The weekend was still going strong on Monday! Thank you to everyone who came out yesterday – filmmakers & film lovers alike. We are gearing up for another exciting day of #HIFF31!
We kicked off the day by hearing from some industry professionals about the SAG-AFTRA & WGA strikes and the implications of AI on filmmaking in an incredible final Rowdy Talk. Thank you to our moderator, Dade Hayes of Deadline Hollywood, and our panelists Jennifer Esposito, Sam Bisbee, and Tonje Hessen Schei for an important and engaging discussion!
Over at the Regal UA in East Hampton, we got to see some amazing films, including: the World Premiere of MARY HEILMANN: WAVES, ROADS, AND HALLUCINATIONS, which was attended by Mary herself and Director Matt Creed; BEYOND UTOPIA, attended by Director Madeline Gavin, and Producers Rachel Cohen, Jana Edelbaum and Sue Mi Terry; and GREEN BORDER, attended by Producer Maria Blicharska and Actress Behi Djanati Atai.
Short Films were another big hit yesterday; our FLY: SHORTS FOR ALL AGES program was attended by Alex Ross, the director of SOCIAL CHAMELEON, and there were lots and lots of delighted little ones in the audience! Later that night, we welcomed some talented filmmakers whose work was featured in our VIEWS FROM LONG ISLAND SHORTS PROGRAM: Sam Hamilton and Julian Alvarez with FORGOTTEN FOUNDERS: DAVID HEMPSTEAD, SENIOR, Nora Deligter and Claire Read with THE PEDESTRIAN, and Sam Roebling and Willie Orbison with MERV.
It was such a special treat to have Hugh and DK Welchman, directors of THE PEASANTS, back for the second screening of the film with two original oil paintings from the making of the movie!
To end a wonderful day, we were honored to have Executive Producer Liev Schreiber, Director David Gutnik, and Producer Sam Bisbee attend the screening of their film RULE OF TWO WALLS, as well as Rick Clark, subject of the film COMMON GROUND, joined by Christie Brinkley, who participated in the Q&A following the screening.
📸: Jessica Dalene
