STARMAN

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STARMAN

MON, 12/8 12:30pm, 85 min
BAY STREET THEATER

Director Robert Stone in attendance for Q&A

Director: Robert Stone
Producers: Ray Rothrock, Keith Haviland, Robert Stone
Editors: Lindy Jankura, Robert Stone
Cinematographer: Tom Hurwitz

Are we alone in the universe? For over half a century, legendary NASA robotics engineer and best-selling science fiction author, Gentry Lee, has explored every aspect of this question in the realms of space science, robotic exploration and the human imagination. At age 82, with his wild enthusiasm for discovery still deeply intact, he has come to a revelatory conclusion.

Robert Stone is an Oscar nominee for Best Feature Documentary and a three-time Emmy nominee for Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking. In 2019 he directed Chasing the Moon, a three-part epic television history of the effort to land a man on the Moon that won him an Emmy and the prestigious DuPont Columbia Award. The series that he wrote, directed, and edited was aired to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. He also received Emmy nominations for Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst and Oswald’s Ghost.

STATE OF FIRSTS

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STATE OF FIRSTS

MON, 12/8, 8:00pm, 93 min
BAY STREET THEATER

Director Chase Joynt via Zoom for Q&A

Director: Chase Joynt
Producesr: Jenna M. Kelly, Justin Lacob
Editor: Chris McNabb
Cinematographer: Melissa Langer

The film follows Delaware Representative Sarah McBride’s historic run to become the first transgender member in the U.S. Congress. In a time of intensifying political backlash against the transgender community, McBride fights for dignity, equality and representation. On the night she wins, so too does Trump, sending Sarah to an increasingly hostile new workplace. 

Chase Joynt is a Canadian filmmaker, writer, video artist, actor, producer, and professor who attracted acclaim as co-director of No Ordinary Man and as director of Framing Agnes. He won two awards at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival for Framing Agnes, both the Audience Award and the Innovator Prize in the NEXT program.

STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE!

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OPENING NIGHT FILM
Sponsored by Greenberg Traurig, LLP

STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE!

THU 12/4, 7:30pm, 101 min
BAY STREET THEATER

Directors Tia Lessin and Carl Deal and journalist Amy Goodman in attendance for Q&A
Cocktail reception follows the film screening

Directors: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin
Producers: Karen Ranucci, Diana Cohn, Karen Spruch 
Editor: Mona Davis
Cinematographers: Cliff Charles, Nausheen Dadabhoy, Julia Dengel, Keith Walker

Undeterred by armed soldiers, smooth-talking politicians, and riot police, journalist Amy Goodman has reported some of the most consequential stories of our time. Steal This Story, Please! is a gripping portrait of Amy, the trailblazer whose unwavering commitment to truth-telling spans three decades of turbulent history. The film is both a call to action and a celebration of resistance, posing the question: What happens to democracy when the press surrenders to power?

Carl Deal and Tia Lessin directed and produced the Academy Award-nominated documentary Trouble the Water. The film was also honored with the 2008 Sundance Grand Jury Prize and was named Best Documentary Feature at the Full Frame Festival and the Gotham Independent Film Awards. The two filmmakers are longtime collaborators with Michael Moore and produced the anti-Trump epic Fahrenheit 11/9, along with other Moore films. Lessin received the Sidney Hillman Prize for Broadcast Journalism for her film Behind the Labels and three Emmys and the duPont-Columbia Award for her work as director of The Janes. 

THE ARK

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THE ARK

WED, 12/10, 5:30pm, 93 min
BAY STREET THEATER

Director Jeremy Chilnick and Producers Tony Castle and Roxy Hunt in attendance for Q&A

Directors: Jeremy Chilnick, Viaeslav Rakovskyi
Producers: Tony Castle, Roxy Hunt, Olena Morentsova-Shulyk, Jeremy Chilnick, Viaeslav Rakovskyi
Editor: Joe Vele
Cinematographer: Viaeslav Rakovskyi 

Zhenye and Anatoliy Pilipenko’s dream of a quiet place in the country is shattered overnight when Russia invades Ukraine. As rockets fall and fires rage, they face an impossible choice: flee the violence or stay and protect their home. When a soldier on his way to the frontline asks the couple if they can care for his goats – all 37 of them – while he fights in the trenches; their home transforms into the largest animal sanctuary in Eastern Ukraine. 

Jeremy Chilnick is an Emmy-nominated writer and producer. He has written and produced  RATS, Super Size Me Two, The Eagle Huntress, and One Direction: This Is Us. Chilnick has been honored by the IDA, WGA, International Television of Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Critics Choice Awards as well as winning a Gold Lion at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Viaeslav Rakovskyi is an award-winning producer, director and cinematographer. He’s shot multiple films including Big City Wizard, The Theory of Evil, and I Work at the Cemetery. 

THE SECRET OF ME

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THE SECRET OF ME

TUE, 12/9, 12:30pm, 97 min
BAY STREET THEATER

Director Grace Hughes-Hallett via Zoom for Q&A

Director: Grace Hughes-Hallett
Producer: James Rogan
Editor: Esther Giménez Sánchez
Cinematographer: Julian Schwanitz

Kristi, a 19-year-old Louisiana college student, discovers a secret her doctor and parents have kept from her all her life, sending her on a search for truth that uncovers a radical psychological experiment and a global media scandal.

Grace Hughes-Hallett created and produced Three Identical Strangers, produced The Dark Matter of Love, and has directed documentaries that examine a wide range of stories, from the lives of ultra-orthodox women in Israel to the relationship between the British royal family and the press. She is the winner of a Special Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Emmy and shortlisted for an Oscar. The Secret of Me represents her feature directorial debut.

YOUNG VOICES EDUCATION PROGRAM

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Sponsored by the Yaffa Foundation

YOUNG VOICES EDUCATION PROGRAM: FOR STUDENTS, FACULTY & FAMILY

Co-presented with LTV public access TV

MON, 12/8, 10:00am to 1:00pm
LTV STUDIOS, East Hampton

The Hamptons Doc Fest highlights a special program dedicated exclusively to our community youth in middle and high schools.

Take Two Film Academy, a premier filmmaking and media literacy organization, will conduct a lively workshop on the elements of filmmaking after the screening of a short documentary. Students will have the opportunity to direct, edit, operate cameras, and perform on-stage. Following the workshop, students will have a guided tour through the LTV studios.

As an added Young Voices bonus, students are invited to submit a short documentary film about a local Hometown Hero to HDF’s second student contest. The winning three films come with a cash stipend and the top film will be screened at the 2026 Hamptons Doc Fest’s Breakfast Shorts program. The Young Voices program at the festival and the filmmaking contest expand on the theatrical viewing experience with a focus on the professional development of young filmmakers.