HamptonsFilm Announces U.S. Premiere Of ‘Mothering Sunday’ for 29th Festival

NEW YORK, NY (September 1, 2021) – HamptonsFilm announced today that they will host the U.S. Premiere of Eva Husson’s MOTHERING SUNDAY, screening as the festival’s Sunday Centerpiece film on Sunday, October 10, sponsored by KORE Private Wealth. In the Spotlight Section, the festival will screen Mike Mills’ C’MON C’MON, Wes Anderson’s THE FRENCH DISPATCH, ​​and the East Coast Premiere of Clint Bentley’s JOCKEY. The festival will also feature the NY Premiere of Penny Lane’s LISTENING TO KENNY G, the East Coast Premiere of both Paolo Sorrentino’s THE HAND OF GOD and Rachel Fleit’s INTRODUCING, SELMA BLAIR. Selma Blair and Clifton Collins Jr. (JOCKEY) will plan to attend the festival in person on behalf of their films. The festival also announced the titles that will be showcased in the World Cinema and Signature Program section Compassion, Justice & Animal Rights. HIFF will take place October 7 – 13, 2021, with in-person screenings across the Hamptons. 

The festival announced the World Cinema section, including the World Premiere of Amanda Lipitz’s FOUND and the East Coast Premiere of Asghar Farhadi’s A HERO. The East Coast Premiere of Andrea Arnold’s COW will screen in the Signature Program Compassion, Justice and Animal Rights. Additional titles selected for the World Cinema Section include Ryuske Hamaguchi’s DRIVE MY CAR, Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s JULIA, Céline Sciamma’s PETITE MAMAN, Nana Mensah’s QUEEN OF GLORY, E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s THE RESCUE, Joanna Hogg’s THE SOUVENIR PART II, and Joachim Trier’s THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD.

“Every year we work to bring our audiences out east a diverse and thoughtful selection of films that excite and expand perspectives. We look forward to welcoming this year’s films and filmmakers to the 29th edition,” said Anne Chaisson, Executive Director of HamptonsFilm. “We are overjoyed to once again be bringing our community together in celebration of some of the year’s most incredible films.” 

“We are thrilled to announce even more wonderful programming for this year’s festival. We will be presenting some of the best films from all over the world, which will transport our audiences to different places, perspectives and stories and help us understand the world that we are in,” said David Nugent, Artistic Director of HamptonsFilm. “We can’t wait to be back in theaters to see and hear how our passionate audiences respond to the films in this year’s Festival.” 

HIFF previously announced that they will open the 2021 festival with the World Premiere of THE FIRST WAVE.

Additional films announced include the World Premiere of THE ART OF MAKING IT, the New York Premiere of BECOMING COUSTEAU, East Coast Premiere of THE LAST HORNS OF AFRICA, and will also screen the film PAPER & GLUE. As well it was announced that local East End artist and HIFF co-founder and founding Chairman of the Board, Toni Ross’ Finding Beauty in a Dark Place will be featured on the 2021 poster.

HamptonsFilm will take enhanced safety measures for the 29th edition in accordance with COVID-19 regulations across the state. Attendees will be required to show proof of vaccination for all in-person events, and will be required to wear masks. HamptonsFilm holds the safety of our guests, filmmakers, and staff as our highest priority, and is closely monitoring any and all changes to New York State and Suffolk County health guidelines. 

The 29th Annual Hamptons Film Festival will run October 7 – 13, 2021. Passes will be on sale September 7. Additional information on HamptonsFilm’s year-round programming can be found on the website. HIFF thanks the supporters for this year’s festival, including corporate sponsors Audi, Netflix, KORE Private Wealth, Silvercup Studios, Press Seltzer, and official media sponsors WNBC, Variety, The Purist Magazine, and The East Hampton Star. HamptonsFilm is grateful for the long-term support from New York State Council on the Arts and Suffolk County. For more information, please visit www.hamptonsfilmfest.org.

2021 Hamptons International Film Festival Lineup – Additional Films Lineup

A HERO

East Coast Premiere

dir. Asghar Farhadi (Iran), 2021

Rahim is in jail for a debt he hasn’t been able to pay. During a two-day leave, he tries to convince his creditor to withdraw his complaint in exchange for paying back part of the debt. Rahim is then confronted with a crisis he would never have imagined.

