From established filmmakers, and typically with talent in attendance, HIFF’s Spotlight section features a diverse range of star-studded films that will no doubt count among the year’s best.
We are thankful for our longstanding partnership with Audi—their support is truly invaluable. As the official vehicle, our filmmakers arrive at their premieres in style.
Browse our HIFF 2024 Spotlight lineup below!
10/7 | 7:45PM | East Hampton Regal UA2
10/13 | 2:15PM | Sag Harbor Cinema 1
Director/Screenwriter: Jesse Eisenberg
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, Liza Sadovy, Daniel Oreskes
USA/Poland | 2024 | 89 minutes | English
Academy Award® nominee Jesse Eisenberg returns to HIFF with his sophomore film as a writer/director, in which mismatched cousins David (Eisenberg) and Benji (Emmy Award® winner Kieran Culkin, Succession) reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the odd couple’s old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. Featuring an unforgettable dynamic between Eisenberg and Culkin and a stellar supporting cast (including a wonderful Jennifer Grey), A REAL PAIN delivers a sharp yet poignant exploration of family ties, memory, and Jewish heritage. A Searchlight Pictures release.
10/11 | 5:15PM | East Hampton Regal UA
Director/Screenwriter: Sean Baker
Cast: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan
USA/Poland | 2024 | 138 minutes | English/Russian
HIFF alum Sean Baker (THE FLORIDA PROJECT, 2017) returns with the story of a young sex worker (Mikey Madison) from Brooklyn who gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch (Mark Eydelshteyn). Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as his parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled. Winner of the Cannes Palme d’Or, ANORA is a whirlwind ride through clashing class worlds, featuring Baker’s signature humor and empathy and a fantastic breakthrough lead performance from Madison. A Neon release.
10/6 | 4:45PM | East Hampton Middle School
10/10 | 8:15PM | East Hampton Regal UA1
Director: Daniel Robbins
Screenwriters: Zack Weiner, Daniel Robbins
Cast: Kyra Sedgwick, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Jon Bass, Milana Vayntrub, David Paymer, Meghan Leathers, Theo Taplitz, Ashley Zukerman
USA | 2024 | 84 minutes | English
Newly engaged couple David (Jon Bass) and Meg (Meghan Leathers) plan to introduce their parents for the first time over Shabbat dinner at David’s parents’ Upper West Side apartment. As the finishing touches for the evening come together, a dead body throws a wrench into this high-stakes affair. This day of rest is anything but, as David’s family must find a way to get rid of the body before their future in-laws arrive. Daniel Robbins’ winning interfaith comedy BAD SHABBOS boasts a hilarious cast (Kyra Sedgwick, Method Man, Catherine Curtin and David Paymer) and highly satisfying high jinks.
10/12 | 6:00PM | East Hampton Regal UA1
10/13 | 5:00PM | Guild Hall
Director/Screenwriter: Andrea Arnold
Cast: Barry Keoghan, Franz Rogowski, Nykiya Adams, Jason Buda
New York Premiere | UK/USA/France/Germany | 2024 | 119 minutes | English
Twelve-year-old Bailey (newcomer Nykiya Adams) lives with her single dad Bug (Academy Award nominee Barry Keoghan, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN) and brother Hunter (Jason Buda) in a squat in North Kent. Bug doesn’t have much time for his kids, and Bailey, who is approaching puberty, seeks attention and adventure elsewhere. One day, she meets a stranger named Bird (Franz Rogowski, PASSAGES), an enigmatic and dreamlike character who becomes a part of Bailey’s life. Academy Award winner Andrea Arnold compassionately crafts this tender coming-of-age story that blends the harsh truths of life with the enthralling fantasy of a child’s rich inner world. A MUBI release.
10/13 | 2:00PM | Guild Hall
10/14 | 4:45PM | East Hampton Regal UA2
Director/Screenwriter: Steve McQueen
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Kathy Burke, Paul Weller
UK | 2024 | 114 minutes | English
Set in London during World War II, BLITZ follows the epic journey of
George (Elliott Heffernan), a defiant 9-year-old whose mother Rita (Academy Award® nominee Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in
the English countryside. Determined to return to his mother and grandfather (Paul Weller), George embarks on the perilous way home, while a distraught Rita desperately searches for her missing son and the bombing rages on. Academy and BAFTA Award® winner Sir Steve McQueen (12 YEARS A SLAVE) returns to HIFF with this intense and emotional story of one family’s struggle to reunite during one of the world’s darkest eras. An Apple release.
