The Hamptons International Film Festival SummerDocs series is back at Guild Hall in East Hampton for its 11th year to present entertaining and engaging documentary filmmaking from revolutionary storytellers.
The next film in the series on Saturday, July 20, at 7 p.m. will be “Cold Case Hammarskjöld,” directed by Mads Brügger. In 1961, United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld’s plane mysteriously crashed, killing Hammarskjöld and most of the crew. With the case still unsolved 50-plus years later, Danish journalist, filmmaker and provocateur Mads Brügger (“The Red Chapel,” “The Ambassador”) leads viewers down an investigative rabbit hole to unearth the truth. Scores of false starts, dead ends, and elusive interviews later, Mr. Brügger and Swedish sidekick Göran Björkdahl begin to sniff out something more monumental than anything they’d initially imagined.
In his signature agitprop style, Mr. Brügger becomes both filmmaker and subject, challenging the very nature of truth by “performing” the role of truth seeker. As he uncovers a critical secret that could send shock waves around the world, the audience realizes that sometimes absurdity and irony are the emboldening ingredients needed to confront what’s truly sinister.
Tickets for the screening are $25 at hamptonsfilmfest.org, guildhall.org or 631-324-4050. Guild Hall is located at 158 Main Street, East Hampton.