Hamptons Doc Fest is celebrating Earth Day with Docs Equinox, four days of programming starting next Thursday that will include one live and three virtual screenings of documentary films on environmental themes, and a panel discussion with local environmental activists.
The centerpiece of the festival will be a live screening of "Playing With Sharks," which will take place at the new Sag Harbor Cinema at 7 p.m. on April 24. The screening will be followed by a virtual discussion among Sally Aitkin, the writer-director; Bettina Dalton, the producer, and Valerie Taylor, the 85-year-old Australian diver and conservationist who has dedicated her life to exposing the myths surrounding our fear of sharks. Giulia D'Agnolo Vallan, the cinema's artistic director, will moderate.
Originally spearfishers, during the 1960s Ms. Taylor and her husband, Ron, exchanged spears for cameras, perhaps most famously used to film the great white shark sequences for "Jaws." "Playing With Sharks," which the Hollywood Reporter called "a visually stunning documentary tribute to Australian marine conservationist Valerie Taylor" when it showed at the 2021 Sundance Festival, draws on more than 50 years of remastered film footage, as well as interviews with Ms. Taylor shot at her oceanfront home.
The film and conversation will also be available on the Hamptons Doc Fest website from April 24 at 9 p.m. until April 25 at midnight.
Two other films, "And We Go Green" and "Watson," will be available for online screening from next Thursday through April 25. Paul Watson is the subject of the eponymous 2019 documentary, which premiered at the TriBeCa Film Festival. The founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and co-founder of Greenpeace, Mr. Watson has spent 40 years fighting to end the destruction of the ocean's marine life and its habitat.
The director, Lesley Chilcott, had access to a "wealth of white-knuckle footage that helps keep the documentary visually dynamic," according to Ben Kenigsberg of The New York Times, who added that "even for those skeptical of Watson’s tactics, he is engaging when describing his environmental concerns." Ms. Chilcott and Mr. Watson will be interviewed online by Roger Sherman, a documentary filmmaker.
Directed by Malcolm Venville and Fisher Stevens and produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, "And We Go Green" follows professional drivers on the international Formula E circuit who race for victory across 10 cities, in eco-friendly electric cars. The film’s title is shouted with the green light at the start of each race on the circuit, which includes many drivers who came from Formula One, among them past winners at Le Mans.
Matt Kew of autosport.com wrote, " 'And We Go Green' is beautifully presented and often emotive" and noted that Mr. DiCaprio's "presence in the paddock is an amusing on-screen addition rather than a Hollywood distraction." Mr. Sherman will also host an online interview with Mr. Stevens, the actor and director who won an Oscar for his 2009 documentary "The Cove."
An environmentally focused panel discussion will be available online throughout the four-day festival. Moderated by Gianna Volpe, host of "The Heart of the East End" morning show on WLIW 88.3 FM, the program will include Scott Bluedorn, an artist and naturalist; Daniela Kronemeyer, an indigenous culture consultant; John Robertson, landscape manager and activist; Alexandra Talty, a journalist whose work has focused on food and agriculture, and Shane Weeks, a member of the Shinnecock Nation and an artist, traditional dancer, fisherman, hunter, and educator.
Tickets for the Sag Harbor Cinema screening are $20, online screenings are each $15, and the panel discussion is free.
