The 31st Annual Hamptons International Film Festival

The 31st annual Hamptons International Film Festival kicked off on October 5 and featured a week of films, conversations, and events. 

Throughout the week, attendees included Paul Simon, Alec and Hilaria Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg, Liev Schreiber, Alden Ehrenreich, Jennifer Esposito, Christie Brinkley, Rosanna Arquette, Eugenio Derbez, Griffin Dunne, Miles Heizer, Sheila Nevins, Mary Heilmann, Alex Gibney, Bob Balaban, Chai Vasarhelyi, Bonnie Stoll, Matt Heineman, Noah Pritzker, Jessica Yu, Cord Jefferson, and more.

The festival opened with the East Coast premiere of Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s narrative feature debut, Netflix’s “Nyad.”

The popular “A Conversation with… ” series included a talk with Paul Simon, who attended on behalf of Alex Gibney’s “In Restless Dreams: The Music Of Paul Simon,” and a talk with Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Todd Haynes who attended the festival on behalf of Netflix’s “May December,” and received the festival’s Achievement in Directing Award. 

Additional spotlight titles included the New York premiere of Sony Picture Classics’ “A Little Prayer,” directed by Angus MacLachlan; the East Coast premiere of MGM Studios’ “American Fiction,” Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut; the New York premiere of A24’s “Dream Scenario,” written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli; Neon’s “Eileen” directed by William Oldroyd; the North American premiere of “Ex-Husbands,” directed by Noah Pritzker; the East Coast premiere of Apple Original Films’ “Fingernails,” directed by Christos Nikou; the East Coast premiere of Focus Features’ “The Holdovers,” directed by Academy Award-winning director Alexander Payne; the US premiere of Hulu’s “Quiz Lady,” directed by Jessica Yu; “All Of Us Strangers,” directed by Andrew Haigh; the East Coast premiere of Netflix’s “Rustin,” directed by George C. Wolfe; A24’s “The Zone Of Interest,” directed by Jonathan Glazer; Finn Taylor’s “Avenue Of The Giants;” Brendan Walsh’s “I’ll Be Right There;” and “Fresh Kills,” directed by Jennifer Esposito.

The festival will close on Thursday, October 12, with the film “Maestro,” directed by Bradley Cooper.