Oscars' Long Reach to the South Fork

Julianne Moore, who played a woman in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease in “Still Alice,” won the best actress Oscar for the role on Sunday night.

Ms. Moore, who has a house in Montauk with her husband, Bart Freundlich, and their children Caleb and Liv, stars in the film with Alec Baldwin, whose own association with the South Fork and its various arts and non-profit institutions defines ubiquity. She said in her speech she was thrilled to be able to shine a light on the disease and those who suffer from it with the hope that it might help spur on efforts to find a cure.

Killer Films, one of the producers of the film is helmed by Christine Vachon, who directs the Stony Brook Southampton graduate film program, which was recently accredited by New York State.

"Still Alice" was first shown on the South Fork in October as part of the Hamptons International Film Festival. J.K. Simmons, won a best supporting actor award early in the night for his role in “Whiplash,” also shown at the festival. The film won other awards for editing and sound mixing. "Birdman," another festival film, won awards for best picture, directing, cinematography, and original screenplay. "The Imitation Game" won an award for best adapted screenplay.

Other narrative films nominated in various categories that were shown at the festival included “Foxcatcher,” “Wild,” “Nightcrawler,” and “Two Days, One Night.” “Virunga,” “The Salt of the Earth,” and the SummerDocs selection “Last Days in Vietnam” were nominated documentaries. The animated short film "Feast" and the live action short "The Phone Call" won Oscars. Both were shown at the festival, along with other nominees in the categories such as “Butter Lamp” and  “The Bigger Picture.”

In all, the films shown at the festival garnered a total of 44 nominations, breaking last year’s record of 32.

One other East Hampton connection to the Oscars was Alessandro Nivola, who played John Doar in “Selma,” nominated for Best Picture.