Hamptons International Film Festival Announces Full 2022 Slate

HamptonsFilm announced the slate for the 2022 edition of the Hamptons International Festival (HIFF), including the Closing Night presentation of the New York premiere SR., directed by Chris Smith, the Centerpiece screening of Sarah Polley's WOMEN TALKING.

The 30th edition of the festival will feature a lineup of films that are 54% female-directed and represent 34 countries from around the world.

The festival's Closing Night Film SR., directed by Chris Smith will screen on Saturday, October 15, at 7:15PM. The film is a tender yet fittingly irreverent portrait of the life and career of Robert Downey Sr., the fearless, visionary American director who set the standard for counterculture comedy in the sixties and seventies. It is an inspired collaboration between celebrated documentarian Chris Smith; the subject's son, Robert Downey Jr.; and the man himself, who passed away in July 2021. As previously announced, the festival will open with Oliver Hermanus's LIVING on October 7, 2022.


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The festival will also host Sarah Polley's WOMEN TALKING as a Centerpiece Film, set to screen at 8:00PM on October 11, 2022. The film, distributed by MGM and based on the novel by Miriam Toews, follows a group of women part of an isolated religious community that grapple with reconciling their reality with their faith, starring Claire Foy, Rooney Mara, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey, Ben Whishaw, and Frances McDormand. The previously announced East Coast Premiere of Florian Zeller's THE SON will also screen as a Centerpiece film.

"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to close this year's edition of the Hamptons International Film Festival with Chris Smith's moving tribute to the late Robert Downey Sr.," said David Nugent, Artistic Director of HamptonsFilm. "With this year's inspiring and dynamic selection of films, we cannot wait to commemorate our milestone anniversary with our film-loving community out East."

HIFF will also be hosting director, screenwriter, and producer Chris Columbus to lead the Signature Program "Rowdy Talks," where Columbus will discuss his groundbreaking career in the film industry. On Monday, October 10, at 10AM, Columbus will sit down with audiences as he explores the past, present, and future of filmmaking. Columbus' Hollywood career began when his script for GREMLINS (1984) was shepherded by Steven Spielberg, who soon became a mentor to Columbus throughout his career.

Newly announced Spotlight titles, sponsored by Audi, include the First US Special Screening of of JD Dillard's DEVOTION, distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment & Black Label Media, an aerial war epic based on the bestselling book of the same name which tells the harrowing true story of two elite US Navy fighter pilots during the Korean War and stars Jonathan Majors, Glen Powell, Christina Jackson, Joe Jonas, and Thomas Sadoski; Set in an English seaside town in the early 1980s, Academy Award®-winning director and writer Sam Mendes' EMPIRE OF LIGHT, distributed by Searchlight Pictures, is a powerful and poignant story about human connection and the magic of cinema, starring Olivia Colman, Michael Ward, Tom Brooke, Tanya Moodie, Hannah Onslow, Crystal Clarke, with Toby Jones and Colin Firth.

Michael Grandage's MY POLICEMAN, distributed by Prime Video, a heart-wrenching, adaptation of the award-winning novel of the same name, which illuminates the quiet joys and painful consequences of queer life obscured by history by following a police officer, school teacher, and museum curator who fall into a dangerous love triangle at a time when homosexuality was illegal, starring Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, Gina McKee, Linus Roache, David Dawson and Rupert Everett; the East Coast Premiere of Karen Maine's ROSALINE, distributed by Hulu, a fresh and comedic twist on Shakespeare's classic love story "Romeo & Juliet," told from the perspective of Juliet's cousin and Romeo's recent love interest Rosaline, who is heartbroken when Romeo meets Juliet and begins to pursue her, starring Kaitlyn Dever, Kyle Allen, Bradley Whitford, Minnie Driver and Isabela Merced.


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Juno Films' THE SAME STORM, directed by Peter Hedges, which tells a story during the spring and summer of 2020 where twenty-four people navigate life, love, and isolation during the early days of the pandemic, starring Sandra Oh, Mary-Louise Parker, Elaine May, Moses Ingram, Raul Castillo, and Noma Dumezweni; Universal Pictures' SHE SAID, directed by Maria Schrader, which recounts the story of New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who together broke one of the most important stories in a generation—a story that helped propel the #Metoo movement and shattered decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood, starring Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Jennifer Ehle and Samantha Morton.

MGM's TILL, directed by Chinonye Chukwu, a profoundly emotional and cinematic film about the true story of Mamie Till Mobley's relentless pursuit of justice for her 14-year-old son, Emmett Till, who in 1955 was lynched while visiting his cousins in Mississippi, starring Danielle Deadwyler, Jalyn Hall, Frankie Faison, Haley Bennett, and Whoopi Goldberg; and the East Coast Premiere of Darren Aronofsky's THE WHALE, distributed by A24, which follows the story of a reclusive English teacher living with severe obesity who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption, starring Brendan Fraser and based on the acclaimed play by Samuel D. Hunter. Previously announced Spotlight titles included THE BANSHEES OF INSHERIN, CALL JANE and WHO INVITED CHARLIE?

