14TH

← Go to Film Program

VERITAS AWARD to Ava DuVernay
Co-presentation with New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT)

14TH

SUN, 12/6, 2:00pm, 100 min
SAG HARBOR CINEMA

Director Ava DuVernay in attendance for Q&A
Cocktail reception follows the film screening

Director: Ava DuVernay
Producers: Spencer Averick, Ava DuVernay, Paul Garnes, Tammy Thomas-Garnes
Editor: Spencer Averick
Cinematographer: Malik Sayeed

Ten years ago, Director Ava DuVernay released her groundbreaking documentary 13th, which argued that the loopholes in the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery, led to today’s mass incarceration of Black Americans. Now she has released a companion sequel, showing how the rights of the 14th Amendment (birthright citizenship, equal protection under the law, and due process) are under systemic attack. DuVernay noted: “If 13th asked who gets caged, then 14th asks who gets counted.”

Ava DuVernay’s film 13th was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature and won a Primetime Emmy and also a BAFTA for Best Documentary. DuVernay was the first African-American woman to win the Directing Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival (for Middle of Nowhere). She was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director for Selma. When They See Us received a Primetime Emmy Award.

A MONTH IN MINNESOTA & THEY’RE HERE

← Go to Film Program

A MONTH IN MINNESOTA & THEY’RE HERE

SAT, 12/5, 3:30pm, 64 min program
SAG HARBOR CINEMA

Two profound and powerful films, each with a unique approach to the subject matter, A Month In Minnesota and They’re Here, use the force of cinéma vérité footage and the courage of neighbors protecting neighbors to chronicle the violence wrought by ICE’s paramilitary occupation in Minnesota and the reaction of ordinary citizens in the winter of 2025–2026.

A MONTH IN MINNESOTA

39min

Director: Anne Sundberg
Producers: Brian Lucas, Anne Sundberg
Editor: Zara Serabian-Arthur
Cinematographers: Ben Garvin, Jimmy Gildea, Brennan Vance

Director Anne Sundberg in attendance for Q&A

A Month In Minnesota circles out from the fatal shootings in Minneapolis by ICE agents to explore the spontaneous and powerful show of resistance by unlikely heroes across Minnesota. The film offers a moving exploration of moral citizenry, courage, and responsibility during this defining moment in our country’s history as neighbors try to protect neighbors from ICE in the Twin Cities area.

A Minnesotan herself, Anne Sundberg is known for The Devil Came on Horseback, The Trials of Darryl Hunt, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, and Surviving Jeffrey Epstein, among others.

---

THEY’RE HERE

25min

Directors: Laura Poitras, Rachel Lauren Mueller
Producers: Rachel Lauren Mueller, Laura Poitras, Yoni Golijov

The title, They’re Here, may remind you of a horror film - and rightfully so. The upclose, urgent journalistic style of the filmmakers follows Edén Villa (a pseudonym), a man trying to get to work amidst the chaos that ICE brings to the city. Behind the scenes, anonymous local residents and community volunteers establish a resistance and surveillance network to track, document, and evade and resist masked federal agents. The film premiered at this year’s Venice International Film Festival.

Laura Poitras is an Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker, producer, and journalist known for her political films, such as Citizenfour, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, and Cover-Up. Rachel Lauren Mueller is a founding partner of Haven Entertainment in Los Angeles. She produced the documentary Under the Electric Sky.

AMERICAN ZOO

← Go to Film Program

AMERICAN ZOO

THURS, 12/10, 1:00pm, 86 min
BAY STREET THEATER

Director Tim Travers Hawkins in attendance for Q&A

Director: Tim Travers Hawkins
Producers: Julia Nottingham, Melanie Archer, Kat Peschken, India Woods
Editors: Christopher A. Peterson, Peter Norey
Cinematographers: Patrick Smith, Joe Bender, Mikul Eriksson, Kelly Adams, Issac Mead-Long

Lost films found in the ruins of America’s once-largest private zoo unlock a remarkable saga of two families–the Lindemanns and the Hecks–entwined in a story of myth, power, and obsession. To tourists, the Catskill Game Farm was pure family fun, but behind the fences lurked something stranger: attempts to resurrect primordial superbeasts from extinction, the byproduct of Nazi experiments to bend nature to fascist dreams, hidden in plain sight.

