Changes At Film Festival

The Hamptons International Film Festival has appointed Steven Gallagher to the position of program director.

Mr. Gallagher, who works as an editor at Filmmaker magazine, served as an assistant last year to Sam Maser, the program director who stepped down "for personal reasons," according to Ken Tabachnik, the festival's executive director. Mr. Gallagher is a filmmaker himself, having served as the executive producer on two films, "Predictions of Fire" and "Latin Boys Go to Hell."

Mr. Gallagher will work for the festival full time during the June through October production period and serve as a consultant for long-range planning over the rest of the year, Mr. Tabachnik said.

Year-Round Presence

The festival's focus on international films and American independents will "continue to be the mainstays of the festival," stressed Mr. Tabachnik.

Among the festival's goals is to have a greater year-round presence, he said. He would like to see fund-raising and planning take place throughout the year and more events outside of the festival week. The free outdoor screening in summer and the fall documentary series will continue.