Hamptons Int'l Film Festival Floats Many Stars & Starfish in Oct.

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Sunday, 03 October 2010 00:42

Written by Laura Blum

The Hamptons International Film Festival dips into its 18th year October 7 to 11, 2010 in East Hampton, New York, with additional beachheads in Southampton, Sag Harbor and Montauk.

Reaching the Long Island shore will be films from Chad, the Czech Republic, Columbia and Denmark, among other countries, buoying the Festival’s “mission to bring a wide range of viewpoints from around the world,” as per Executive Director Karen Arikian. 

Two films will open this year’s Festival. First to take its bows will be the U.S. premiere of Barney’s Version, in East Hampton on October 7. Richard J. Lewis’ adaptation of Mordechai Richler’s last novel was warmly received in Toronto, as was The King’s Speech – so much so, in fact, that it took top prize – and it’s set to show off Tom Hooper’s directorial chops on the following night, in East Hampton.

Festival curtains will close with Black Swan. Darren Aronofksy's ballet thriller has garnered festival applause for Natalie Portman's star turn as a rivalrous ballerina.

For its Centerpiece film, HIFF will mount the U.S. premiere of The Debt, a dramatic thriller about Israeli espionage directed by John Madden and starring Sam Worthington and Helen Mirren.

Julian Schnabel will be on hand for the U.S. premiere of Miral, screening in the Spotlight section. The Montauk resident’s new film draws on a novel by Rula Jebrea about several generations of Palestinian women steeped in political strife. Joining Hiam Abbass in the cast is Frieda Pinto, who first vaulted into the limelight with Slumdog Millionaire. 

Whether Danny Boyle's followup work, 127 Hours, has Oscar potential remains to be seen. Together with   Fair Game and Made in Dagenham, it forms a trio of films based on true stories that will also catch the Spotlight glint. Boyle's stranger-than-fiction thriller advances James Franco as mountain climber Aron Ralston confronting a gruesome choice.

Bringing Bourne Identity-style tautness to the Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts) saga, Doug Liman’s Fair Game should keep pulses fairly racing. Festival-goers will recall the true drama of CIA agent Plame’s cover being blown after her husband, Joseph Wilson (Sean Penn) publicly discredited the second Bush regime’s alibis for waging war with Iraq. 

Nigel Cole’s Made in Dagenham traces the 60s grassroots campaign to win equal pay for women workers, at the largest Ford Motor Company factory in Europe. Sally Hawkins stars alongside Rosamund Pike and Miranda Richardson in this seriocomic drama saluting Britain’s Norma Rae.

Alongside such recognized quantities in moviedom, the Festival will also showcase emerging talents from around the globe. To name but one, Xavier Dolan will open the Canadian section with his twisted love triangle, Heartbeats, which will also vie in the Golden Starfish Narrative Competition.

The winner will walk away with $125,000 in goods and in-kind services. Competition jurors include writer/director Peter Hedges, HBO’s Sheila Nevins, filmmakers Amir Bar-Lev and Marc Levin, composer Carter Burwell and others.

Once again, a Festival highlight will be the “Conversation With...” series. The roster of discussants who will illuminate their craft boasts Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini, Schnabel and Franco. Flexing his talent on both sides of the camera, Franco will also discuss his short film, The Clerks Tale.

For the full rundown of fiction features, documentaries, shorts and off-screen events, dive into http://hamptonsfilmfest.org

Hamptons International Film Festival
October 7 to 11, 2010
The Maidstone Hotel
Main Street
East Hampton
New York

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