Tim Travers Hawkins is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker known for cinematic and investigative work. He began filmmaking in Latin America. His film Persona explores discrimination in pre-employment personality assessments; Burn It Down is about toxic masculinity in the music industry; and Capturing the Killer Nurse follows a nurse in pursuit of a hospital serial killer.

ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE

← Go to Film Program

Film sponsored by Sarah Cuyler

ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE

FRI, 12/11, 1:30pm, 93 min
BAY STREET THEATER

Director Katie Jacobs in attendance for Q&A

Director: Katie Jacobs
Producers: Katie Jacobs, Henry Hayes, Grace Attanasio, Annabelle Attanasio
Editors: Henry Hayes, Chelsea Taylor
Cinematographer: Alan Jacobsen

Purchasing a house together on the Bowery in the 1950s, three female artists defied societal norms and prioritized their art over traditional roles as wives and mothers. Through interviews with the women, now in their 90s, as well as their grown children, Artists in Residence explores the emotional complexities of being an artist and a parent. A heartfelt celebration of independence, creativity, and the enduring strength of women artists.

After spending 31 years in Los Angeles working in scripted television and film, Katie Jacobs moved into a three-story brownstone in New York City in 2017, alongside the three female artists whose story she became obsessed with telling. Previously, Jacobs developed, executive produced, and co-ran the Fox series House M.D. for its full run of eight seasons. She received four consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Drama Series for the medical drama. The show went on to win 25 Emmys, two Golden Globes, an AFI Award, and a Peabody Award.

BOATBUILDERS

← Go to Film Program

Sponsored by the family of John Buchbinder, in loving memory and honoring his passion for sailing and boatbuilding

BOATBUILDERS

FRI, 12/11, 4:00pm, 103 min
BAY STREET THEATER

Director: Luke Lorentzen
Producers: Kellen Quinn, Luke Lorentzen
Editor: Luke Lorentzen
Cinematographer: Luke Lorentzen

At the head of a remote Maine harbor, 60-some workers of the Brooklin Boat Yard saw, sand, and coax planks of fine wood into one of the finest sailing boats in the world. Over the course of 16 months, these craftsmen work meticulously on the 56-foot vessel as the director immerses the viewer in a close-knit community rooted in the time-honored craft. As critiqued in Screen International: “… a quiet delight of a film, which, in its unassuming way, feels almost profound at a time when much of the world seems eager to outsource its creative endeavours to machines.” The film premiered at the 2026 Venice International Film Festival.

Luke Lorentzen won an Emmy for Outstanding Serialized Sports Documentary in 2020 for Last Chance U. He also won the Directing Award for a U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival for A Still Small Voice.

CARL SAGAN: WE ARE MADE OF STAR STUFF

← Go to Film Program

CARL SAGAN: WE ARE MADE OF STAR STUFF

WED, 12/9, 7:00pm, 98 min
BAY STREET THEATER

Director: Nanette Burstein
Producers: Nanette Burstein, Seth MacFarlane, Ann Druyan, Erica Huggins
Editor: Tal Ben-David
Cinematographer: Adam Beckman

We look into the night sky and see stars. Carl Sagan saw an invitation to explore the universe—and our place within it. This National Geographic documentary offers insights into the man who loved the cosmos and helped explain it to the rest of us. With unprecedented access to Sagan’s extensive personal archive, the film explores Sagan’s cosmic love story with partner Ann Druyan and his evolution as a father, husband, and scientist–spearheading the Voyager Golden Record, defending science, protecting our planet, and probing the eternal question: Is anybody else out there?

Nanette Burstein is a film and television director. She produced and directed several documentaries, including the Academy Award-nominated and Sundance Special Jury Prize-winning film On the Ropes, which follows the fates of three young boxers and their trainer. Her documentary American Teen was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

CHEYENNE

← Go to Film Program

CHEYENNE

MON, 12/7, 1:00pm, 104 min
BAY STREET THEATER

Director: Taimi Arvidson
Producers: Taimi Arvidson, Sarina Roma, Scott Budnick, Ameet Shukla, Jenna Bush Hager, Ben Spector
Editor: Georgia Dodson
Cinematographer: Nick Midwig

Cheyenne follows a group of fearless cowgirls who compete in riding wild broncos on the yearlong rodeo circuit after nearly a century of being excluded because of their gender. The rough-and-rowdy cowgirls compete in a life-and-death event to be crowned the World Champion of the Women’s Ranch Bronc Championships at the storied Cheyenne Frontier Days. This beautifully shot film captures the adrenaline-pumping rodeo action and the quiet moments in-between.

