The 16th annual Hamptons Doc Fest will run November 30 to December 6 in Sag Harbor, with 30 films scheduled to be screened at the Sag Harbor Cinema and Bay Street Theater over the course of the seven day festival. Ticket sales open November 1 on the website, hamptonsdocfest.com.
This year’s festival poster and program cover art features a photo from the film “Call Me Dancer.” The film, directed by professional ballet dancer Leslie Shampaine and Pip Gilmour was also selected for this year’s Hamptons Doc Fest Art & Inspiration Award. It is a joyful film about the power of dance, told through the story of a young street dancer Manish Chauhan in Mumbai, India. The film also features music by Indian singers and composers.
“I chose this photo by Sonam Dekar for this year’s posters and program cover art, because the fabulous image of Manish, the subject of ‘Call Me Dancer,’ captures the magic of the dancer’s body in motion and his passion for classical ballet,” says Hamptons Doc Fest founder and executive director Jacqui Lofaro, “His journey from street dancing to the professional ballet stage is a triumph. Co-director Leslie Shampaine’s outstanding documentary deserves not only the festival’s Art & Inspiration Award but the cover spotlight as well.”
The festival’s opening night film at Sag Harbor Cinema on November 30 will be “In the Company of Rose” directed by James Lapine, about widow Rose Styron’s life with novelist William Styron, while Frank Marshall’s “Rather” about newscaster Dan Rather closes the festival at Bay Street Theater on December 6. The festival line-up includes films about artists, musicians, dancers, fashion and photography, nature and the environment, biography, history and human rights.
Filmmaker Matt Heineman will receive the festival’s Pennebaker Career Achievement Award, while the Impact Award will be given to Regina K. Scully, founder of the Artemis Rising Foundation. New this year, a Legacy Award will be given posthumously to filmmaker Nancy Buirski. The festival will also present its Young Voices Program for middle and high school students on December 6 at Bay Street Theater where award-winning filmmaker Roger Sherman will conduct a hands-on workshop.
“Our 2023 documentary program promises you the power and experience of quality storytelling that surprises us, makes us think and feel, and connects us with wider ideas and concepts,” says Lofaro. “Plus the festival provides us as always with a festive, celebratory opening to the holiday season.”
For information about all the Hamptons Doc Fest documentary films and to purchase tickets, visit hamptonsdocfest.com.
Staff Writer on Nov 2, 2023