23rd Annual Hamptons International Film Festival, Hamptons
 |
| www.hamptonsfilmfest.org |
When: Thursday, October 8 - Monday, October 12, 2015
Hot Spot: East Hampton, NY
Deets: The Hamptons International Film Festival was founded to celebrate Independent film—long, short, fiction and documentary—and to introduce a unique and varied spectrum of international films and filmmakers to our audiences. The festival is committed to exhibiting films that express fresh voices and differing global perspectives, with the hope that these programs will enlighten audiences, provide invaluable exposure for filmmakers and present inspired entertainment for all.
Now in its 23rd year, the Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) has screened the eventual Best Picture Oscar winner in 6 of the last 7 years (including Birdman in 2014) and is the only Festival on the East Coast with such a distinction. The Festival, with an impassioned and uniquely influential audience, attracts over 25,000 visitors to theaters across the picturesque New York communities of East Hampton, Southampton, Montauk, and Sag Harbor. With cash prizes handed out totaling more than $45,000, HIFF continues to attract some of the best films of the year.
HIFF continues to figure into the annual awards season race, with films in our 22nd edition having received a record 44 Oscar nominations, including three Best Picture nominations, and eleven wins. Films screened also featured 12 of the eventual Acting nominees, as well as three of the Best Documentary nominees. 2014 was the fifth year in a row that the Festival’s Audience Award-winning film was nominated for Best Picture, with two such films (The Artist and The King’s Speech) eventually taking home the honors. Overall, films in our last 7 editions have received 194 total Oscar nominations.
HIFF has a continuing partnership with The New York Film Critics Circle, which sends many of their critics to attend the Festival every year. The Festival also attracts a wide range of journalists, including the film trades, Oscar bloggers, and local publications, as well as national journalists and New York-based press.
HIFF is an Oscar-qualifying festival for short films, and we host four competitions of selected films – the Golden Starfish Awards (GSA) – focused specifically on early-career filmmakers, bolstering their work at an important juncture and helping develop a discussion around their films, both within the film community and beyond.
Films are routinely picked up for distribution out of HIFF, and selected highlights of such films from recent years include the following: Amira and Sam (World Premiere, Drafthouse Films), The Notebook (US Premiere, Sony Pictures Classics); The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden (World Premiere, Zeitgeist Film); A Short History of Decay (World Premiere, Paladin); Free Ride (World Premiere, Phase 4 Films); Emptying the Skies (North American Premiere, Java Films); and The Maid’s Room (World Premiere, Paladin).
Recent HIFF highlights include: Birdman, Still Alice (U.S. premiere), The Imitation Game, Wild (East Coast Premiere), Nightcrawler, Foxcatcher, St. Vincent, The Homesman (East Coast Premiere), 12 Years a Slave, Her, Nebraska, August: Osage County, The Square, Blue is the Warmest Color, Argo, Amour, Silver Linings Playbook, Searching for Sugarman, The Artist, The Descendants, Melancholia, Shame, We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Kid with the Bike, The King’s Speech, and Black Swan.
The Festival has also been a part of the launch of a number of significant films, having screened the world premiere of Open Water ($38m gross), the North American premiere of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ($10m gross), and the U.S. premiere of Nowhere in Africa ($7m gross). Our audiences were also the first on the East Coast of the U.S. to have seen Nightcrawler, The Homesman, Wild, Song One, Laggies, Argo,Slumdog Millionaire, Black Swan, The King’s Speech, 127 Hours, Silver Linings Playbook and many others.
Who You May Spot: Filmmakers, actors, guests
Hint For The Average Socialite: Check back for ticket information. Founders passes are available now.
Win tickets to a VIP reception and enjoy premium reserve seating at a highly-anticipated documentary film from WSJ+ (Ends June 28, 2015)
What's Trending: @hamptonsfilm #HIFF2015