After scattering crumbs over the past several weeks, including news of in-person conversations with Ethan Hawke and Elizabeth Olsen, the 33rd Hamptons International Film Festival has announced its full slate of programs, which will run from Oct. 3 through Oct. 13.
Of note is that Bernard Telsey, an influential casting director in theater, film, and television, will be honored with the festival’s first Achievement in Casting Award. In addition to casting this year’s Spotlight film “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” Mr. Telsey’s other credits include “Across the Universe,” “Mary Poppins Returns,” and “Getting Married.” He will accept the award at the Oct. 4 screening of “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”
In addition to previously announced Spotlight films, the festival will host the East Coast premiere of Kristen Stewart’s “The Chronology of Water,” the story of a woman told through loss, love, and self-discovery as she transforms her pain into art.
This year’s narrative competition will include the U.S. premiere of Mehmet Akif Buüyükatalay’s “Hysteria,” the New York premieres of Cole Webley’s “Omaha” and Simón Mesa Soto’s “A Poet,” as well as Hasan Hadi’s “The President’s Cake” and Mascha Schilinski’s “The Sound of Falling.”
Documentaries in competition are the New York premiere of Anthony Benna’s “Andre Is an Idiot,” the U.S. premiere of Ben Proudfoot’s “The Eyes of Ghana,” and the International premiere of Josefine Exner and Sebastian Gerdes’s “The Nicest Men on Earth.” Paige Bethmann’s “Remaining Native” and David Bim’s “To the West, in Zapata” round out the documentary competition.
This year’s narrative judges are Matt Donnelly, an entertainment writer, and John Benjamin Hickey, an actor and director. Agnes Chu, an entertainment executive, and Loren Hammonds, a producer, will judge the documentaries.
The World Cinema narrative selections include “Nouvelle Vague,” the latest from the Academy Award nominee Richard Linklater. A love letter to French Cinema’s New Wave, it reimagines the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless,” with Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg.
Kelly Reichardt (“Night Moves,” “Showing Up”) will be represented by “The Mastermind,” the story of an unemployed carpenter turned amateur art thief who plans his first big heist.
Politics finds expression in this year’s narrative films. Having its East Coast premiere is Cherien Dabis’s “All That’s Left of You,” which follows a Palestinian family after their displacement from Jaffa in 1948. Fatih Akin’s “Amrum” is the story of a young boy in 1945 Germany coming of age during the fall of the Nazi regime. It is having its U.S. premiere, as is László Nemes’s “Orphan,” in which a 12-year-old boy in 1957 Budapest experiences the aftermath of the uprising against the Communist regime.
Also premiering in this country is Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne’s “Young Mothers,” in which five teenagers are housed in a shelter for young mothers, hoping for a better life for themselves and their babies.
The World Cinema documentaries include “Cover-Up,” a thrilling political story by Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus that traces the career of the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Seymour Hersh. Speaking of journalism, Marshall Curry’s “The New Yorker at 100” provides a rare glimpse into the inner workings of that iconic print magazine.
Toby Trackman’s “The Last Musician of Auschwitz,” having its North American premiere, is the story of how inmates there performed and composed music as a lifeline and a way to resist. Another North American premiere is “Newport & the Great Folk Dream.” Directed by Robert Gordon and produced by Joe Lauro, it draws entirely from rare and previously unseen footage to document the festival from 1963 to 1966.
Bao Minh Nguyen’s “The Stringer” follows a Saigon photo editor who reveals a secret he has been plagued with for 52 years, namely, the true authorship of a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of a girl running from a napalm attack. It is having its East Coast premiere.
In addition to “Cover-Up” and “The Eyes of Ghana,” this year’s Films of Conflict and Resolution will include Brandon Kramer’s “Holding Liat,” E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s “Love + War,” and the U.S. premiere of Kaouther Ben Hania’s “The Voice of Hind Rajab.”
Views From Long Island will have the world premiere of Patricia E. Gillespie’s “The Secrets We Bury” and Halina Krystyna Dyrschka’s “Thoughts of Infinity,” as well as the previously announced “Arthur Elgort: Models & Muses” and “On the End.”
The Air, Land, and Sea series will include the New York premiere of Tasha Van Zandt’s “A Life Illuminated,” Taira Malaney’s “Turtle Walker,” and Richard Ladkani’s “Yanuni.”
Having its world premiere in the Compassion, Justice, and Animal Rights series is Allison Argo’s “Forever Home.” The series also includes the East Coast premiere of Werner Herzog’s “Ghost Elephants” and Abraham Joffe’s “Trade Secret.”
As in years past, Morning Talks at Village Bistro will feature panel discussions devoted to the craft and business of filmmaking.
Previously announced programs include David Freyne’s “Eternity,” which will open the festival, and Maria Friedman’s “Merrily We Roll Along,” which will close it. The Centerpiece film is David Michod’s “Christy.”
This year’s festival will feature 85 features and 57 shorts with 12 world premieres, eight North American premieres, 21 U.S. premieres, 20 East Coast premieres, and 27 New York premieres. Screenings will take place at the East Hampton Cinema, Guild Hall, the East Hampton Middle School, the Sag Harbor Cinema, and the Southampton Playhouse.
Passes and packages are now available on the festival’s website. Individual tickets will go on sale Monday at noon online or by phone only. The main box office will open at 98 Newtown Lane on Oct. 3.
The East Hampton Star’s program guide, which lists all films and programs, is now on newsstands and at The Star’s office.
