The Hamptons International Film Festival has dropped the first of a series of disclosures about its 34th edition, which will run from Oct. 2 through Oct. 12.
The opening night film will feature the East Coast premiere of Peter Farrelly’s “I Play Rocky,” which stars Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone in the true story of an unknown actor’s determination to not only bring his script to the screen but to play the title role in what the festival calls “the ultimate underdog movie.” Ippolito will receive one of the festival’s Breakthrough Performer Awards.
The festival has also announced that Bob Balaban will receive its Lifetime Achievement Award, to be presented on Oct. 11. A longtime Bridgehampton resident and HamptonsFilm board member, Balaban’s many screen credits reflect the range of his talent and include “Gosford Park,” “Moonrise Kingdom,” “Best in Show,” “For Your Consideration,” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” He has been as active on the small screen as the big one, as both an actor and director.
Among the titles in the festival’s Spotlight section are “Club Kid,” which was written, produced, and directed by Jordan Firstman, who also stars in the title role of a New York City club promoter whose partying lifestyle is upended by the arrival of a 10-year-old son he never knew he had. Firstman will be given the festival’s Breakthrough Director Award.
Also in the Spotlight series is “Misty Green,” directed by Chris Rock and starring Rosalind Eleazar as a talented actress whose career has stalled years after her Hollywood breakthrough. Eleazar, who also won a Breakthrough Performer Award, is joined onscreen by Rock, Adam Driver, Daniel Kaluuya, and Anna Kendrick.
Other Spotlight films include the U.S. premiere of Florian Zeller’s “Bunker,” which stars Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz; Ira Sachs’s “The Man I Love,” with Rami Malek, Tom Sturridge, and Rebecca Hall, and the U.S. premiere of Anton Corbijn’s “A Talent for Murder,” starring Helen Mirren, Alden Ehrenreich, and Olivia Cooke.
The Views From Long Island series features two world premieres, both set in the Hamptons. Jake Silbermann’s “Barbizon” stars Erica Pappas as a sculptor on the verge of giving up art to study law, when she takes a job teaching chess to wealthy families. “Not Dead Yet,” directed by Eric and Nick Weber, stars Richard Kind as an ad man fired because of his age who teams up on a new venture with a senior breakfast club.
Other world premieres include “Kingdom Fungi,” Josh Thompson’s documentary about four field mycologists who seek out fungal ecosystems in England, Chile, and Bhutan; Anne Sundberg’s “The Drug in Our Pocket,” which looks at how smartphones have impacted childhood, adolescence, and mental health, and “Maman Bibi Coco,” a dramatic feature from France by Celia Millat and Bastien Garcia about a woman in her 30s suffocated by motherhood, a stale marriage, and the recent death of her father.
Also of note is the East Coast premiere of “Bleeding Hearts,” a documentary by Andrew Morgan about Zella Day and Jesse Woods, the Texas-based musicians behind Chaparelle, who will perform at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett on Oct. 9.
While their film “Project Hail Mary” has been in theaters since March, its directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, will receive the Achievement in Directing Award. They will join the festival for a conversation on Oct. 3.
“This year’s program brings together an exciting range of films, from highly anticipated premieres and ambitious new work to distinctive discoveries from emerging filmmakers,” said David Nugent, chief creative officer of HamptonsFilm. “Across our narrative, documentary, and Spotlight selections, we’re seeing bold storytelling, singular perspectives, and films that will spark conversation long after the screenings.”
Founder passes are now on sale; ticket packages will become available at noon on Tuesday. Individual tickets for members will go on sale Sept. 19 at noon; nonmembers must wait until noon on Sept. 22.
