Hamptons Film is honoring Black History Month by shining a spotlight on Tommie Smith, the American track and field athlete who won the gold medal in the 200-meter sprint at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. More dramatic than his victory, which set a world record, was the awards ceremony, where Smith and his teammate, John Carlos, who won the bronze medal in the event, raised their fists in the Black Power salute while on the winners’ podium.
Glenn Kaino and Afshin Shahidi’s documentary “With Drawn Arms,” in which Smith reflects on a moment that helped define a movement, had its world premiere as the opening night film at the 2020 Hamptons Film Festival. Hamptons Film has now made available on its YouTube page the opening night question-and answer-session, a Zoom conversation moderated by CNN’s Don Lemon that includes the athlete, the directors, and Jesse Williams, a co-producer.
The film itself, which also includes interviews with Megan Rapinoe, Colin Kaepernick, John Legend, and the late Congressman John Lewis, is now available for streaming on Starz.
Those who missed Lee Isaac Chung's "Minari" at the film festival back in October may have better luck this month with two weeks of daily screenings of the film. Beginning tomorrow at 7 p.m., the streamed screenings will also benefit Hamptons Film. Screening passes for the movie, which is about a Korean-American family who moves to a farm in Arkansas, are $20 and likely to sell out each night. Tickets can be accessed on the Hamptons Film website.
Hamptons Film has continued to present first-run independent cinema in its Now Showing series, adding a new film every Friday. The current offering, available through tomorrow on its virtual cinema platform, is “Two of Us,” a drama that is France’s official submission to this year’s Academy Awards in the best international feature category.
The film will be followed by a conversation from last year’s festival, featuring Ms. Sukowa, a renowned German actress, and Filippo Meneghetti, the film’s director.
Beginning tomorrow, "A Glitch in the Matrix" will be the new title available through next Thursday. Rodney Ascher's documentary explores the premise that the world as we know it is merely a computer simulation. The director uses a multitude of sources and voices to explore the idea through science, philosophy, and conspiracy theory.
Each film in the series is available for rental for one week through the Hamptons Film website.