Taimi Arvidson is a New York–based director and producer whose work spans documentary features, television, and commercials. Her debut feature documentary, From This Small Place (2023), premiered at the Heartland International Film Festival and earned her the Best Director of a Documentary Feature award at the RiverRun International Film Festival.

DARLENE LOVE: I KNOW WHERE I’VE BEEN

← Go to Film Program

OPENING NIGHT FILM
ART & INSPIRATION AWARD
Art & Inspiration Award sponsored by the Tee & Charles Addams Foundation
Film sponsored by Perillo Hill, LLP

DARLENE LOVE: I KNOW WHERE I’VE BEEN

THURS, 12/3, 7:30pm, 120 min
BAY STREET THEATER

Director Barry Avrich & Producer Mark Selby in attendance for Q&A
Cocktail reception

Director: Barry Avrich
Producers: Mark Selby, Taraji P. Henson, Barry Avrich
Editor: Dave Kennedy
Cinematographer: Ken Ng

An unappreciated icon, Darlene Love’s story is full of triumph and heartbreak, but also resilience. Now in her 80s and still utterly magnetic on camera and on stage, Love recounts her journey, starting with her early days singing in a church choir in Los Angeles. Then came the many years she spent providing lead and background vocals, often uncredited, for some of the biggest hits of the 1960s while under contract to Phil Spector, the superstar producer who became her nemesis. The treasure trove of famous musical friends she accumulated along the way express their admiration and affection for her in this film filled with treasured musical numbers and thrilling archival clips. Love is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee known for “He’s a Rebel” and collaborations with Cher, Bruce Springsteen, Dionne Warwick, Sam Cooke, and other greats. The film recently won the coveted People’s Choice Award at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival.

Barry Avrich is a Canadian filmmaker, philanthropist, and entrepreneur who has directed and produced around 70 films featuring prominent Hollywood moguls, legendary music icons, and even the last living Nuremberg prosecutor.

DEREK VS DEREK

← Go to Film Program

DEREK VS DEREK

TUES, 12/8, 4:00pm, 87 min
BAY STREET THEATER

Director: James Dawson
Producers: James Dawson, Serena Kennedy
Editor: James Gold
Cinematographer: Jon Sayers

Told with a sense of wry British humor, the story follows Derek Banbury and Derek Gow who have farms bordering each other in Devon. They also have two distinctly different takes on what “real” farming is. Traditional dairy farmer Derek Banbury is horrified at what he sees as the devastation of his neighbor Derek Gow’s once-productive farm. Dubbed a “maverick rewilder” by the media, Derek Gow is an unrepentant ex-sheep farmer hellbent on turning his land into an oasis for nature. Bio-diversity is his middle name. Shot over three years, the film charts the two Dereks’ turbulent relationship with passion and humor, as tempers fray and wild animals run amok. But conflict can sometimes result in solutions. As the director put it: My hope is their story will at turns amuse, entertain and provoke audiences to think about the difficult questions the film poses and to catalyze tangible change for farmers and for nature.

James Dawson is an award-winning director. His first documentary, Organ Stops: Saving the King of Instruments, is about a group of eccentric pipe-organ enthusiasts saving instruments from churches that are closing.

GALA EVENING HONORS ABIGAIL E. DISNEY

← Go to Film Program

HAMPTONS DOC FEST HONORS ABIGAIL E. DISNEY
WITH THE 2026 PENNEBAKER CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Turning to storytelling as an instrument of social change

GALA HONORS ABIGAIL E. DISNEY

SATURDAY, DEC 5
BAY STREET THEATER

6:30PM Cocktail Reception

Pennebaker Award and conversation with Abigail E. Disney followed by a screening of The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales

Pennebaker award sponsor

Abigail E. Disney is a distinguished member of a legendary filmmaking family. Her adored grandfather Roy O. Disney co-founded The Walt Disney Company with his brother Walt. Her favorite character from the Disney films was Jiminy Cricket, who she says “sounded like my grandfather” and had his moral compass. Her favorite line in Pinocchio was from the Blue Fairy who told Jiminy to “always let your conscience be your guide.” Clearly Abigail has taken that message to heart.