C’MON C’MON

Dir. Mike Mills (USA), 2021

Johnny (Joaquin Phoenix) and his young nephew (Woody Norman) forge a tenuous but transformational relationship when they are unexpectedly thrown together, in this delicate and deeply moving story from writer-director Mike Mills about the connections between adults and children, the past and the future.

COW

East Coast Premiere

dir. Andrea Arnold (UK), 2021

This film is an endeavour to consider cows. To move us closer to them. To see both their beauty and the challenge of their lives. Not in a romantic way but in a real way. It’s a film about one dairy cow’s reality and acknowledging her great service to us. When I look at Luma, our cow, I see the whole world in her.

DRIVE MY CAR

dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Japan), 2021

Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a stage actor and director, is happily married to Oto (Reika Kirishima), a screenwriter. However, Oto suddenly dies, leaving behind a secret. Two years later, Kafuku, still unable to fully cope with the loss of his wife, receives an offer to direct a play at a theater festival and drives to Hiroshima with his car. There, he meets Misaki (Toko Miura), a reticent woman assigned to become his chauffeur. As they spend time together, Kafuku finally begins to confront the haunting mystery of his wife.

FOUND

World Premiere

dir. Amanda Lipitz (USA), 2021

In Amanda Lipitz’s documentary film FOUND, three adopted American teenage girls discover that they are blood-related cousins. Their online meeting inspires the young women to confront complicated and emotional questions, and embark on a once in a lifetime journey to China together in search of answers, connections, and their lost history.

THE FRENCH DISPATCH 

dir. Wes Anderson (USA), 2021

THE FRENCH DISPATCH brings to life a collection of stories from the final issue of an American magazine published in a fictional 20th-century French city. It stars Benicio Del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Jeffrey Wright, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Christoph Waltz, Edward Norton, Jason Schwartzman, Anjelica Huston.

THE HAND OF GOD

East Coast Premiere

Dir. ​​Paolo Sorrentino (Italy), 2021

From Academy Award-winning writer and director Paolo Sorrentino (IL DIVO, THE GREAT BEAUTY, THE YOUNG POPE), comes the story of a boy, Fabietto Schisa, in the tumultuous Naples of the 1980s. THE HAND OF GOD is a story full of unexpected joys, such as the arrival of football legend Diego Maradona, and an equally unexpected tragedy. Fate plays its part, joy and tragedy intertwine, and Fabietto’s future is set in motion. Sorrentino returns to his hometown to tell his most personal story, a tale of fate and family, sports and cinema, love and loss.

INTRODUCING, SELMA BLAIR

East Coast Premiere

dir. Rachel Fleit, (USA), 2021

Director Rachel Fleit’s deeply intimate and powerful feature of one woman’s journey of personal acceptance and resilience, INTRODUCING, SELMA BLAIR, follows the singular actress as she reckons with the next chapter of her life after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. The film explores complex issues ranging from dissecting deep-rooted myths about beauty to the collective fear around disability and mortality. Complete with her trademark wit and humor, the documentary film follows Blair as she reconciles a journey of monumental transition.  

JOCKEY

East Coast Premiere

dir. Clint Bentley (USA), 2021

An aging jockey (Clifton Collins Jr.), hopes to win one last title for his longtime trainer (Molly Parker), who has acquired what appears to be a championship horse. But the years – and injuries – have taken a toll on his body, throwing into question his ability to continue his lifelong passion. And the arrival of a young rookie rider (Moises Arias), who claims to be his son, and whom he takes under his wing, further complicates the path to fulfilling his dream.

JULIA

dir. Julie Cohen, Betsy West (USA), 2021

JULIA brings to life the legendary cookbook author and television superstar who changed the way Americans think about food, television, and even women. Using never-before-seen archival footage, personal photos, first-person narratives, and cutting-edge, mouth-watering food cinematography, the film traces Julia Child’s 12-year struggle to create and publish the revolutionary “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” (1961), which has sold more than 2.5 million copies to date, and her rapid ascent to become the country’s most unlikely television star. It’s the empowering story of a woman who found her purpose – and her fame – at 50, and took America along on the whole delicious journey.

