Moviegoers are in for another eye-popping, soul-stirring festival this October 4-14, when the Hamptons International Film Festival lights up the town. Kicking things off is the East Coast premiere of Martha. “It feels only fitting that we open this year’s event with a portrait of Martha Stewart,” says Anne Chaisson, HamptonsFilm executive director. “We are delighted to welcome Martha—a truly trailblazing cultural figure and an East End resident of more than three decades—back to the Hamptons community with open arms and give her space to graciously share her inspiring story with us all.”
That’s just the first in a series of must-see documentaries on deck this year. —Ray Rogers
MARTHA (OPENING NIGHT)
East Coast Premiere
dir. R.J. Cutler (USA), 2024
The definitive documentary on Martha Stewart as told by the icon herself. From her early start on Wall Street to becoming the original influencer, Stewart continues to reinvent herself with each decade. A Netflix release.
A MAN WITH SOLE: THE IMPACT OF KENNETH COLE (WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY)
World Premiere
dir. Dori Berinstein (USA), 2024
With heart and “sole” and unflinching determination, global fashion icon/social activist Kenneth Cole has put “cause” before “commerce” for 40 years. His commitment to HIV/AIDS, homelessness, LGBTQIA+ rights, social justice and mental health, has shattered stigmas, ignited social awareness, given voice to the voiceless, built coalitions and inspired action for good.
DAYTIME REVOLUTION (WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY)
World Premiere
dir. Erik Nelson (USA), 2024
For one extraordinary week in February 1972, the revolution was televised. Daytime Revolution takes us back in time to the week that John Lennon and Yoko Ono descended upon a Philadelphia broadcasting studio to co-host the iconic The Mike Douglas Show, at that time the most popular show on daytime television, with a national audience of 40 million viewers. What followed were five unforgettable episodes of television, with Lennon and Ono at the helm and Douglas gamely keeping the show on track. Acting as both producers and hosts, Lennon and Ono handpicked guests, ranging from musicians like Chuck Berry to comic George Carlin and consumer protection guru Ralph Nader. A Kino Lober release.
HOMEGROWN (FILMS OF CONFLICT AND RESOLUTION)
New York Premiere
dir. Michael Premo (USA), 2024
Homegrown is an unflinching chronicle of Americans at war with each other. Three right-wing activists—a newly politicized father-to-be in New Jersey, an Air Force veteran organizing conservatives in New York City, and a charismatic activist from Texas—crisscross the country in the summer of 2020, campaigning for Donald Trump and building a movement they hope will outlast him. When they become convinced that the election is stolen, they take their fight to the streets. The result is a chilling portrait of a growing movement pushing American democracy to the brink.