Abigail ventured into philanthropy and activism starting nonprofits that worked with organizations supporting peacebuilding, gender justice, and systemic cultural change. “I strongly believe that the best way to open hearts and minds and to ask people to rise–instead of shrivel–is through storytelling,” she explains. Storytelling, she adds, “is an instrument of social change.”

She didn’t turn to the family business of filmmaking until 2008 with the documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell, directed by Gini Reticker. The film brings to life the work of Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee and the critical role women played in bringing peace to war-torn Liberia.

Realizing that Liberia wasn’t an isolated story led Abigail to challenge the traditional way war is portrayed. Instead of looking at war through the eyes of soldiers, she wanted to look at war through the eyes of women. That idea led to the film series Women, War & Peace. The project was created and executive produced by Abigail E. Disney, Pamela Hogan, and Gini Reticker. The first series in 2011 showed women’s stories from Bosnia, Afghanistan, Colombia, and Liberia. The second series in 2019 highlighted women in Northern Ireland, Gaza, Haiti, and Egypt.

In 2015, Abigail made her directorial debut with The Armor of Light, an Emmy-winning film examining gun violence and evangelical faith, co-directed with Kathleen Hughes. The film puts viewers inside a moral struggle as it examines the intersection of evangelical Christianity, the pro-life movement, and gun culture in America. The film won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary in 2017.

In 2022, she co-directed and produced a deeply personal film, The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales. The film examines systemic economic inequality, focusing on the company founded by her great-uncle Walt. Disneyland is often referred to as the “Happiest Place on Earth,” but Abigail became deeply concerned about the thousands of Disney workers who couldn’t afford the basic necessities of life.

Abigail’s support of other filmmakers may be one of her greatest contributions to documentary film. Through her funding programs, advocacy groups, and production companies, she has acted as an Executive Producer on more than 100 independent documentary projects. She is currently chair and co-founder of Level Forward, an ecosystem of storytellers, entrepreneurs, and social change-makers dedicated to balancing artistic vision, social impact, and stakeholder return. She also founded Peace is Loud, a nonprofit that uses storytelling to advance social movements, and the Daphne Foundation, which supports organizations working for a more equitable, fair, and peaceful New York City. That’s a legacy her grandfather Roy would be proud of.

Currently, Abigail is working on a book about wealth, power, and privilege.

HOLIDAY IN BERLIN & CHILDREN NO MORE: “WERE AND ARE GONE”

← Go to Film Program

HOLIDAY IN BERLIN & CHILDREN NO MORE: “WERE AND ARE GONE”

FRI, 12/4, 5:30pm, 65 min program
SAG HARBOR CINEMA

Two poignant short films–Holiday In Berlin and CHILDREN NO MORE: “Were and are Gone” use the power of visual evidence to demonstrate the horror of war and the importance of remembering the lives destroyed by senseless violence.

HOLIDAY IN BERLIN

35min

Directors: Don Lenzer, Bettina Volz
Producers: Don Lenzer, Bettina Volz

Holiday In Berlin explores Germany’s rapid descent into authoritarianism in the 1930s through the filmmakers’ personal discovery of four Berlin memorials to the Nazi era. The memorials, which were designed by conceptual artists during the 1990s, appear throughout Berlin as a reminder of the ghastly crimes of the Nazis. Each of these memorials, located in the exact location where the events they memorialize occurred, leads the filmmakers to confront the incomprehensibility of this horrific past and the desire to try to keep the memory of it alive.

Don Lenzer was a cinematographer on the Academy Award-winning films Woodstock, He Makes Me Feel Like Dancing, and Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision. He lives on the East End of Long Island with his wife, Bettina Volz, a clinical psychologist. Holiday In Berlin is their first documentary collaboration.