LISTENING TO KENNY G

NY Premiere

Dir. Penny Lane (USA), 2021

LISTENING TO KENNY G is about why some people hate Kenny G’s music, and why so many more people love it. A light-hearted exploration of this conflict raises big questions about taste, genre, and marketing. Along the way we hear from music critics, record executives, radio personalities, market researchers, fans – and of course, the G man himself.

MOTHERING SUNDAY

US Premiere

dir. Eva Husson (UK), 2021

On a warm spring day in 1924, house maid and foundling Jane Fairchild (Odessa Young) finds herself alone on Mother’s Day. Her employers, Mr. and Mrs. Niven (Colin Firth and Olivia Colman), are out and she has the rare chance to spend quality time with her secret lover. Paul (Josh O’Connor) is the boy from the manor house nearby and Jane’s long-term love, despite the fact that he’s engaged to be married to another woman, a childhood friend and daughter of his parents’ friends. But events that neither can foresee will change the course of Jane’s life forever.

PETITE MAMAN

dir. Céline Sciamma (France), 2021

Nelly has just lost her grandmother and is helping her parents clean out her mother’s childhood home. She explores the house and the surrounding woods. One day she meets a girl her same age building a treehouse. 

QUEEN OF GLORY

dir. Nana Mensah (USA), 2021

Sarah (Mensah), a doctoral student at Columbia University, is weeks away from following her very married boyfriend to Ohio when her mother dies suddenly, leaving Sarah the owner of a small but beloved Christian bookstore in the Bronx. Tasked with planning a culturally respectful funeral befitting the family matriarch, Sarah must juggle the expectations of her loving yet demanding family while navigating the reappearance of her estranged father all while grappling with what to do with the bookstore. Aided by an only-in-New York ensemble of Russian neighbors, feisty West African aunties and a no-nonsense Puerto Rican ex-con co-worker, Sarah faces her new responsibilities while figuring out how to remain true to herself. 

THE RESCUE

dir. E. Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin (USA/UK), 2021

THE RESCUE chronicles the dramatic 2018 rescue of twelve Thai boys and their soccer coach, trapped deep inside a flooded cave. Academy Award®-winning directors and producers E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (FREE SOLO) reveal the perilous world of cave diving, the bravery of the rescuers, and the dedication of an entire community that made great sacrifices to save these young boys. An outing to explore a nearby system of caves after soccer practice transformed into a two-week saga of survival and a story that would capture the world’s attention. With exclusive access and never-before-seen footage from the rescue, the film tells the story of the imagination, determination and unprecedented teamwork displayed during this heroic, edge-of-your-seat mission with life-or-death stakes.

THE SOUVENIR PART II

dir. Joanna Hogg (UK), 2021

In the aftermath of her tumultuous relationship with a charismatic and manipulative older man, Julie begins to untangle her fraught love for him in making her graduation film, sorting fact from his elaborately constructed fiction. Joanna Hogg’s shimmering story of first love and a young woman’s formative years, THE SOUVENIR PART II is a portrait of the artist that transcends the halting particulars of everyday life — a singular, alchemic mix of memoir and fantasy. 

THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD

dir. Joachim Trier (Norway/France/Sweden/Denmark), 2021

THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD chronicles four years in the life of Julie, a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is. 

ABOUT HAMPTONSFILM

HamptonsFilm, home of the Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF), based in the Hamptons on the Eastern End of Long Island, was founded in 1992 to celebrate the art of film and to introduce a unique and varied spectrum of international films and filmmakers to our audiences. A non-profit organization with year-round screenings of global narrative and documentary films, an annual Screenwriters Lab, a summer documentary showcase, and extensive educational initiatives, HamptonsFilm offers programs that enlighten, educate, and provide invaluable exposure for filmmakers, while also providing the East End of Long Island with an educational and cultural experience that enriches the lives of its citizens and contributes to the local economy. HIFF, celebrating its 29th year, is an annual premiere film event in New York State, and an intimate showcase of some of the year’s best offerings in contemporary cinema from around the world. Awarding prizes to filmmakers in cash and goods and services of over $130,000 each year, with over $4.5 million awarded in competition funds and services over the past 28 years, our program continues to play an important role during awards season. 2020 marked the 11th time in a row that a film in the Festival has become the eventual Best Picture winner at the Oscars, making HIFF the only Festival in the world with such a distinction. For more information, please visit hamptonsfilmfest.org.