"We are delighted to be able to host a diverse class of talented filmmakers and actors from around the world at this year's festival," said Anne Chaisson, Executive Director of HamptonsFilm. "It is with great excitement that we can finally share the well-rounded selection of Centerpiece films, Spotlight screenings, and beyond that we are proud to program as part of the 30th anniversary of HIFF."

The Narrative Competition section of this year's festival will include Lukas Dhont's CLOSE, distributed by A24, following two 13-year-old best friends, whose seemingly unbreakable bond is suddenly, tragicallytorn apart, starring Eden Dambrine, Gustav De Waele, Émilie Dequenne, and Léa Drucker; the US Premiere of Daniel Goldhabe, Ariela Barer, Jordan Sjol, and Daniel Garber's HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE, recently acquired by NEON and based on Andreas Malm's controversial book, about a crew of young environmental activists who execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline, starring Ariela Barer, Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage, Forrest Goodluck, Sasha Lane, Jayme Lawson, Marcus Scribner, and Jake Weary.


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Davy Chou's RETURN TO SEOUL, distributed by Sony Picture Classics, following a girl who finds herself embarking on an unexpected journey in a country she knows so little about after returning to South Korea for the first time since she was adopted and raised in France, starring Park Ji-Min, Oh Kwang-Rok, Guka Han, and Kim Sun-Young; Lola Quivoron's RODEO, distributed by Music Box Films, following the hot tempered and fiercely independent Julia who finds escape in a passion for motorcycles and the high-octane world of urban 'Rodeos' - illicit gatherings where riders show off their bikes and their latest daring stunts, starring Julie Ledru, Yannis Lafki, Antonia Buresi, Cody Schroeder, and Louis Sotton; and Sadaf Foroughi's SUMMER WITH HOPE, about a prestigious competition that sets the stage for a conspiracy of collusion between two young swimmers, family members and their communities, starring Leili Rashidi, Mehdi Ghorbani, Alireza Kamali, and Benyamin Peyrovani.

The Documentary Competition section of this year's festival will include Shaunak Sen's ALL THAT BREATHES, distributed by Sideshow and Submarine Deluxe in association with HBO Documentary Films,where, as legions of birds fall from darkening skies in New Delhi and the city smolders with social unrest, two brothers race to save the black kite, a majestic bird of prey essential to their city's ecosystem; the East Coast Premiere of Christopher Sharp and Moses Bwayo's BOBI WINE: THE PEOPLE'S PRESIDENT, distributed by National Geographic Documentary Films, following Uganda's 2021 presidential elections, when music star, activist and opposition leader Bobi Wine, together with his wife Barbie, deicde to run against President Museveni's regime in a dangerous fight for his people; the New York Premiere of Tamana Ayazi and Marcel Mettelsiefen's IN HER HANDS, distributed by Netflix, telling the story of Zarifa Ghafari, who at 26 became one of Afghanistan's first female mayors and the youngest to ever hold the position, and documenting her fight for survival against the backdrop of her country's accelerated unraveling; the East Coast Premiere of PRAY FOR OUR SINNERS, where director Sinéad O'Shea returns to her hometown exploring the control exerted by the Catholic Church over Irish people (including herself) and discovers a group of townspeople that found a way to resist; and the New York premiere of Casey Neistat's UNDER THE INFLUENCE, distributed by Endeavor Content, following the rise and fall of the biggest YouTuber in the world, whose-feel good videos masked the dark and reckless new ethos of online celebrity.

As part of the Signature Programs, the Conflict and Resolution section will include the US Premiere of FREEDOM ON FIRE: UKRAINE'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, directed by Academy Award® nominee Evgeny Afineevsky, which depicts the horrible realities of this unprovoked war instigated by Vladimir Putin; OUR FATHER, THE DEVIL, written and directed by Ellie Foumbi, which follows caretaker Marie, who finds her peaceful life in France upended by the arrival of a new priest who reminds her of her traumatic past; the East Coast Premiere of RETROGRADE, directed by Academy Award®-nominee and Emmy Award®-winner Matthew Heineman, capturing the final nine months of America's twenty-year war in Afghanistan from multiple perspectives, including one of the last US Special Forces units deployed there, a young Afghan general and his corps fighting to defend their homeland against all odds, and the civilians desperately attempting to flee as the country collapses; the US Premiere of Netflix's THE SWIMMERS, directed by Sally El Hosaini, which tells the true story of two young sisters' harrowing journey as refugees from war-torn Syria to the 2016 Rio Olympics as they put both their hearts and champion swimming skills to heroic use; as well as the previously announced World Premiere of discovery+'s A RADICAL LIFE.


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As part of the Signature Programs, the Views from Long Island section will include Markie Hancock's THE POWER OF COMMUNITY: HOW ONE TOWN STOOD AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, documenting how domestic abuse insidiously took hold in the lives of three women, how the Retreat intervened to empower them and how a small grassroots group of women and the town of East Hampton made it all possible; Lindsay Keys and Winslow Crane-Murdoch 's THE QUIET EPIDEMIC, following the search for answers when a young girl from Brooklyn and a Duke University scientist are diagnosed with a disease said to not exist: Chronic Lyme disease, which lands them in the middle of a vicious medical debate; and the previously mentioned WHO INVITED CHARLIE?.

