Film

For the week of October 14, Hamptons Doc Fest has added the 2016 Fest Favorite “Command and Control” to its website. The film, directed by Emmy/Peabody Award-winner and Oscar-nominated Robert Kenner (“Food, Inc.” and “Merchants of Doubt”), was a fest favorite in the December 2016 documentary festival at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor.

It seems only natural that the globally celebrated Iranian-born photographer and filmmaker Shirin Neshat — who has spent a lifetime revealing the injustices between classes and genders, mostly in Islamic societies — would eventually turn her iconic kohl-lined eyes toward the same discrepancies in her adopted home country, the United States.

For David Nugent, his iPad is the new big screen. His basement, or any quiet room unoccupied by his wife or their two young children in Amagansett, is his new movie theater. And from there, over the last seven months, he has watched the most highly anticipated films of the year — movies that he would normally see at festivals around the world, including SXSW, Tribeca, Cannes and Toronto, all canceled or moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This week, Hamptons Doc Fest adds the documentary “Citizen Jane: Battle for the City” to its website. The film, directed by Matt Tyrnauer, spotlights Jane Jacobs, writer and urban activist, as she battled in a David-and-Goliath struggle to save historic New York City neighborhoods during the 1960s when urban planner Robert Moses was poised to wipe them off the map.

The North Fork TV Festival has announced that the recipient of this year’s Canopy Award will be “Law & Order” and “F.B.I.” star Jeremy Sisto. A formal ceremony will be held on Saturday, October 17, as part of the festival’s drive-in event at the Castello di Borghese Vineyard in Cutchogue.

When Elizabeth Lo’s dog from childhood died, she grieved mightily, as all pet owners do. But as a filmmaker, she also considered how she could take the grieving process a bit further than most people ever would. “I was also grieving the external politics that defined him as less than human,” explained Lo. “I wanted to make a film that centered on a dog’s life and gave value to it.” The result is “Stray,” her new feature-length documentary that will be screened at the upcoming 28th annual Hamptons International Film Festival.

Singer/songwriter Harry Chapin was killed in a fiery crash in July 1981, after his Volkswagen Rabbit was rear-ended by a semi on the Long Island Expressway. Chapin, who was just 38 years old, was on his way to perform a free benefit concert and perhaps that fact says more about his life than even his prolific musical career, given that if those who knew and loved him had any criticism of Chapin, it would be his propensity for giving his music away for free to raise money or awareness for a good cause.

Directed by Dan Shadur, “King Bibi” was a fest favorite when it screened at the December 2019 doc festival. This documentary tells the story of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rise to power, relying on archival footage from four decades of his public and media appearances.

For the many Ruth Bader Ginsburg fans, in memory of her September 18 passing from cancer at the age of 87, Hamptons Doc Fest founder/executive director Jacqui Lofaro has arranged for a special screening of “RBG” on the website this Friday, September 25.

Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center (WHBPAC) is presenting concert films in a drive-in format at the Westhampton Presbyterian Church (90 Meeting House Road, Westhampton Beach). Get a look at rare concert footage from the comfort of your own car (patrons will not be able to get out of their vehicles).

For the week of September 23 Hamptons Doc Fest has added “For the Birds” to the hamptonsdocfest website. “For the Birds” (2018, 92 min.), directed by Richard Miron, whose post-film Q&A will also be on the website, was a fest favorite at the December 2018 doc festival at the Bay Street Theater. 

Now available for viewing on Sag Harbor Cinema’s website is “Route One USA,” Robert Kramer’s 1990 film about Route 1, the highway which stretches from the Canadian border to the end of Florida’s Keys. On Thursday, September 24, at 6 p.m., Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan will lead a Zoom Q&A session with Kramer to discuss the film.

HamptonsFilm has announced the full slate of programming for the 2020 edition of the Hamptons International Festival (HIFF), including additional films to the Spotlight section, as well as Signature Programs including Views From Long Island; Air, Land & Sea; and Compassion, Justice & Animal Rights.

“The Artist’s Wife,” a film shot on the East End and directed by part time resident Tom Dolby, will be released in theaters and on demand on September 25. The film had its world premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival in 2019, and it stars Lena Olin as Claire, a once promising painter, who now lives in the shadow of her husband Richard’s (played by Bruce Dern) illustrious career. 

On September 10, HamptonsFilm announced that the 28th edition of the Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) will close its 2020 edition with Regina King’s directorial debut “One Night in Miami …,” starring Eli Goree, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Leslie Odom Jr. and Aldis Hodge. The film, based on the award-winning play of the same name, tells the story of one evening in 1964 when four icons of sports, music, and activism gathered to celebrate one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. HIFF will take place October 8 to 14 with both virtual screenings and drive-ins.