Why I'm Excited About The Hamptons International Film Festival (Part I)...

Over the years, the HIFF--which starts next week; watch for the big preview in this week's editions of The Press and at 27east.com--has become one of my favorite things about the East End.

I have had a few of my most memorable movie experiences of all-time at the festival: deconstructing "Citizen Kane," frame by frame, with Roger Ebert; watching a glorious archival print of "City Lights," from the Chaplin estate, with a live band behind the screen playing Chaplin's lovely score for the silent film, at the John Drew; watching one of my favorite films, the Coen Brothers' "Miller's Crossing," on the big screen, then hearing several of the film's principals--including Marcia Gay Harden and Barry Sonnenfeld--discussing the experience. Nirvana for a movie lover.

This year, as usual, there's lots to be excited about--so much, in fact, that I'm going to post a daily update of a few of the items at the festival I'm eager to see (wish I could see them all, frankly). You can see for yourself at hamptonsfilmfest.org, where you can also buy tickets in advance.

So here's Part I of "why I'm excited about the HIFF":

* "Melancholia," Friday, October 14, 6:30 p.m., UA East Hampton Theater (1); Sunday, October 16, noon, UA East Hampton Theater (2)

This is the one movie I've already got tickets for--the Sunday showing, since the Friday night premiere is already in "rush" tickets, and you don't want to take chances when your favorite director's new film is finally hitting the screen.

Lars Von Trier, the Dutch imp who shook up Cannes with some unfortunate "jokes" about Nazis and regular shakes up movie audiences with his remarkable but unsettling films (most recently "Anti-Christ"), might not be my very favorite director, but he's in the final five for sure. His work isn't for everyone, but I think it's some of the most interesting stuff out there.

It's not the American debut of the film--it premiered at the New York Film Festival last weekend, and it allegedly will be available as Video On Demand on some cable and satellite providers starting today (you can bet I'm checking my TV listings as soon as I get home!). But it's still a rare chance to see the film before its limited release in November.

It's got something to do with wedding, and the end of the world, with a planet colliding with Earth. Kirsten Dunst stars. I don't really care--I just know it's likely to be worth seeing.


* East End Films, Saturday, October 15, 10:30 a.m., East Hampton UA Theater (6); Monday, October 17, 6:30 p.m., East Hampton UA Theater (6)

This is bound to be good--we've got so many talented filmmakers based here, including the students who will be featured at the festival--but I'm particularly interested because of one short film, "Two's A Crowd," by former Press intern Tom Isler and his big brother, Jim, who have roots in Southampton. Their documentary is described thusly: The key to Allen and Collette’s midlife marriage has been keeping separate apartments, twenty blocks from each other, in New York City. Soon, financial pressures force the couple to take the plunge and cohabit in Collette's one-bedroom apartment in Greenwich Village. Tom and Jim will both be there for a Q&A afterward, as will the subjects of their documentary.


* "The Bully Project," Friday, October 14, 2 p.m., East Hampton UA Theater (1); Sunday, October 16, 11:45 a.m., East Hampton UA Theater (1)

Documentary filmmaker Lee Hirsch will be in attendance to discuss his film, which is about a problem that has propped up recently here (see this week's Press) and is a growing topic of conversation nationally: bullying among young people. It's a fascinating topic, and this feature-length film will draw even more attention to an important topic to both adults and kids.
Von Trier


* "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory," Friday, October 14, 8:30 p.m., East Hampton UA Theater (5); Saturday, October 15, noon, East Hampton UA Theater (4)

Filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky unveil the third documentary in a series on the "West Memphis 3," a trio of Arkansas men who were jailed as teens after being accused of murdering three young boys. I'll spoil the ending: Seventeen years and one ridiculous circus of a trial later, they were finally released this summer. It hardly brings an end to one of the darkest chapters in American justice, one tinged with Satanic panic. (I'll be wearing my "Free the West Memphis 3" T-shirt to the showing, proudly.)