by Evelyn J. Mocbeichel
It goes without saying that for people that love movies, the Hampton International Film Festival (HIFF) is the place to be! The 33rd Annual Festival will run this year from October 3 – 13 and the extended dates are necessary to be able to include all the fascinating film entries and special events. Adding to the regular features, HIFF, presented by Artemis Rising Foundation, announced a new partnership with the Southampton Playhouse. The Playhouse will join as an official venue for festival screenings and events, expanding HIFF’s footprint into the Southampton community and offering East End audience’s additional opportunities to engage with the festival’s programming. The Playhouse will host screenings of films having their World Premieres, U.S. Premieres and East Coast Premieres during the festival. The Festival’s View From Long Island series will be featured at the Playhouse. 
Additionally, going way back in time, the Playhouse will host a special screening of F. W. Murnau’s 1922 silent masterpiece NOSFERATU: A SYMPHONY OF HORROR with a live score performed by The Invincible Czars on October 9th. Widely regarded as a cornerstone of horror cinema, NOSFERATU tells the story of a young land clerk drawn into the spell of a vampire’s castle while his wife is tormented by terrifying visions. Since debuting in 2015, The Invincible Czars’ score has become their most popular work, thrilling audiences nationwide with a unique blend of live music and classic film.”We are thrilled to partner with the Southampton Playhouse and extend our programming to audiences,” said David Nugent, HamptonsFilm Chief Creative Officer. “This collaboration allows us to highlight extraordinary films with strong local ties.”
Each year HIFF begins with an Opening Night Film and this year it is ETERNITY, with Elizabeth Olsen attending, who will also join “A Conversation With”. The film also stars Miles Teller and Callum Turner and takes place in an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, Joan (Olsen) is faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with (Teller) and her first love (Turner), who died young and has waited decades for her to arrive. If the last name Olsen is familiar, besides her acting credits, she is the younger sister of twins Mary-Kate and Ashley that starred in the hit series, Full House.
Under the heading of Spotlight Films, usually those to be destined in many aspects to be a box office hit will include Blue Moon starring Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale, and Andrew Scott. It showcases legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart, who confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator Richard Rodgers celebrates the opening night of his ground-breaking hit musical “Oklahoma!”. Hawke will be featured in a special “A Conversation With Ethan Hawke,” celebrating his expansive career as an actor, writer, and director. Kiss of the Spider Woman and a special screening of Sorry, Baby are additional highlights lined up.
The HIFF will honor Tonatlugh as UBS Breakthrough Performer and Eva Victor as UBS Breakthrough Director. For the Closing Night Film the pick is Merrily We Roll Along with the director, Maria Friedman and cast to attend. Other category sections include Documentary Competition, Narrative Competition, World Cinema Documentary, World Cinema Narrative, Conflict and Resolution, Air, Land and Sea, Compassion, Justice, Animal Rights Views from Long Island as previously mentioned. In the “Shorts Program” category there are Documentary, New York Women in Film & Television: Filmmakers Calling the Shots, University Short Films Showcase, Views From Long Island Shorts and TA-DA! – Shorts for All Ages. For the 33rd HIFF 12 World Premieres, 20 U.S. Premieres, 21 East Coast Premieres and 27 New York Premieres are in this year’s lineup of films. Basically, there is a category for every cinephile’s (movie buff’s) preference! Awarding prizes to filmmakers in cash and goods and services of over $241,500 this year, with over $5 million awarded in competition funds and services over the decades, the HIFF program continues to play an important role during awards season.
Having attended HIFF for two decades, we had the pleasure of attending seminars with young actors interviewed that appeared in films and featured in this Hampton showcase. For some of them, this was predicted to be their “breakout role” and for others, it was a part in a major film with a well-known celebrity that was original star. The Descendants was a Spotlight Film in 2011, starring George Clooney and a young Shailene Woodley that was featured as the teen daughter in the film. Woodley came to HIFF representing the film. Argo, starring and directed by Ben Affleck, had actor Scoot McNairy came to HIFF in 2012 to promote the film and be on the panel presentation. In 2014 a young Jessica Chastain was in attendance as was Blake Lively, fresh from her television role in Gossip Girl, and now in a feature film. The following year a young David Oyelowe and Brie Larson were listed as “actors to watch” as was Lupita Nyong’o. The list goes on to feature other actors that attended HIFF some in the early days of their careers like Rooney Mara, Ezra Miller, Mahershala Ali, Alicia Vikander and Frieda Pinto. Then onward to 2017 the “10 actors to watch”, were Timothee Chalamet, Daveed Diggs, Kumail Nanjiani and Grace Van Pattern on the list. Years later seeing their rise to fame and featured in some of the outstanding films of today is a fascinating reflection of knowing “I saw them back when” moment. Come out to meet the actors at this year’s HIFF and follow their careers to see who is on stage to receive an award for another film maybe only a year or so from now! One more additional highlight we enjoy when attending a film at HIFF is that many of them include an after the movie Q & A. A moderator will interview either one of the filmmakers such as the director, writer, producer or one or more cast members and talk about the film. Audience members are encouraged to ask questions if there was something about the film that intrigued them or they wanted to have more information about the actor’s preparation for the role.
To read the full, extensive list of over one hundred films and events to be featured, go directly to the website. Tickets and passes are also available there to purchase. Tickets are available at the door, but advance purchase guarantees you a seat for the films of your choice. It is a beautiful time of year to visit the East End of Long Island. Autumn colors are everywhere and the restaurants feature local foods and delicious choices to complement the season. Come out and enjoy the best the Hampton International Film Festival has planned! For more information, please visit www.hamptonsfilmfest.org