Director: Edward Berger
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Carlos Diehz, Lucian Msamati, Brian F. O’Byrne, Merab Ninidze, Sergio Castellitto, Isabella Rossellini
New York Premiere | USA/UK | 2024 | 120 minutes | English Italian
In his highly anticipated follow-up to ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, Academy Award® winner Edward Berger delves into one of the world’s most secretive and ancient events—selecting the new Pope. Cardinal Lawrence (Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with running this covert process after the unexpected death of the beloved Pope. Locked in the Vatican halls with the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders from around the world, Lawrence finds himself at the center of a conspiracy and discovers a secret that could shake the very foundation of the Church. Rounded out with an all-star cast including Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini, CONCLAVE is a thrilling interrogation of faith and betrayal. A Focus Features release.
10/6 | 1:30PM | East Hampton Middle School
10/12 | 2:15PM | Guild Hall
Director: Jacques Audiard
Cast: Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, Edgar Ramirez, Mark Ivanir
France | 2024 | 133 minutes | Spanish
Through liberating song, dance, and bold visuals, EMILIA PÉREZ follows the interconnected journeys of four remarkable women in Mexico, each pursuing her own happiness. The fearsome cartel leader Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón) enlists Rita (Zoe Saldaña), an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, to help fake her death and look after her wife (Selena Gomez) and their children so Emilia can finally live authentically as her true self. Winner of the Jury Prize and a collective Best Actress Award at Cannes, renegade auteur and HIFF alum Jacques Audiard’s (RUST AND BONE, DHEEPAN) latest odyssey is an audacious fever dream that defies genres and expectations. A Netflix release.
10/6 | 5:00PM | East Hampton Regal UA2
10/14 | 7:30PM | East Hampton Regal UA2
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer
Cast: Tilda Swinton, George Mackay, Moses Ingram, Michael Shannon
New York Premiere | Ireland/Germany | Sweden/Denmark/Italy/UK | 2024 | 148 minutes | English
Academy Award nominee Joshua Oppenheimer (THE ACT OF KILLING) returns to HIFF with his narrative feature debut, a Golden Age musical about one of the last families on Earth. A wealthy couple (Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton and Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon) escaped an apocalyptic event by retreating to their luxurious compound deep underground. After the sudden arrival of an outside survivor (Emmy Award® Nominee Moses Ingram, (The Queen’s Gambit), their son (George MacKay, 1917) begins to question their seemingly perfect existence. Expressive and surreal, THE END interrogates privilege and denial through dynamic original music and unforgettable performances from its stellar cast. A Neon release.
10/12 | 8:30PM | Guild Hall
10/13 | 11:00AM | Sag Harbor Cinema 1
Director: Titus Kaphar
Cast: André Holland, Andra Day, John Earl Jelks, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor
USA | 2024 | 117 minutes | English
Celebrated American painter Tarrell (André Holland, MOONLIGHT) excavates beauty from the anguish of his youth through his art, keeping past wounds at bay. His joyful life with his wife Aisha (Academy Award® nominee Andra Day) and their young son is interrupted when his estranged father La’Ron (John Earl Jelks) returns home, desperate to reconcile. Pushed by his pious mother Joyce (Academy Award nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), Tarrell reluctantly opens his heart to see if they can be a family once again. The feature debut from esteemed visual artist Titus Kaphar, EXHIBITING FORGIVENESS speaks through the raw language of art about the challenges and hope that come with letting go of the past. A Roadside Attractions release.
10/5 | 1:30PM | East Hampton Regal UA2
10/11 | 11:00AM | Guild Hall
Directors: Scott McGehee, David Siegel
Cast: Naomi Watts, Bill Murray, Sarah Pidgeon, Carla Gugino, Constance Wu, Noma Dumezweni, Ann Dowd, Owen Teague, Josh Pais, Bing as Apollo
USA | 2024 | 123 minutes | English
A New York writer (Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts) reels in the aftermath of the unexpected death of her lifelong mentor (Academy Award nominee Bill Murray). In the midst of mourning him, she finds that she is the one left to deal with his complicated literary legacy, three eccentric ex-wives, and a massive, brokenhearted Great Dane named Apollo. Based on Sigrid Nunez’s National Book Award-winning novel of the same name, THE FRIEND is a thoughtful, charming, and wryly humorous study on grief from filmmaker duo Scott McGehee and David Siegel, one that invites us all to find the silver lining in loss.