---

CHILDREN NO MORE: “WERE AND ARE GONE”

30min

Director: Hilla Medalia
Producers: Sheila Nevins, Yael Melamede, Hilla Medalia

A quietly powerful observational short about the vigil that began in March 2025 with a handful of Israeli protesters standing silently in a public square in Tel Aviv, each holding a photo of a child killed in Gaza. Confronted by the images, some passersby avert their eyes. Others react with denial, sorrow, or rage. Yet week after week, new photos are added. And each week, more people join the quiet act of protest. This is an Academy Award-nominated short film.

Hilla Medalia is an Israeli film director, producer, and writer. She is the founder of Medalia Productions, a documentary production company operating in Israel and the U.S. Her Peabody Award-winning film To Die in Jerusalem focused on an Israeli mother and the mother of a Palestinian suicide bomber.

JANE ELLIOTT AGAINST THE WORLD

← Go to Film Program

JANE ELLIOTT AGAINST THE WORLD

MON, 12/7, 7:00pm, 99 min
BAY STREET THEATER

Director: Judd Ehrlich
Producers: Judd Ehrlich, Max Powers, Elena Gaby
Editors: Max Powers, Leah Goudsmit, Albin Pepe
Cinematographers: Peter Eliot Buntaine, Sean Hanley

Jane Elliott, a rural Iowa schoolteacher in 1968, resolved to do something to root out the entrenched racist attitudes in the country. She devised her now-famous “Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes” exercise, which she first carried out the day after the assassination of Martin Luther King as a kind of social experiment in her third-grade classroom. The exercise ignited an uproar in the local community, and ultimately created deep divisions in her own family. The furor only continued to grow as her message began to spread. She became a national voice against racism. Now nearly 90, Jane Elliott refuses to hold back amid today’s fights about race, history, and power after a lifetime of speaking out. Filmmaker Ehrlich confirms that Jane “does not want your admiration, she wants your courage.”

Judd Ehrlich was born in New York. The son of an architect and schoolteacher, he grew up on lower Broadway, roller skating at The Roxy. Judd directed and produced two Emmy-nominated films: Run For Your Life and Mayor of the West Side, as well as the award-winning documentary Magic Camp.

LOVING KARMA

← Go to Film Program

Film sponsored by Leslie Siben

LOVING KARMA

TUES, 12/8, 7:00pm, 78 min
BAY STREET THEATER

Director Andrew Hinton via Zoom for Q&A

Directors: Johnny Burke, Andrew Hinton
Producers: Lobsang Phuntsok, Vasudha Wanchoo
Editor: Johnny Burke
Cinematographers: Andrew Hinton, Olly Cummins

In the remote foothills of the Himalayas, former monk Lobsang Phuntsok has built Jhamtse Gatsal–“The Garden of Love and Compassion”–a community for children who have endured abandonment, neglect, and profound trauma. While Western institutions might rely on clinicians, diagnoses, and medication, Jhamtse Gatsal offers a radically simple alternative: a community where healing emerges from shared responsibility, affection, and presence. The film asks a fundamental question: What happens when suffering meets compassion?

Johnny Burke and Andrew Hinton are British filmmakers who won an Emmy Award for Tashi and the Monk. Burke has won awards at more than 40 international film festivals. His films often give voice to forgotten people and hidden cultures. Hinton makes films with and about artists and athletes and researches subjects that deal with compassion, communication, and connection.

MAVERICK: THE EPIC ADVENTURES OF DAVID LEAN

← Go to Film Program

CLOSING NIGHT FILM
Closing night is sponsored by Linda Koszalka, Managing Director, Investments of Wells Fargo Advisors

MAVERICK: THE EPIC ADVENTURES OF DAVID LEAN

FRI, 12/11, 7:00pm, 111 min
SOUTHAMPTON PLAYHOUSE

Director Barnaby Thompson & Producer Jack Heller in attendance for Q&A

Director: Barnaby Thompson
Producers: Nick Taussig, Jack Heller, Barnaby Thompson
Editor: Paul van Dyck
Cinematographer: Geoffrey Sentamu

An enthralling and wide-ranging portrait of David Lean, considered one of the greatest Hollywood directors of all time. His singular vision and dogged determination to film the impossible, has earned him the reputation of an obsessive maverick. His films are characterized by stunning cinematography and precise editing. He was drawn to extremes, just as his characters were. While he was a master of making films, his personal life was often messy, rootless, and painful. He was married six times and was estranged from his only son and two grandchildren. His professional accomplishments led to seven Academy Award nominations for Best Director and two Oscar wins for The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia, his most widely acclaimed films. Full of singular stories, stunning film clips, and extraordinary insights from contemporary filmmakers (including Francis Ford Coppola, Wes Anderson and Denis Villeneuve) the film offers the audience a master class on one of cinema’s great visionaries.

