Short Films and a Bite of Breakfast

A new Hamptons Doc Fest program — “Shorts & Breakfast Bites” — adds to the festival experience this year by pairing a well-curated program of short films with coffee or tea, bagels and other breakfast treats, all for the regular price of a $15 film ticket.

During the week-long festival, “Shorts & Breakfast Bites” takes place on both Saturday and Sunday mornings, December 2 and 3, at 10 a.m. at Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theater, with tickets available at hamptonsdocfest.com.

“Who doesn’t love the indulgence of a morning in the theater, seeing interesting films, complete with breakfast,” says Jacqui Lofaro, executive director of Hamptons Doc Fest. “It is the perfect combination.”

The short films for Program 1 on Saturday, December 2, at 10 a.m. will include a 74-minute series of three docs. Two of them include “The ABCs of Book Banning” (27 min.) directed by Trish Adiesic and Naz Habtezghi and produced by Sheila Nevins, about book banning in American schools, and “The Barber of Little Rock” (35 min.) directed by John Hoffman and Christine Turner, about a barber’s visionary approach to the wealth gap by founding a community bank in Little Rock, Arkansas. Director John Hoffman will attend the Q&A.

The third film for Program 1 is “The Bridge” (12 min.) directed by Carl Sturgess, who will also be on hand for the Q&A. This film, with a local connection, explains the mission of The Bridge Golf Foundation, founded by Robert Rubin and his wife, Stephane Samuel, as a year-round youth development program for families in recovery, that includes college-prep tutoring, sports and arts programs, and in the summer, golf lessons at Bridgehampton’s The Bridge golf club, which Rubin built.

Program 2 on Sunday, December 3, at 10 a.m. includes a 104-minute series of four shorts — “The Orchestra Chuck Built” (22 min.) directed by Christopher Stoudt, about conductor Chuck Dickerson’s attempt to increase Black musicians in American orchestras; “Rocks 4 Sale!” (16 min.) directed by David Dibble, about how kids in the former mining town of Silverton, Colorado “mined” and sold rocks to tourists; “Last Song from Kabul” (30 min.) directed by Kevin Macdonald, about a group of daring young musicians in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover; and “Daughter of Mine” (36 min.) directed by Vanessa Martino, with Nancy Buirski as the executive producer, about a mother who works to keep her daughter’s murderer in prison. Director David Dibble will attend the Q&A.

Among the fond followers of the Hamptons Doc Fest’s shorts programs are Judi and Howard Roth of Southampton.

“Short films, whether live action or documentary, give you a chance to see so many creative minds at work,” says Judi Roth. “The subject matter is so varied that you are constantly amazed. And If you don’t like one, it will be over soon!”

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. Visit hamptonsdocfest.com for details.