Hamptons International Film Festival Opens October 5

The 31st annual edition of the Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) will take place October 5 to 12, with in-person screenings and events across the East End. The festival will open on Thursday, October 5, with the East Coast Premiere of Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s “Nyad.” The film, which is set to be released by Netflix later this year, marks the narrative feature directorial debut for the Academy Award, BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning filmmaking duo Vasarhelyi and Chin.

“NYAD,” which stars Academy Award nominee Annette Bening, Academy Award winner Jodie Foster, and Rhys Ifans, tells the remarkable story of American marathon swimmer Diana Nyad (Bening), and is based on Nyad’s 2015 autobiography “Find a Way.” Nyad, at age 64, became the first person to complete the “Everest of swims,” executing a 53-hour, 110-mile swim from Cuba to Florida, through dangerous open ocean, without a shark cage. Vasarhelyi is scheduled to attend the festival and will participate in a post-screening conversation on the film.

Vasarhelyi and Chin’s previous works include “Wild Life” (2023), “Return to Space” (2022), “The Rescue” (2021), and “Free Solo” (2018), the latter of which was awarded Best Documentary Feature at the 91st Academy Awards.

“After welcoming Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s incredible documentary film ‘The Rescue’ at the 2021 edition of our festival, it is an honor to celebrate their narrative debut as this year’s Opening Night presentation,” said David Nugent, artistic director of HamptonsFilm, the organization that presents the festival. “Vasarhelyi and Chin are two of this generation’s most compelling storytellers, and ‘Nyad’ is further proof that their creativity and eye for filmmaking knows no bounds. We are thrilled to share their story with our audiences.”

“Following another successful summer of programming, it is with great enthusiasm that we begin to unveil the lineup for this year’s 31st annual festival,“ said HamptonsFilm Executive Director Anne Chaisson. “We are grateful to our audiences out east for their continued support and we look forward to bringing the community another diverse, engaging, and entertaining festival curation.”

Passes and packages for the 31st edition of HIFF will be on sale beginning September 5, at the HamptonsFilm website. Additional programming will be announced in the coming weeks.

The 31st annual Hamptons International Film Festival will run as a live and in-person event from October 5 to 12. For more information, please visit hamptonsfilmfest.org.