Barnaby Thompson is a British film director and producer best known for co-directing the St Trinian’s films and producing major features such as Wayne’s World. He was nominated for an Oscar and a BAFTA for the short film Dear Rosie.

NUISANCE BEAR

← Go to Film Program

NUISANCE BEAR

FRI, 12/4, 12:00pm, 88 min
SAG HARBOR CINEMA

Directors: Jack Weisman, Gabriela Osio Vanden
Producers: Michael Code, Will N. Miller, Teddy Leifer, Jack Weisman, Gabriela Osio Vanden
Editor: Andres Landau
Cinematographers: Gabriela Osio Vanden, Jack Weisman

A polar bear is forced to navigate a human world of tourists, wildlife officers, and hunters as its ancient migration collides with modern life. Narrated through the voice of an Inuit elder, this quietly devastating film leaves you wondering who truly belongs in this shared landscape. For thousands of years, polar bears have migrated along the shores of Hudson Bay in northern Canada. As the sea ice melts, the bears’ hunting grounds shrink, forcing them to wander closer to human settlements in search of food. A gorgeously photographed and poetic film, NUISANCE BEAR won the 2026 Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize for Documentary.

Jack Weisman is an American-Canadian filmmaker, cinematographer, and co-founder of Documist, an Emmy-Award and Peabody Award-winning production company. He often works with his wife, Gabriela Osio Vanden, an award-winning Venezuelan-Canadian director and cinematographer.

PLUM ISLAND – A RECKONING WITH PUBLIC LAND

← Go to Film Program

PLUM ISLAND – A RECKONING WITH PUBLIC LAND

TUES, 12/8, 1:30pm, 88 min
BAY STREET THEATER

Director Thomas Halaczinsky in attendance for Q&A

Director: Thomas Halaczinsky
Producer: Thomas Halaczinsky
Editor: Michael Craft
Cinematographer: Thomas Halaczinsky

The 840-acre Plum Island was home for decades to a high-security lab tasked with protecting America’s livestock from devastating epidemics. Its secrecy bred fear and fueled conspiracy theories. With the site’s research activities having ended in 2025 and the full closure of the lab on-going through 2026, the island has become the focus of competing visions. At the center of this struggle are two women who are leading the eight-year fight to protect the island’s fragile ecosystems and the cultural heritage of the Montaukett people.

Thomas Halaczinsky is a German documentary director based in Greenport, Long Island. He directed a three-part documentary series, Archipelago New York, focused on how nature negotiates and sustains its existence in the New York metropolis. The first film in the series was awarded Best Science Film at the International Blue Water Film Festival. He also directed three documentaries that followed Holocaust survivor Margot Friedlander as she revisited her life story.

REMAKE

← Go to Film Program

REMAKE

FRI, 12/4, 2:30pm, 117 min
SAG HARBOR CINEMA

Director: Ross McElwee
Producer: Mark Meatto
Editors: Ross McElwee, Joe Bini
Cinematographer: Ross McElwee

For nearly 40 years, Ross McElwee has made closely observed and profoundly subjective documentaries about how his personal life intersects with the world at large. His son Adrian grew up inside these films, and eventually began experimenting with the camera himself. As Ross attempts to adapt his uniquely personal 1986 documentary, Sherman’s March into a narrative film, Adrian tragically and unexpectedly dies, which causes Ross to reassess his life’s work and his deep connection to filmmaking. This critically acclaimed film won the Golden Globe Impact Prize at the Venice International Film Festival.

Ross McElwee has made 10 feature-length award-winning films. In 2005, complete retrospectives of his films were presented at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and later in close to a dozen cities around the world. He has received fellowships from the Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundations, as well as the American Film Institute and the National Endowment for the Arts. He was Professor of the Practice of Filmmaking at Harvard University from 2005 until his retirement in 2024.

