HIFF33: Spotlight - Hamptons International Film Festival

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 HIFF33 Spotlight lineup below!

Director: Rebecca Zlotowski
Cast: Jodie Foster, Daniel Auteuil, Virginie Efira, Mathieu Amalric, Vincent Lacoste
Narrative Feature | France | 2025 | 107 minutes | French

Academy Award® winner Jodie Foster (NYAD, HIFF 2023) stars in this playful and thrilling mystery from French director Rebecca Zlotowski. Lilian (Foster) is a renowned American psychiatrist living in Paris. Deeply troubled by the sudden death of one of her longtime patients (Virginie Efira), Lilian teams up with her ex-husband Gabriel (French film star Daniel Auteuil) to investigate what she believes is foul play. Foster and Auteuil light up the screen in this delightful Cannes hit, which merges titillating pursuits, whodunit intrigue, and even experimental hypnosis with the sophistication of French arthouse cinema. A Sony Pictures Classics release.

Director: Luca Guadagnino
Cast: Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg, Chloë Sevigny
Narrative Feature | USA | 2025 | 138 minutes | English

In this gripping psychological drama, a college professor (Academy Award® winner Julia Roberts) finds herself at a personal and professional crossroads when a star student (Emmy Award® winner Ayo Edebiri, The Bear) makes an accusation against one of her colleagues and a dark secret from her own past threatens to come to light. Director Luca Guadagnino (CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, CHALLENGERS) returns to HIFF with this shrewd and titillating indictment of cancel culture, featuring an all-star supporting cast including Andrew Garfield, Chloë Sevigny, and Michael Stuhlbarg. An Amazon Studios release.

Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale, Andrew Scott
Narrative Feature | USA/Ireland | 2025 | 100 minutes | English

On the evening of March 31, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart (Academy Award® nominee Ethan Hawke) confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator Richard Rodgers (Emmy Award® nominee Andrew Scott, Fleabag) celebrates the opening night of his groundbreaking hit musical Oklahoma! Acclaimed director Richard Linklater evokes the warm nostalgia of a bygone era in New York, aided by a wistful soundtrack and a remarkable, chameleon-like performance from Hawke. Also featuring standout turns from Margaret Qualley and Bobby Cannavale, BLUE MOON is a charming and witty look at one icon’s struggle to cope with the inevitable passage of time. A Sony Pictures Classics release.

Academy Award® winner Emma Stone (LA LA LAND) and nominee Jesse Plemons (THE POWER OF THE DOG) star in this explosive psychological thriller about a high-powered pharmaceutical CEO (Stone) who gets kidnapped by two conspiracy-obsessed young men (Plemons and newcomer Aidan Delbis). Convinced she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth, the pair hold her hostage in hopes of disrupting her sinister plans. Academy Award winner Yorgos Lanthimos (POOR THINGS, THE FAVOURITE) returns to HIFF with this pitch-black comic window into our modern age of madness. A Focus Features release.

As World War I rages on the Western Front, the Choral Society in Ramsden, Yorkshire has lost most of its men to the army, leaving a ragtag group of women, elderly men, and boys too young to enlist. Determined to press ahead, the Choral’s ambitious committee hires a new chorus master, Dr. Henry Guthrie (Academy Award® nominee Ralph Fiennes)—driven and uncompromising, but controversial due to his many years working in Germany. In the face of uncertainty, sacrifice, and loss, Guthrie sets out to help the community cope with the chaos laying waste to their lives through the power of music. A Sony Pictures Classics release.

In this sharp, unflinching social critique, a powerful American philanthropist (Academy Award® winner Jessica Chastain) and the promisingly talented Mexican ballet dancer she champions (Isaac Hernández) begin a salacious and dangerous affair. Each with their own threshold for risk and ramification, the pair revel in the compounding pleasure and destruction that threatens their reputations and livelihoods. But when the power imbalance between them shifts, any remaining affection transforms into pain and revenge. Charged with searing chemistry between Chastain and Hernández, DREAMS offers a heightened, allegorical portrayal of class dynamics with glaring honesty from director Michel Franco.

Winner of the SXSW Audience Choice Award, Matthew Shear’s directorial debut follows overly anxious and out of work Sam (Shear), who agrees to join his psychiatrist’s (Judd Hirsch) family as a nanny for the summer on Martha’s Vineyard. When Sam meets his charges’ mother (Amanda Peet), a middle-aged actress in a rocky marriage, the pair form an intimate and unexpected bond. This charming indie comedy playfully explores themes of self-doubt and self-discovery and features a winning ensemble cast including Alessandro Nivola, Bob Balaban, Andrea Martin, Zosia Mamet, and Holland Taylor. A Greenwich Entertainment release.