10/8 | 7:45PM | East Hampton Regal UA2
10/13 | 5:45PM | East Hampton Regal UA1
Director: Mike Leigh
Cast: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michele Austin, David Webber, Tuwaine Barrett, Ani Nelson, Sophia Brown, Jonathan Livingstone, Alice Bailey Johnson, Llewella Gideon, Gary Beadle
UK/Spain | 2024 | 97 minutes | English
Seven-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Mike Leigh (MR. TURNER, HIFF 2014) returns with this tough but compassionate portrait of family life. A brilliant and deeply moving Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Academy Award nominee for Leigh’s SECRETS AND LIES) stars as Pansy, a woman navigating life in London with her husband, son, and sister while harboring a seemingly unexplainable resentment and anger toward the world around her. Undeniably honest and often sharply funny, HARD TRUTHS is an intricately executed character study that weaves unforgettable performances with masterful dialogue in a profound expression of human pathos. A Bleecker Street release.
10/10 | 5:15PM | Guild Hall
10/14 | 11:30AM | East Hampton Regal UA1
Director: Rachel Feldman
Cast: Patricia Clarkson, John Benjamin Hickey, Thomas Sadoski
World Premiere | USA | 2024 | 93 minutes | English
When a hard-working Alabama factory supervisor discovers that her company has been paying her half of what her male counterparts received for 20 years, she begins a historic fight towards justice. Academy Award® nominee Patricia Clarkson fiercely portrays the remarkable life of fair pay activist Lilly Ledbetter, who battles for equality all the way to the Supreme Court, through the power corridors of Congress, and ultimately, into the White House. Rachel Feldman’s empowering feature film debut, featuring supporting turns from Jon Benjamin Hickey and Thomas Sadoski, is an extraordinary journey of an ordinary woman who refuses to accept the sexist status quo.
10/5 | 8:00PM | East Hampton Regal UA1
Director: Pablo Larrain
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alba Rohrwacher, Pierfrancesco Favino, Valeria Golino
Italy/Germany/USA | 2024 | 123 minutes | English
Academy Award® nominee Pablo Larraín (JACKIE, SPENCER) returns to HIFF with his latest historical biopic exploring the pivotal moments behind iconic women. This time, he takes up the tumultuous, beautiful and tragic story of Maria Callas, considered by many to be the world’s greatest female opera singer. Set in 1970s Paris during the final week of her life, MARIA features an unforgettable lead performance from Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie (GIRL, INTERRUPTED) as Callas, as well as supporting turns from Academy Award nominee Kodi Smit-McPhee and Alba Rohrwacher and exquisite cinematography from the legendary Ed Lachman. A Netflix release.
10/6 | 8:15PM | East Hampton Regal UA2
10/13 | 8:00PM | East Hampton Regal UA2
Director: Justin Kurzel
Cast: Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett, Alison Oliver, Odessa Young
USA/Canada, 2024, 114 minutes, English
FBI agent Terry Husk (Academy Award® nominee Jude Law) investigates a series of bold daylight bank robberies and armored car heists in the 1980s Pacific Northwest that leave law enforcement baffled and the public panicked. As the attacks become increasingly violent, Husk becomes convinced that the robberies are the work of white supremacists who are planning an armed uprising against the U.S. government. A taut thriller based on shocking real-life events, Justin Kurzel’s (MACBETH, HIFF 2015) latest follows Husk and his team into a tangled world of domestic terrorists whose ideas and actions laid the early groundwork for today’s political extremism. A Vertical release.
