In addition to our Opening Night Film, we are thrilled to announce the first round of films that will screen at HIFF34 (October 2-12), including Spotlight selections, World Premieres, and an East Coast Premiere that will be paired with a special musical performance. We’re off to a great start, and we’ve got lots more to come!
Spotlight Selections
East Coast Premiere
dir. Anton Corbijn (UK, Italy), 2026
The film follows a mysterious young man from a New York publisher (Alden Ehrenreich) who is sent to Switzerland to persuade the renowned writer Patricia Highsmith (Helen Mirren) to write one final installment of the Ripley anthology.
U.S. Premiere
dir. Florian Zeller (France/Spain), 2026
When an architect accepts a morally ambiguous project—building a survivalist bunker for a tech billionaire—his wife begins to question their marriage after 17 years together. Bunker is a dramatic thriller that examines the emotional and moral challenges faced by a couple as the anxieties of an increasingly uncertain world begin to reshape their marriage, exploring the fears, doubts, and ethical dilemmas that define our time.
dir. Jordan Firstman (USA), 2026
A hard-partying New York City club promoter (Jordan Firstman) sees his whirlwind lifestyle upended by the arrival of the 10-year-old son he never knew he had.
dir. Ira Sachs (USA), 2026
Late 1980s, New York. Jimmy George (Rami Malek), a charismatic Downtown performer, rebels against his own mortality by throwing himself into a new role, a reckless affair, and the embrace of his creative community.
dir. Chris Rock (USA), 2026
Years after her Hollywood breakthrough, a talented actress (Rosalind Eleazar) whose career has stalled fights for her second act.
Premieres
World Premiere
World Cinema Documentary
dir. Anne Sundberg (USA), 2026
THE DRUG IN OUR POCKET examines how smartphones, designed to connect us, have radically reshaped childhood, adolescence, and mental health. Through intimate conversations with young people, parents, and leading experts, the film reveals a generation that is thoughtful, articulate, and increasingly aware of how digital environments shape their attention, emotions, and sense of self.
East Coast Premiere
World Cinema Documentary
dir. Andrew Morgan (USA), 2026
A music-driven love story about real-life couple Zella Day and Jesse Woods, the musicians behind the emerging band Chaparelle. Following their first year together, the film captures the joy and uncertainty of chasing a shared dream while navigating pressures that could spark their breakup—or their breakthrough.
Tickets are on sale now for Chaparelle’s live performance at Stephen Talkhouse on Friday, October 9!
World Premiere
Views From Long Island
dir. Jake Silbermann (USA), 2026
A stalled sculptor (Erica Pappas), on the verge of giving up art to study law with her on-again boyfriend, escapes to the Hamptons and takes a job teaching chess to wealthy families.
NOT DEAD YET
World Premiere
Views From Long Island
dir. Eric Weber and Nick Weber (USA), 2026
Ousted from his agency by a youth-obsessed culture, a veteran ad man (Richard Kind) teams up with a rebellious Hamptons senior breakfast club to launch a bold new venture—proving it’s never too late to rewrite your story and start a second act.
World Premiere
Narrative Competition
dir. Célia Millat, Bastien Garcia (France), 2026
Célia, a mother in her thirties, cares for her son full time. Since her father’s recent death, she has been carrying on as if everything were fine. But her daily life is suffocating her: a son who takes up all the space, breastfeeding she can’t bring herself to stop, a marriage running out of breath, and a move she is shouldering almost alone. Meeting Jérémy, the father of a child the same age, unsettles this fragile balance. Together they rediscover their shared passion for music, and sensations they thought were gone. Their attraction becomes a catalyst: her son is growing up, her marriage is fading, and Célia no longer wants to live her life on mute. Maman Bibi Coco is the intimate portrait of a woman at a turning point. A film about the vertigo of motherhood, the return of desire, and how hard it is to reinvent yourself once you become a parent.
World Premiere
Air, Land & Sea
dir. Josh Thompson (UK), 2026
Set across diverse and changing habitats from England to Chile to Bhutan, KINGDOM FUNGI delves into the extraordinary world of fungi, the ecological processes unfolding beneath our feet, global environmental policy, and the personal stories that drive each character’s devotion. First-time director Josh Thompson follows four dedicated amateur and professional field mycologists whose work is driven by a shared mission to document, educate and protect these remarkable organisms. With exquisite, highly detailed cinematography, KINGDOM FUNGI reveals the impact of the largely under-researched mushroom network that shapes life on Earth in ways we are only just beginning to understand.
The 34th annual Hamptons International Film Festival will run October 2-12, 2026, with screenings and events taking place across the Hamptons.
Passes for the HIFF34 are on sale now, and ticket packages go on sale September 1. HamptonsFilm Members can purchase tickets (at a discount) before the general public pre-sale for individual tickets begins September 19 and 20, with individual tickets to the general public on sale September 22. Become a HamptonsFilm Member today for early access. More programming will be announced in the coming weeks.
HIFF thanks this year’s festival sponsors: Presenting Sponsor Artemis Rising Foundation; Premier Sponsor Audi (official vehicle); Lead sponsor Flyte (official air travel partner); Signature Sponsors Luminara Napa Valley and Hamptons Magazine; Premium Contributing Sponsors Netflix, Shadowbox Studios, Assemble Media, Lismore Road, AlmaMatcha, UBS, Twomey Latham, Sotheby’s International realty, and Hampton Jitney; Official Media Partners WNBC, The Express News Group, The Atlantic, Long Island Broadcasting (WEHM, WBAZ & WBEA), Dan’s Papers, Now Voyager, and The Gotham/Filmmaker Magazine; Contributing Sponsors Discover Long Island, The Hedges Inn, The Maidstone, Regal Cinemas, Southampton Playhouse, Wolffer Estate, Dos Hombres Tequila and 91 East, Guild Hall, Lion’s Nook, Nick & Toni’s, NYWIFT, Primo Aperitivo, Serafina, Stony Brook Southampton hospital, The White Room Gallery.
Foundation supporters include New York State Council on the Arts and Suffolk County.
