Hamptons Doc Fest and the Southampton Arts Center welcome spring and kick off a celebration of Earth Day with the annual Docs Equinox program, which this year revolves around the theme “Wildlife 360°: Celebrating All Creatures Great and Small.”
The weekend includes three days of films at Southampton Arts Center on April 24 to 26, beginning with wine receptions on Friday and Saturday at 5:30 PM, and a Sunday coffee-and-scone reception at 10:30 AM.
In selecting this year’s Docs Equinox theme that features the role that Siberian huskies, horses, hummingbirds, and other animals play in our lives, Hamptons Doc Fest executive director Jacqui Lofaro explained, “Sigmund Freud is famous for saying, ‘Time spent with cats is never wasted.’ Aldo Leopold, the great environmentalist, wrote, ‘I’m glad I will not be young in a world without wilderness.’ Whatever your sentiments are about the creatures we live with, remember that we share our planet with them.”
The Friday, April 24, 7 PM film “Folktales” (2025, 106 min.), directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, is set at Pasvik Folk High School in the snow-laden Nordic landscape 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle, where students during a transformative “gap year” learn the challenges of Arctic life, self-discovery, and survival skills by caring for a pack of loyal Siberian huskies.
Before the film, professor and naturalist Carl Safina will present a keynote address and sign copies of his many books on nature. After the screening, co-director Heidi Ewing will join via Zoom for a Q&A.
The Saturday, April 25, 7 PM documentary is “Buck” (2011, 88 min.), about Buck Brannaman, the “horse whisperer,” who was the subject of Nick Evan’s novel and the Sundance Audience Award-winning film in 2011 which honors the spirit of the late Robert Redford, who directed, produced and starred in “The Horse Whisperer.” After the screening, director Cindy Meehl will join via Zoom for a Q&A.
The Sunday, April 26, film presentation at 11 AM is “Every Little Thing” (2024, 93 min.) about author and hummingbird rehabilitator Terry Masear, whose goal is to save every tiny, injured hummingbird in Los Angeles. A Sundance Film Festival favorite in 2024, the film uses breathtaking, slow-motion photography to capture the lives of baby hummingbirds and the heroism in the tiniest of creatures. After the film, director Sally Aitken will also join via Zoom for a Q&A.
An additional feature of Docs Equinox is an Earth Central Hub — informational tables and live animal visits during the Friday and Saturday receptions, by the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center, the South Fork Natural History Museum & Nature Center, and Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons. Canio’s Books will also be on hand to sell books related to the Docs Equinox theme and those authored by keynote speaker Carl Safina. Raffles will be on sale for the Hampton Classic Horse Show in August, and the Hydrant Hotel for dog owners.
Tickets and information for the Docs Equinox screenings are available at hamptonsdocfest.com and southamptonartscenter.org.