Take 2 Doc Fest: A Diverse Cinematic Menu
The Hamptons Take 2 Documentary Film Festival returns to Bay Street Theatre this weekend with a slate of 11 features and 11 shorts, including special programs devoted to D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, pioneers of cinema verité, and Lana Jokel, this year’s Filmmaker’s Choice Award winner.
Friday’s screenings include “The Only Real Game,” Mirra Bank’s study of how baseball provides release from the daily struggles of the residents of Manipur, India. “Hot Water” is Kevin Flint’s examination of the consequences of uranium mining, atomic testing, and nuclear energy. Two films by Neil Leifer, “Portraits of a Lady,” in which Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor sits for 25 portrait painters, and “The ConVENTion,” shot at a gathering of more than 500 ventriloquists complete the program.
Saturday’s program begins with Kenny Mann’s “Beautiful Tree, Severed Roots,” which tells the story of her parents’ affinity for Africa and her own search for identity, while illuminating Kenya’s colonial history. “Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater,” a portrait of the five-term Arizona senator who ran for president in 1964 against Lyndon B. Johnson, was produced and narrated by his granddaughter.
Vivian Ducat’s “All Me: The Life & Times of Winfred Rembert” tells the story of an African-American artist’s journey from a Georgia chain gang to a gallery on Madison Avenue. “Treasures from the Rabble” is Alexandra Branyon’s film about Lois Wilson, a Louisiana folk artist who gave her entire body of work to her hometown, where it became the foundation of the Fayette Art Museum. “Treasures from the Rabble” will be preceded by a panel at the American Hotel on “The Unstoppable Creative Impulse,” led by the NPR talk-show host Faith Middleton.
The HT2FF Gala, a tribute to Mr. Pennebaker and Ms. Hegedus, begins with a reception Saturday at 7 p.m., followed by a screening of “The War Room,” their behind-the-scenes look at the 1992 New Hampshire Democratic primary and the Clinton campaign headquarters in Little Rock. A conversation with the filmmakers will follow.
“Shut Up and Look,” Maryte Kavaliauskas’s intimate portrait of the artist Richard Artschwager, will open Sunday’s schedule, followed by Amy Nicholson’s “Zipper: Coney Island’s Last Wild Ride,” which focuses on the carnival ride’s rented lot that became the object of a power struggle between a real estate developer and New York City.
“Two: The Story of Roman & Nyro” documents, with home movies and narration by their twin 9-year-olds, the journey of Desmond Child, a noted songwriter-producer, and Curtis Shaw, his lifelong partner, as they create a family.
Two programs of short films include “Ross Goes West,” in which Ross School students discover small-town America, and Rebecca Cammisa’s “God is the Bigger Elvis,” the story of the actress Dolores Hart, who left Hollywood to become a nun.
The festival concludes with the 7 p.m. screening of Ms. Jokel’s award-winning “Larry Rivers Public and Private,” covered separately in this issue. Tickets for individual programs are $15 ($13 for senior citizens), $30 for the Saturday night party, and $100 for a pass to the entire festival, including the party. They may be purchased from HT2FF.org, baystreet.org or at the Bay Street Theatre box office.