Promising another festive opening to the holiday season, Hamptons Doc Fest celebrates its 18th year with an expanded eight-day festival, screening 33 documentary films from December 4 to 11 in Sag Harbor, both at the Sag Harbor Cinema and the Bay Street Theater, and new this year, the Southampton Playhouse.
“Our 2025 program is electric with real-life stories,” said Hamptons Doc Fest founder and executive director Jacqui Lofaro. “Join us for eight days of great documentary filmmaking crafted by talented creators who edit, not censor, who discover, not destroy. It’s testimony to free and frank expression—the voices we need.”
The Opening Night Film at Bay Street Theater on Thursday, December 4, at 7:30 PM, followed by a cocktail reception, features “Steal This Story, Please!,” a gripping portrait of journalist Amy Goodman and her commitment to truth-telling. The film poses the question, “What happens to democracy when the press surrenders to power?”
Closing Night Film is “Lost Wolves of Yellowstone,” which will screen in IMAX at the new Southampton Playhouse on Thursday, December 11, at 7:30 PM. Directed by Thomas Winston, it tells the story of Mollie Beattie, the first female director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and how she brought wolves back to Yellowstone National Park, after a 50-year absence.
This year’s Pennebaker Career Achievement Award will be presented to Alan Berliner at a gala buffet reception starting at 6:30 PM at Bay Street Theater on Saturday, December 6. After the award ceremony, his most recent film, “BENITA,” will be presented, an intimate portrait of the New York City filmmaker Benita Raphan.
The festival presents the Young Voices Education Program on Monday, December 8, where the Take Two Film Academy will conduct a workshop at LTV Studios in Wainscott on the elements of filmmaking for middle and high school students. After screening a short documentary, students will be able to direct, edit, operate cameras, and perform on stage.
New last year, Hamptons Doc Fest also launched a Hometown Heroes film contest, with the top three students winning a cash prize, and the top winner having the honor of premiering the film at the HDF’s Shorts & Breakfast Bites program on Sunday morning, December 8.
Receiving this year’s Art & Inspiration Award is “Jimmy & The Demons,” directed by Cindy Meehl, which will be shown at Bay Street Theater on Thursday, December 4, at 5 PM. The film follows the life of artist Jimmy Grashow, who, for six decades, crafted fantastical and irreverent woodcuts and sculptures in cardboard. Both director Meehl and “Guzzy” Grashow will attend the Q&A.
“A Life Illuminated” will receive the newly-named Nancy Nagle Kelley Environmental Award on Friday, December 5, at 5 PM at the Sag Harbor Cinema, with director Tasha Van Zandt in attendance for the Q&A, interviewed by Carl Safina.
The HDF Impact Award to American Documentary will take place on Friday, December 5, at 7:30 PM, with the film “Between Goodbyes,” which fosters dialogue and encourages civic engagement and social change.
“Nuns vs. The Vatican” will receive this year’s Human Rights Award on Saturday, December 6, at 1 PM at Sag Harbor Cinema. Directed by Lorena Luciano, who will be present for the Q&A, the film follows Gloria, a former Italian nun who breaks 30 years of silence to name her abuser.
Zeitgeist Films co-founders Emily Russo and Nancy Gerstman will receive the HDF Legacy Award on Saturday, December 6, at 3:30 PM at Sag Harbor Cinema. The New York-based company they founded has acquired and distributed over 200 of the finest independent films from the United States and abroad, including “Monk in Pieces,” which will be shown after the awards presentation.
New this year, the HDF Veritas Award will be given to directors Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus for their film “Cover-Up,” in a co-presentation with New York Women In Film and Television. Director Mark Obenhaus will attend the Q&A.
For tickets, visit hamptonsdocfest.com.