In the World Cinema Documentary section, the slate includes the addition of NEON's ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED, directed by Academy Award®-winner Laura Poitras and the winner of the Golden Lion Award at this year's Venice Film Festival, which tells the epic and emotional story of internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin through her slideshows, intimate dialogue, ground-breaking photography and rare footage of her fight to hold the Sackler family accountable for the overdose crisisx; ; THE CAVE OF ADULLAM, directed by Academy Award®-nominated director Laura Checkoway, chronicling the story of a transformational Training Academy in the heart of Detroit where Black boys who are emotionally, mentally and spiritually in debt gather to be trained and transformed into comprehensive men; Grasshopper Films's DE HUMANI CORPORIS FABRICA, directed by Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, which opens the human body to the cinema, revealing that human flesh is an extraordinary landscape that exists only through the gaze and attention of others; Netflix's DESCENDANT, directed by Margaret Brown, documenting the search for and historic discovery of The Clotilda, the last known ship to arrive in the United States illegally carrying enslaved Africans; the New York Premiere of THE EXILES, distributed by Endeavor Content and directed by Ben Klein and Violet Columbus, who track down three exiled dissidents from the Tiananmen Square massacre in order to find closure on an abandoned project she began shooting in 1989.


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MTV Documentary Films' THE FIRE THAT TOOK HER, directed by Patricia E. Gillespie, following the story of Judy Malinowski, then 31 and mother of two, who was doused in petrol and set on fire by her crazed ex-boyfriend – and was one of the first ever to testify from beyond the grave at the trial for her own murder; the World Premiere of GROUCHO & CAVETT, directed by Robert S. Bader, which explores the enduring friendship between Emmy Award®-winning television personality Dick Cavett and iconic comedian Groucho Marx; LIFT, directed by Academy Award®-nominated David Petersen, which shines a spotlight on the invisible story of homelessness in America through the eyes of a group of young home-insecure ballet dancers in New York City; the Apple Original Film LOUIS ARMSTRONG'S BLACK & BLUES, filmmaker Sacha Jenkins honors Louis Armstrong's legacy as a founding father of jazz, one of the first internationally known and beloved stars, and a cultural ambassador, also screening as the 30th Anniversary Celebration Film in Southampton; NAKED GARDENS, directed by Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan, immersing audiences in the complex, unseen world of a family nudist resort in the Florida Everglades; as well as the previously announced DESPERATE SOULS, DARK CITY AND THE LEGEND OF MIDNIGHT COWBOY, GOOD NIGHT OPPY, JANUARY 6TH and THE VOLCANO: RESCUE FROM WHAKAARI.

HIFF also announced ten programs of short films this year, including Narrative Competition, Documentary Competition, New York Women in Film & Television: Women Calling the Shots, the University Short Films Showcase, Splash! Shorts for All Ages, On the Road to Nowhere, Stop Making Sense, Looking Backward, Looking Forward, Conflict & Resolution Shorts Program, and Views From Long Island Shorts Program.

In addition, the festival has announced the jury members for the 2022 festival, which includes Emmy Award®-winning Co-Producer and Shorts Producer at POV, Opal H. Bennett, known for her work on POV Shorts which won the 2020 IDA Award for Best Short Form Series; entertainment writer Jordan Hoffman, whose work can currently be read at Vanity Fair, The A.V. Club, The Guardian, and The Times of Israel; founder and CEO of Artemis Rising Foundation Regina Scully, who has produced over 200+ documentary films as a social entrepreneur, media activist, and filmmaker; producer and director of award-winning feature films, television, and theater Fred Berner, best known for producing the Oscar-winning POLLOCK, VANYA ON 42nd STREET, THE GREAT WHITE HYPE, and THE BALLAD OF LITTLE; President of Production at Amblin Partners Jeb Brody, who oversees a slate of films produced under the company's Amblin Entertainment and DreamWorks Pictures banners, including 1917, FINCH, and the upcoming THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER; and the Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film at The Museum of Modern Art Rajendra Roy, who previously joined HIFF as the Director of Programming (2002-2006) before becoming the Artistic Director (2006-2007).

The 30th Annual Hamptons Film Festival will run as an extended 10-day event from October 7-16, 2022. HIFF thanks the supporters for this year's festival, including returning Premiere Sponsor Audi; Signature Sponsors Netflix, Silvercup Studios, Variety, and Gibson Dunn; and Supporting Sponsor Regal Cinemas; as well as new Lead Sponsor The Macallan; Supporting Sponsors Crystal Head Vodka and Dragon Hemp; official Media Sponsors WNBC, The East Hampton Star, The Purist, WNET, Long Island Broadcast Radio EHM, 101.7 The Beach, and 102.5 BAZ; and long term support from New York State Council on the Arts, and Suffolk County Film Commission. For more information, please visit www.hamptonsfilmfest.org.

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