What’s New at the Hamptons Film Festival
The Hamptons International Film Festival’s 23rd iteration, which will take place from Oct. 8 through 12, will be the last with Stuart Match Suna as chairman. Mr. Match Suna, the president of Silvercup Studios and a founder of the festival, has been chairman for 18 years. After this year’s festival he will hand the reins to Alec Baldwin and Randy Mastro, who have served on the board for a decade.
Mr. Baldwin, who is known for his support of several institutions here, has been active with the festival for many years, serving as moderator of festival events and as a producer of the festival’s SummerDocs series of documentary screenings at Guild Hall. He recently starred in “All My Sons,” the Arthur Miller play, at Guild Hall, and has won awards for his role in the television series “30 Rock.”
Mr. Mastro is a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and is a co-chair of the law firm’s litigation practice group. He has served as deputy mayor of New York City and as federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and has also taught at Fordham Law School.
Along with the changes coming after the October showcase, the festival also announced three new programs for this year. A new Compassion, Justice, and Animal Rights program will feature three narrative or documentary films devoted to advancing “the dignity and rights of all living beings.” This year’s festival will include the world premiere of “The Champions,” a documentary by Darcy Dennett that follows the pit bulls rescued from the fighting ring of Michael Vick, the N.F.L. quarterback, and the people who fought to save them despite pressure from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Humane Society to euthanize them.
The festival will also partner with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and the International Organization for Migration to present short films by young people around the world from their PLURAL+ International Youth Video Festival. The films focus on migration, diversity, and social inclusion and will also be screened throughout the year at East End schools. In addition, the film festival has renamed the morning talks with filmmakers at Rowdy Hall in honor of Gary Winick, the late producer and director who premiered many films at the festival and won its audience award in 1999 for “The Tic Code.” The Winick Talks at Rowdy Hall will happen on Oct. 9, 10, and 11.
This year’s festival founders passes go on sale Monday. Other passes will be available starting Sept. 8. Box offices will open on Sept. 26 in New York City, East Hampton, and Southampton.