SummerDocs: ‘Nobody Speak’ on July 8 at Guild Hall, 7pm

SummerDocs host (and HIFF Co-Chair) Alec Baldwin returns for the ninth year to present new and groundbreaking documentary filmmaking and thought-provoking stories to the East End.

First up: NOBODY SPEAK: THE TRIALS OF A FREE PRESS is a timely thriller that examines the powder keg that is today’s media climate. Join us on Saturday, July 8, 7pm at Guild Hall!

Followed by Alec Baldwin and HIFF Artistic Director David Nugent in conversation with the film’s director Brian Knappenberger, Gawker Founder Elizabeth Spiers, and Thane Rosenbaum, director of the Forum on Law, Culture, & Society at NYU Law School, where he is also a Distinguished Fellow.

March 18, 2016 - St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S. - HULK HOGAN, whose given name is Terry Bollea walks out of the courthouse after he was awarded $115 million in damages in his lawsuit against the gossip website Gawker on Friday. (Credit Image: © Eve Edelheit/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Wire) (Newscom TagID: zumaamericasfourteen709524.jpg) [Photo via Newscom]

NOBODY SPEAK: TRIALS OF THE FREE PRESS

Director: Brian Knappenberger
Saturday, July 8 | 7:00PM
Guild Hall in East Hampton
Tickets

When online tabloid Gawker posted a sex tape starring former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, a high-stakes legal battle pitting privacy rights against the First Amendment ensued. Hogan won the case and the staggering settlement he received not only bankrupted Gawker and its founder Nick Denton, but also exposed a controversial, behind-the-scenes benefactor: Silicon Valley venture capitalist Peter Thiel.

Whether you love or hate Gawker, Brian Knappenberger’s gripping polemic reveals the forces that really brought down the news portal. Taking examples like Sheldon Adelson’s purchase of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, this compelling documentary illustrates a growing, sinister trend at odds with our country’s free press. Corporate executives, titans, and billionaires are tipping the balance on the public’s access to news, posing new threats to society’s relationship to the truth. Knappenberger’s knack for capturing timely and provocative shifts in the new digital era is instinctive. Fusing exhaustive interviews with Denton, commentators, and journalists, NOBODY SPEAK weaves a disturbing, fascinating tale of power and truth with a moral that runs to the core of democracy.

In conversation: director Brian Knappenberger, Gawker Founder Elizabeth Spiers, and Thane Rosenbaum, director of the Forum on Law, Culture, & Society at NYU Law School, where he is also a Distinguished Fellow


“It’s HIFF’s 25th anniversary year and the ninth season of SummerDocs and we have a great lineup of documentary films, featuring intense drama and more entertaining fare. Artistic Director David Nugent and I believe this will be one of the best SummerDoc seasons yet,” said Hamptons International Film Festival Co-Chairman and SummerDocs series presenter Alec Baldwin.


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Candescent Films
 returns to sponsor the Audience Award for the 2017 SummerDocs series. Candescent Films supports documentaries that illuminate social issues. Join the conversation @CandescentFilms.