10/6 | 8:00PM | East Hampton Middle School
10/8 | 8:00PM | East Hampton Regal UA1
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, Callina Liang, Eddy Maday, West Mulholland, Julia Fox
New York Premiere | USA | 2024 | 85 minutes | English
A mother (Emmy Award® nominee Lucy Liu) moves her husband, son, and daughter into a seemingly picture-perfect suburban house, but after a strange series of incidents, they soon become convinced they are not alone. As the family’s life in their new home unfolds, they must confront a haunting question: what are the intentions of this phantom presence? The latest collaboration from Academy Award®-winning director Steven Soderbergh (ERIN BROCKOVICH, TRAFFIC) and iconic screenwriter David Koepp (JURASSIC PARK, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE), PRESENCE awed audiences at Sundance, turning the classic ghost story inside out with its cinematic innovation and thrilling twists. A Neon release.
10/11 | 2:15PM | Guild Hall
10/12 | 8:15PM | Sag Harbor Cinema 1
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Cast: Julianne Moore, Tilda Swinton, John Turturro, Alessandro Nivola
Spain | 2024 | 107 minutes | English
Celebrated auteur and HIFF alum Pedro Almodóvar (JULIETA, PARALLEL MOTHERS) makes a splash with his English-language feature film debut. Ingrid (Academy Award® winner Julianne Moore), an autofictional novelist, and Martha (Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton), a war reporter, reunite after years of estrangement. As they navigate an extreme but strangely sweet situation, the two women reflect on their lives and friendship. Based on Sigrid Nunez’s novel What Are You Going Through, THE ROOM NEXT DOOR showcases Almodóvar’s signature visual style, creating a colorful and lush character study on companionship. A Sony Pictures Classics release.
Director: Jason Reitman
Cast: Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Dylan O’Brien, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys, J.K. Simmons
USA | 2024 | 104 minutes | English
At 11:30pm on October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television and culture forever. Academy Award®-nominated writer-director Jason Reitman (JUNO, UP IN THE AIR) and co-writer Gil Kenan bring to life the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live. Brimming with the humor and chaos of a revolution that almost wasn’t, SATURDAY NIGHT features a brilliant ensemble cast that embodies the frenetic magic of counting down the minutes in real time until those famous words were first spoken. A Sony Pictures release.
10/12 | 9:00PM | East Hampton Regal UA
Director: Tim Fehlbaum
Cast: Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, Leonie Benesch
USA | 2024 | 94 minutes | English
Set during the 1972 Munich Olympics, SEPTEMBER 5 follows the ABC sports broadcasting team as it quickly adapts from sports reporting to live news coverage after Israeli athletes are taken hostage, revealing a decisive moment that forever changed live media. Ambitious producer Geoff Mason (John Magaro) leads the on-air coverage in an effort to prove himself to his boss, legendary TV executive Roone Arledge (Peter Saarsgard). As narratives shift, time ticks away, and conflicting rumors spread—with the hostages” lives hanging in the balance—Geoff grapples with tough decisions while confronting his own moral compass in this taut and entertaining thriller. A Paramount Pictures release.
10/5 | 11:00AM | East Hampton Regal UA1
10/11 | 8:00PM | Guild Hall
Director: Tim Mielants
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Emily Watson, Michelle Fairley, Eileen Walsh
North American Premiere | Ireland/Belgium | 2024 | 96 minutes | English
Devoted father Bill Furlong (Academy Award winner Cillian Murphy) works as a coal merchant to support his family. In the days leading up to Christmas, he discovers disturbing secrets kept by the local convent—and uncovers truths of his own—which force him to confront his past and the complicit silence of a small Irish town controlled by the Catholic Church. Based on Claire Keegan’s best-selling novel and anchored by a stunning performance by Murphy, Tim Mielants’ SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE elegantly captures a haunted man wrestling with his morality. A Lionsgate/Roadside release.
10/5 | 8:00PM | East Hampton Middle School
10/9 | 7:30PM | East Hampton Regal UA1
Director: John Crowley
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh
UK/France | 2024 | 108 minutes | English
Recent divorcé Tobias (Tony Award® winner Andrew Garfield) and gourmet chef Almut (Academy Award® nominee Florence Pugh) meet in a surprise encounter that changes their lives. Through interwoven snapshots of their life together—falling for each other, building a home, becoming a family—a difficult truth reveals itself, rocking their foundation. As they embark on a path challenged by the limits of time, they must learn to cherish each moment of their unconventional romance. Director John Crowley (BROOKLYN, 2015) returns to HIFF with this decade-spanning testament to the enduring nature of love, brought to vivid life by the magnetic chemistry between Garfield and Pugh. An A24 release.
