The 2010 Hamptons International Film Festival

Every film buff has flirted with the idea of hopping in their old Plymouth Sundance and heading South By Southwest to some far off location like Venice or Toronto so they Cannes rub shoulders with celebrities, see some stellar movies and party like a rock star. Unfortunately, it’s hard to get enough time off of work to make an extended excursion like that, so most never get the chance to go to one of the “name brand” film festivals that they hear so much about.

Luckily, there are hundreds of festivals each year and many are closer to home than you’d think. Here in the Big Apple, we’ve got two major annual film festivals – The New York Film Festival and the TriBeca Film Festival – but there are dozens of smaller gatherings to choose from. This week, the 18th annual Hamptons International Film Festival kicks off in Suffolk County, Long Island and no matter what you’re favorite genre or style of cinema, there’s something there for you.

What’s that you say? You’ve never heard of the Hamptons International Film Festival? I don’t know why, since it features a slate of films as prestigious and star-packed as any in the world. Just two years ago, the event hosted the East Coast premiere of eventual Oscar winner Slumdog Millionaire and Golden Globe winner The Wrestler, while Charlie Kaufman’s acclaimed drama Synecdoche, NY made its US premiere. Hundreds of renowned actors and filmmakers including Steven Spielberg, Kyra Sedgwick, Martin Scorsese, Mark Ruffalo and Frances McDormand regularly make the trek to the event while Alec Baldwin, Barry Sonnenfeld, Kathleen Turner, Ed Pressman and Bob Balaban serve as board members, but don’t think that this is just another celebrity-driven affair. Director of Programming David Nugent and Executive Director Karen Arikian put the films and local audience first and never compromise the principles that the festival launched with.

“The Hamptons is a very nice community with a lot of very creative and intellectual people and we think the audiences out here really crave meaningful, challenging and exciting films and so we kind of do what we can to bring them the best we can,” says Nugent, who also takes pride in the strong international presence of the festival. Arikian adds that, “I think the audiences out here have kind of helped define the festival, ” giving the locals who founded the fiesta their due. Still, both parties acknowledge the contributions that their famous friends have made to the event: “a number of the board members and people we have involved are in the entertainment industry and are able to help in really interesting ways”, says Nugent. “Darren Star is on our board of directors – you know, the man who basically brought Sex and the City to the world. Bruce Webber and Nan Bush – Bruce Webber is a very well known and respected photographer and filmmaker [as is] Michael Lynne, who ran New Line for many years. Caroline Hirsch who runs Caroline’s comedy club and Bob Giraldi, who directed music videos for Michael Jackson – we’re just lucky enough to have a very diverse group of people who can all help with all of these things.”

Arikian notes that one major celebrity in particular has helped spread the word about the Hamptons Film Festival: “Alec Baldwin has put a face to the festival. He does some fabulous programming for us. He’s done it throughout the summer here in the Hamptons – it’s called Summer Docs – and Alec hosts and helps program with David….he’s increased our presence year-round has elevated the awareness of the festival.”

And just whom are the “kind of people” coming to the festival each year? It’s a laundry list of Hollywood talent and the HIFF makes it their business to not only honor industry heavyweights like Stanley Tucci and Julian Schnabel (who will take part in the festivals acclaimed “Conversations” series this weekend), but to put the spotlight on emerging talent. The “Breakthrough Performers” program honors the work of rising stars in Hollywood and Europe, with past participants including Emily Blunt, Rooney Mara and Blake Lively. Nugent credits a well-known casting director for predicting the next big things in Tinsel Town. “We have a really great person who runs this program named Lina Todd, who is a casting director, and she has a really great eye for talent. She works throughout the year to see what actors are out there, what they’re doing, who’s on the rise, what projects are coming up and she really helps us identify these people. She’s had a great track record for it in the past, and we’re really excited about the people we have coming up this year.” On Saturday, October 9th, Frieda Pinto, Luke Grimes, Jessica Chastain, Noomi Rapace and Brittany Robertson (all who have films screening at the festival) will be acknowledged, giving those in attendance the opportunity to say “I remember them before they had that Oscar!”

It’s easy to become star-struck when celebrities young and old are rummaging through the Long Island festival, but as stated before, the films come first in the Hamptons. The 2010 line-up features a variety of obscure and anticipated projects for the public to enjoy. Many will flock to see director Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours, starring James Franco, as well as high profile films like Doug Liman’s Fair Game, Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, Barney’s Version (starring Paul Giamatti) and John Madden’s The Debt while riveting documentaries like Steven Soderbergh’s And Everything Is Going Fine and Alex Gibney’s Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer will keep moviegoers grounded in reality. The eclectic and entertaining program is shaping up to be one of the most celebrated series of films to play at any festival this year and that level of quality will continue on as the Hamptons International Film Festival approaches its 20th year in 2012.

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