Lee Grant: Showing What's Real

Lee Grant began her distinguished career as an actress, but over the years she has become much more than that - a filmmaker who gives voice to issues not otherwise discussed.

For her accomplishments as an actress and as a director, Ms. Grant was the first woman to be presented with the Hamptons International Film Festival's Distinguished Achievement Award at its annual Tribute Presentation Saturday afternoon.

An onstage interview at Guild Hall in East Hampton was preceded by a 20-minute program of clips from her career, which highlighted the documentaries she has directed, the feature films she has directed, and the films she has starred in, like "Shampoo," "The Landlord," and "In the Heat of the Night."

Blacklisted

"Not only has Ms. Grant given a voice to women," Carrie Rickey, a film critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer who interviewed Ms. Grant, said, she "has the most crowded mantelpiece in America," referring to all of the awards she has won over the years. They include a Cannes Film Festival best actress prize for "Detective Story," an Oscar for best supporting actress for "Shampoo," and an Emmy for best supporting actress for the television series "Peyton Place."

Being blacklisted for 12 years during the McCarthy Era after speaking at a memorial service for "one of the California lefties" served as an inspiration for Ms. Grant to tackle social issues in her film projects.

"I think there are so many things that are not fair," Ms. Grant said to the audience. Her films let viewers know "this is what's out there in this world. This is what's real."

Being an actress, she said, gave her the empathy necessary to identify with the subjects of her documentaries. And, "Directing, thank God, was a muscle I had that I didn't know I had."

Her documentaries have addressed the issues of battered women who strike back at their abusers ("Women Who Kill"), homelessness ("Down and Out in America"), and transsexuals ("What Sex Am I?").

Her feature films, like "Seasons of the Heart," "No Place Like Home," and "Tell Me a Riddle," have provided roles for older women and addressed the issue of growing older.

Ms. Grant was "always a mold- breaker, never a type-cast," Ms. Rickey said. She is a good documentarian because "You listen very well and you let people have a say."

Toni Ross, the chairwoman of the festival's board of directors, thanked Ms. Grant for "your integrity, your compassion, your courage."

Film Hit Home

Ms. Grant's interview was followed by her latest film, "Say It, Fight It, Cure It," an emotional documentary about breast cancer produced by Lifetime Television for Women, a new sponsor of the Film Festival this year. There was nary a dry eye at the end of the 67-minute film; out of the corner of one's eye you could see others wiping theirs.

Produced by her second husband, Joseph Feury, the film particularly hit home thanks to its attention to cancer clusters in neighborhoods in western Suffolk County, including the one where Rosie O'Donnell, the comedienne and talk show host, grew up. The disease took her mother when she was only 10, and victimized many other women on her block.

Bella Abzug, a Noyac resident and a breast cancer survivor, also appeared in the film.

Despite her serious take on life, Ms. Grant also displayed a good sense of humor on Saturday. She admitted to having once said, "I've been married to a Communist and a Fascist, and neither took out the garbage." And yes, she and Mr. Feury did change their wedding vows from "I do" to "I'll try." They've tried successfully for 20 years.