Alex Gibney’s New Documentary About Paul Simon Screens at Hamptons International Film Festival

Academy Award-winning director Alex Gibney’s “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon” will screen as this year’s Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) Centerpiece presentation on Friday, October 6. This screening will mark the New York premiere of Gibney’s film about the singer, who lives in Montauk.

In addition, HamptonsFilm, the home of HIFF, has announced that Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Todd Haynes will attend the festival to screen his latest narrative feature “May December,” and will receive the festival’s Achievement in Directing Award. The festival is also set to host five world premiere screenings of narrative and documentary features at this year’s edition.

Directed by Alex Gibney, “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon” is the definitive portrait of Simon that follows him inside the studio as he makes his new album “Seven Psalms,” while also looking back on his six-decade, Grammy Award-winning career with countless musical peaks from “Sounds of Silence” to “Graceland.” Gibney is scheduled to attend the festival and will participate in a post-screening conversation on the film.

“We are honored to be able to share this exclusive look into the creative process and legacy of Paul Simon, who is undoubtedly among the most influential artists of the twentieth century,” said HamptonsFilm Executive Director Anne Chaisson. “Alex Gibney is one of the foremost documentary storytellers of our generation, and we look forward to hosting him and the incredible film he created with Paul Simon at this year’s event.”

The films of Todd Haynes have spanned more than four decades and includes critically lauded films like “Poison,” (1991), “Safe” (1995), “Velvet Goldmine” (1998), “Far from Heaven” (2002; Academy Award nominee for Best Original Screenplay), “I’m Not There” (2007), “Carol” (2015), “Dark Waters” (2019) and “The Velvet Underground” (2021), his first feature length documentary.

Haynes will attend the festival to receive the award in person and participate in an “A Conversation With …” discussion on Monday, October 9. Haynes is also attending on behalf of “May December,” which will screen as a Spotlight selection as part of this year’s program. The film, which stars Academy Award-winners Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, follows a married couple who, 20 years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, buckles under the pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past. The film premiered in competition at the 76th Cannes Film Festival and is scheduled to be released by Netflix later this year.

“‘May December’ is a gripping exploration of scandal and its influence over American society,” said HamptonsFilm Artistic Director David Nugent. “Todd Haynes has a unique ability to captivate audiences through his provocative explorations of identity and performance, and we are thrilled to welcome him back to HIFF to speak about his latest film and his prolific career.”

This year’s HIFF will also host the world premiere screenings of five films, including Spotlight selections “Avenue of the Giants,” directed by Finn Taylor and starring Stephen Lang, Elsie Fisher, Robin Weigert and Luke Blumm, which tells the true story of Herbert Heller, a 74-year-old man carrying a traumatic secret who befriends an isolated teenager in an emotional story of multigenerational healing; “I’ll Be Right There,” directed by Brendan Walsh and starring Edie Falco, Charlie Tahan, Jeannie Berlin, and Bradley Whitford, a comedy following a single mother who has her hands full; the documentary feature “Tell Them You Love Me,” directed by Nick August-Perna and screening in competition, which weaves a riveting and endlessly nuanced story about communication, race, and sex; and World Cinema Documentary selections “Story & Pictures By,” directed by Joanna Rudnick, which takes audiences behind the scenes to meet the boundary pushers who create children’s picture books; and Max Original “They Called Him Mostly Harmless,” directed by Patricia E. Gillespie, in which a mystery unravels when an unidentified hiker is found deceased in the Florida wilderness.

Passes and packages for the festival go on sale September 5, at the HamptonsFilm website. Additional programming will continue to be announced in the coming weeks. The 31st annual Hamptons International Film Festival runs October 5 to 12, with in-person screenings and events in East Hampton and across the East End. For tickets, visit hamptonsfilmfest.org.