Today at HIFF: Bill Murray Headlines Opening Night; First Day of Screenings!

Finally, today’s the day we’ve all been waiting for! The 22nd Annual Hamptons International Film Festival kicks off tonight with Theodore Melfi‘s delightful comedy St. Vincent, starring the irrepressible Bill Murray and newcomer Jaeden Lieberher, both of whom are expected to be in attendance tonight at Guild Hall. Melissa McCarthy and Naomi Watts round out the cheeky cast.

St-Vincent-2-650

St. Vincent

Maggie (Melissa McCarthy), a single mother, moves into a new home in Brooklyn with her 12-year-old son, Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher). Forced to work long hours, she has no choice but to leave Oliver in the care of their new neighbor, Vincent (Bill Murray), a retired curmudgeon with a penchant for alcohol and gambling. Together with Daka (Naomi Watts), a pregnant stripper, Vincent brings Oliver along on his daily routine: the race track, a strip club, and the local dive bar. An odd friendship soon blossoms between the improbable pair in Theodore Melfi’s charming comedy.

While it’s true that there are no more advance tickets available, our Rush Lines may be just the ticket! You can queue up before the screenings—and we have the film showing on two screens, Guild Hall at 7:30 and Regal East Hampton UA at 8:00. About 10 minutes before showtime, after an in-theater headcount, we will accommodate as many viewers from the Rush Lines as possible. Good luck!


If Rush Lines aren’t your cup of tea, there are still plenty of tickets available for screenings all day long, starting with…

Charlie's Country 650

Charlie’s Country, the only narrative feature screening in Films of Conflict and Resolution. Tired of the constant policing, Charlie (David Gulpilil) stubbornly copes with the encroaching “white man’s laws” into his remote Aboriginal community in Australia’s Northern Territory. He goes back to his roots to live the “old way,” only to set off a chain of events he didn’t see coming.

Thursday | 2:00 pm | Regal East Hampton UA | Tickets

Garden-Lovers-650

Garden Lovers is a quietly lush and magical film that explores the roots of love, family and loss through the lens of Finnish gardens. In a recent interview with the HIFF website, director Virpi Suutari explained,”I wanted to explore my fellow creatures as part of nature, see them with humor but with a kind heart.”

Thursday | 2:45 pm | Regal East Hampton UA | Tickets 

Velvet-Terrorists-3

Charged as terrorists, but now hailed as heroes, three Czechoslovakians recount and reenact their odd and fascinating tales of armed resistance against the old communistic powers in Velvet Terrorists, screening in our Golden Starfish Documentary competition. As one of the three directors describes it in our recent interview, “It is a film about the change of the term ‘freedom fighter’ to ‘terrorist’ and back.”

Thursday | 3:45 pm | Regal East Hampton UA | Tickets

This-is-My-Land-700This is My Land is sure to provide plenty of fodder for dinner discussion. Screening both in the Golden Starfish Documentary competition and in Films of Conflict of ResolutionTamara Erde‘s personal and universal film examines how the shared, complex, and charged history of Israel and Palestine is taught to the next generation in this volatile region. Ideal for parents and students of our current geopolitical climate.

Thursday | 6:15 pm | Regal East Hampton UA | Tickets


There are plenty of other films on deck today.
Browse the entire schedule here.
See you at the movies!