only for over $130,000 in awards, but also qualify winners for entry into BAFTA and the Academy Awards.
And while festival passes and ticket packages don’t go on sale until around Labor Day (individual ticket sales aren’t released until September 21, with the official line-up being announced on September 12), right now a small number of Founders Passes are on sale until March 7 ($1,800 for this all-access treat, half of which is tax deductible). Steep? Sure. But think of it like taking an all-movies, all-the-time vacation in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. It’s all about perspective, whatever side of the camera you’re on.
