After scattering some tempting morsels over the past several weeks, including news of in-person conversations with Demi Moore, Liev Schreiber, and Andrew Garfield, the Hamptons International Film Festival has announced the full slate of programs for its 32nd iteration, which will open Oct. 4.
Of note is that Clarence Maclin will receive the festival’s Breakthrough Performer Award after a special screening on Oct. 13 of “Sing Sing,” a film inspired by his life story.
Directed by Greg Kwedar, it tells the story of Divine G, a wrongfully imprisoned inmate played by Colman Domingo, who finds purpose in acting in a theater group with other inmates. In his feature film debut, Mr. Maclin, who was incarcerated at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility for 17 years, plays a younger version of himself.
Among this year’s other buzzworthy selections is “Emilia Perez,” a musical crime comedy written and directed by Jacques Audiard. Winner of the Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, it follows Emilia, a formidable Mexican cartel leader who enlists a lawyer in a dead-end job to help her fake her own death.
“Blitz,” the latest from Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”), follows the journey of a 9-year-old whose mother (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to the English countryside during World War II. From Pedro Almodovar comes the Spanish auteur’s first English-language feature, “The Room Next Door,” which stars Julianne Moore as a novelist and Tilda Swinton as a war reporter who are reunited after years of estrangement.
Mike Leigh, a seven-time Oscar nominee and festival alumnus, returns with “Hard Truths,” starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste in a tough but compassionate study of family life in London. “Presence,” a narrative feature by Steven Soderbergh having its New York premiere, is a thriller about a family that moves into a picture-perfect suburban house only to become convinced they are not alone.
The selection of a new pope is the subject of “Conclave,” Edward Berger’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning “All Quiet on the Western Front.” This is its New York premiere. It stars Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini.
Also having its New York premiere is Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The End,” an apocalyptic musical, of all things, that stars Ms. Swinton and Michael Shannon as a wealthy couple who escape widespread destruction by fleeing to their luxurious underground compound.
“Saturday Night” is Jason Reitman’s dramatization of the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes before the first broadcast of “Saturday Night Live.” Titus Kaphar, an American painter and MacArthur Fellow, makes his directorial debut with “Exhibiting Forgiveness,” the story of an artist whose road to success is derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father.
Angelina Jolie stars as Maria Callas in “Maria,” Pablo Larrain’s biopic about the tumultuous, beautiful, and tragic life of the opera diva. Cillian Murphy (“Oppenheimer”) stars in the North American premiere of “Small Things Like These,” Tim Mielants’s drama about a man wrestling with his conscience in a small Irish town.
As always, the festival has a full program of World Cinema narrative and documentary features, competition films, and several short-film programs.
Morning Talks at Village Bistro in East Hampton will return with programs about the impact of shifts in the entertainment industry on independent filmmakers; a talk with Barry Sonnenfeld, the director of “Men in Black,” “Get Shorty,” and “The Addams Family,” about his new memoir; a panel discussion about the persistence of theatrical moviegoing, and a talk by Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein, the writers of “Inside Out 2,” who will receive the festival’s Achievement in Screenwriting Award during the program.
Among the previously announced films are the East Coast premiere of “Martha,” a documentary about Martha Stewart that will open the festival, the East Coast premiere of “Nightbitch,” a mix of comedy and horror starring Amy Adams that will close it, and the East Coast premiere of “The Piano Lesson,” whose director, Malcolm Washington, was named the festival’s Breakthrough Director.
According to the festival, 45 percent of this year’s films are directed by women, and 50 countries are represented. The festival will screen 86 features and 61 shorts with eight world premieres, five North American premieres, 11 U.S. premieres, nine East Coast premieres, and 20 New York premieres.
The festival will run from Oct. 4 through Oct. 14, with screenings at Guild Hall, the Sag Harbor Cinema, the East Hampton Cinema, and the East Hampton Middle School.
Passes and packages are now available on the festival’s website. Individual tickets will become available on Monday at noon, online, and by phone. The in-person box office, which will shift locations during the festival, will open at 10 a.m. on Oct. 4 at 98 Newtown Lane in East Hampton.
The East Hampton Star’s program guide, which lists all films and programs, is now on newsstands and at The Star’s office.