SHORTS & BREAKFAST BITES: PROGRAM 1

← Go to Film Program

SHORTS & BREAKFAST BITES: PROGRAM 1

SAT, 12/5, 09:30AM, 90 min
BAY STREET THEATER

Join us for a delicious breakfast to begin your day
then take in a great program of documentary short films.
9:30am Breakfast, 10:00am Films

ICED OUT OF AMERICA

22min

Director: Michael Nigro
Producer: Michael Nigro

Across the U.S., masked federal officers have been arresting immigrants attending their mandatory asylum court dates, but in New York City, photojournalists have been able to witness and document the chaotic and often violent breach of due process occurring daily in the courts.

---

MAURICE AND MARVIN

22min

Director: David Friend
Producers: David Friend, Meghna Rao, Katie Schiller

A meditation on how one man, facing inconsolable grief, uses photography and Instagram to honor his husband and to create an online community for others mourning the loss of their loved ones.

---

AN ARTIST IN AMERICA

27min

Director: Carl Conway
Producer: Carl Conway

Jessie Benton, Thomas Hart Benton’s daughter, explores her father’s complicated legacy and the contemporary meaning of his public art and painted history.

---

LOVE, LATER

19min

Director: Katie Stormer
Producers: Katie Stormer, Geoff Pingree

An exploration of dating relationships in retirement communities, told through the stories of two couples who found love on their own terms.

SHORTS & BREAKFAST BITES: PROGRAM 2

← Go to Film Program

SHORTS & BREAKFAST BITES: PROGRAM 2

SUN, 12/6, 09:30AM, 99 min
BAY STREET THEATER

Join us for a delicious breakfast to begin your day
then take in a great program of documentary short films.
9:30am Breakfast, 10:00am Films

Program sponsored by Tracy DeMatteis

HOMETOWN HEROES STUDENT FILM

20min

Hamptons Doc Fest is proud to support the next generation of young filmmakers by inviting East End middle and high school students to create an original short documentary that showcases a hometown hero who has inspired them. HDF is thrilled to premiere the winning film and present the director and two runners-up with an award and monetary scholarship.

---

A SHORT DOCUMENTARY ABOUT A GIANT PENCIL

21min

Director: Daniel Straub
Producers: Austin Straub, Daniel Straub, Bryce Cyrier

Two Minneapolis homeowners and a chainsaw sculptor shape meaning (and a 20-foot-tall pencil) from the twisted trunk of a fallen oak tree.

---

RESONANCIA

37min

Directors: Ted Nash, Cathy Barbash
Producers: Ted Nash, Cathy Barbash

Grammy-winning composer Ted Nash invites young Cuban musicians to find inspiration in the colors and forms of a Havana museum’s paintings. What began as a search for melody awakens untapped creativity in the students.

---

HOLLYWOOD’S MERMAID: THE ESTHER WILLIAMS STORY

21min

Director: Brian Gersten
Producer: Michaela Owens

Celebrated in her prime, but often overlooked today, this short documentary takes a deep dive into the underappreciated career of one of America’s most impressive women, from a 16-year-old Olympic hopeful to a 90-year-old Hollywood icon.

SIRI HUSTVEDT – DANCE AROUND THE SELF

← Go to Film Program

SIRI HUSTVEDT – DANCE AROUND THE SELF

THURS, 12/10, 4:00pm, 110 min
BAY STREET THEATER

Director: Sabine Lidl
Producers: Irene Höfer, Andreas Schroth, Karin Koch
Editor: Maxine Goedicke
Cinematographers: Filip Zumbrunn, Meret Madörin

This film presents a portrait of the writer Siri Hustvedt, her literary evolution, her relationship with her husband Paul Auster, and her reflections on feminism, language, identity, and the power of words. The film weaves together Siri Hustvedt’s distinctive way of living and thinking with her writing and the major themes of life: love and farewell.

Sabine Lidl was born in Seefeld, Germany. She was trained as a makeup artist, working as a freelancer from 1992 to 2009 for film and television. Since 2010, she has worked as a documentary filmmaker. Her previous films include Nan Goldin: I Remember Your Face and Paul Auster - What If?