Two films, two panels at Guild Hall: One features Alex Baldwin

It was a night like no other—shakedowns, fistfights, drug-fueled frenzies and point-blank murder. Luckily for East Hampton residents, all the action took place on the screen in the John Drew Theater instead of in town.

Last Saturday, Guild Hall held back-to-back screenings of two films by budding directors. Each was immediately followed with a star-power panel to put the award-winning projects into perspective. The first film was produced by an emerging director/seasoned actor. The second marked the first time a now-famous director, Martin Scorsese, took the stylistic reins in making a film.

The evening’s highlight was the post-film discussion led by award-winning actor Alec Baldwin and David Nugent, an independent and documentary film expert. Mr. Baldwin has appeared in several Scorsese films, including “The Aviator” (2004) and “The Departed” (2006).

Mr. Nugent is the director of programming for the Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF), and has a storied career in the film industry as a festival program director, college professor, screenwriter, film juror and selection committee member.

The pair discussed Mr. Scorsese’s directing style and how it relates to his classic film, “Mean Streets” (1973). The duo selected the film to provide a reference point for Mr. Scorsese’s latest film, “Shutter Island” (2010), currently in theaters.

“Mean Streets,” starring Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel and David Proval, long considered a classic, was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1997 as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” The screening, sponsored by the HIFF and Guild Hall, sold out the 360-seat theater.

The evening kicked off with the independent thriller, “Exposed” (2009), which centers on a power couple on the verge of political success. Decisions and circumstances soon find them separately dealing with secret enticements, blackmail and difficult choices when a man is killed.

The film was directed by Shashi Balooja, who also appears as the lead male actor. It also stars Michelle Glick. Both actors have numerous credits in film, television and theater. The film won the 2010 Best Feature Film award from the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival after it premiered there in October 2009. The Guild Hall screening drew around 30 people to its East End premiere.

Afterward, Mr. Balooja and Ms. Glick fielded audience questions about the making of the film. The director said that he made extensive use of intriguing camera angles and jump cuts—abruptly jumping from one scene to another that comes later—to create acceleration in the action or accentuate exhaustion felt by the characters.

Mr. Balooja told the audience that the filmmakers combed through 44 hours of footage to make the 90-minute film. To add a twist, the character that sets off the trouble was switched from a woman to a man. “Exposed” was written by Caytha Jentis. The discussion was moderated by Joshua Perl of The Naked Stage, which co-sponsored the screening with Guild Hall.

The latest award was the second received by Mr. Balooja. His film, “Ariana” (2004), won the 2006 Audience Award for Best Short Film at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival. He co-directed, co-wrote and appeared in the film. Locally, Mr. Balooja has appeared in theater productions at Guild Hall including “Hamlet” and “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare, “The Cherry Orchard” by Anton Chekhov and other productions.

In contrast, the discussion following “Mean Streets” was a give-and-take between Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Nugent, with a few audience questions fielded to wrap up the presentation.

The use of popular music to open and close “Mean Streets” and heighten the drama of different scenes is typical of Mr. Scorsese’s style, Mr. Nugent said.

The film also reflects Mr. Scorsese’s penchant for including as a main character a “tormented soul who goes off looking for deliverance,” said Mr. Baldwin. Mr. De Niro filled this role in “Mean Streets,” “Cape Fear” (1991), “Taxi Driver” (1977), “Casino” (1995) and others, Mr. Baldwin said.

“Mean Streets” incorporates religious quandaries from the Roman Catholic faith and also centers on people living in subcultures on the fringe who watch mainstream society from afar, Mr. Baldwin said.

Set in New York and depicting a neighborhood similar to the one where Mr. Scorsese grew up, “Mean Streets,” Mr. Nugent said, is more memoir and intimate scenes than a sweeping action-packed drama.

Both men offered insight into Mr. Scorsese’s filmography and his enjoyment of working with Mr. Keitel, Mr. De Niro and, more recently, Leonardo DiCaprio, who stars in “Shutter Island.” They suggested that Mr. Scorsese’s staying power as a director could be related to his ability to mix things up (documentaries, dramas, etc.) and his constant striving as a director.

“He’s continues to reinvent things and keeps fresh,” said Mr. Nugent.

The pair talked about Mr. Scorsese’s upcoming plans to make a film on a 17th century Jesuit priest, plus biopics, including one on Frank Sinatra, and a film called “The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” based on a boy living in a Paris train station and his secret world.

“He’s 67 years old and is planning films on Frank Sinatra and then Jesuit priests,” Mr. Baldwin offered. “He’s never done. You could sit next to him and wonder how much time does he have left and in his mind, he’s thinking about all the films he plans to make, those in the drawer and those he’s still thinking about.”