Academy Award®-winning writer/director Chloé Zhao (NOMADLAND, HIFF 2020) returns with the powerful story of love and loss that likely inspired the creation of Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece Hamlet. Based on Maggie O’Farrell’s best-selling novel of the same name, HAMNET follows William Shakespeare (Academy Award nominee Paul Mescal, AFTERSUN) and his wife Agnes (Academy Award nominee Jessie Buckley, WOMEN TALKING) from their early courtship to their unimaginable loss, and how their all-consuming grief influenced the writing of a masterpiece. With immersive and textured cinematography, Zhao’s latest work is an emotional testament to the healing power of art. A Focus Features release.

From writer-director Nia DaCosta comes a provocative, modernized reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s classic play Hedda Gabler. Tessa Thompson (HIFF Variety 10 Actors to Watch 2015) stars as Hedda, a brilliant but unsatisfied new bride who finds herself torn between the lingering ache of a past love and the quiet suffocation of her present life. Over the course of one debaucherous party at her extravagant estate, long-repressed desires and hidden tensions erupt—pulling her and everyone around her into a titillating spiral of manipulation, passion, and betrayal. An Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios release.

Director: Mary Bronstein
Cast: Rose Byrne, Conan O’Brien, Danielle Macdonald, Christian Slater, A$AP Rocky
Narrative Feature | USA | 2025 | 113 minutes | English

Golden Globe® Award and Emmy® Award nominee Rose Byrne (Damages) gives a wrenching, career-defining performance as Montauk therapist Linda, an overwhelmed mother whose life is crashing down around her. As she attempts to navigate her child’s mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her own therapist (Conan O’Brien), she becomes desperate for some kind of relief from her difficult reality. Director Mary Bronstein delivers a harrowing, surreal ride through Linda’s psyche, vividly excavating anxieties around motherhood and the impossible expectations we place on ourselves. An A24 Films release.

Director: Bradley Cooper
Cast: Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Andra Day, Bradley Cooper, Amy Sedaris, Sean Hayes, Christine Ebersole, Ciarán Hinds, Scott Icenogle
Narrative Feature | USA | 2025 | 119 minutes | English

As their marriage quietly unravels, Alex (Emmy Award® nominee Will Arnett) and Tess (Academy Award® winner Laura Dern) agree to separate. With Alex finding unlikely new purpose in standup comedy and ex-Olympic athlete Tess confronting the sacrifices she made for their family, they navigate co-parenting, identity, and whether their love can take a new form. The latest from Academy Award® nominee Bradley Cooper (MAESTRO, HIFF 2023), IS THIS THING ON? is a warm and charming look at middle-aged self-discovery and the bonds that help us make sense of life’s unexpected turns. A Searchlight Pictures release.

Director: Noah Baumbach
Cast: George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Billy Crudup, Laura Dern, Grace Edwards, Stacy Keach, Riley Keough, Emily Mortimer, Patrick Wilson, Isla Fisher, Nicôle Lecky, Thaddea Graham, Jim Broadbent, Eve Hewson, Alba Rohrwacher, Lenny Henry, Josh Hamilton, Greta Gerwig
Narrative Feature | USA | 2025 | 132 minutes | English

Famous movie actor Jay Kelly (Academy Award® winner George Clooney) and his devoted manager Ron (Golden Globe® nominee Adam Sandler) find themselves unexpectedly traveling through Europe together. Each at a point of nostalgic reflection in their lives, Jay and Ron take stock of their personal regrets and notable industry glories. Led by stellar performances charged with humor and wisdom, four-time Academy Award nominee Noah Baumbach’s (MARRIAGE STORY, HIFF 2019) JAY KELLY is a sensitive portrayal of the questions we ask once life’s major milestones are behind us. A Netflix release.

This emotionally charged adaptation of the Tony Award®-winning Broadway musical stars Diego Luna (Andor), Tonatiuh (HIFF 2025 UBS Breakthrough Performer), and global superstar Jennifer Lopez. In 1970s Argentina, political prisoner Valentín (Luna) shares a cell with Molina (Tonatiuh), a larger-than-life window dresser persecuted for his sexuality. The two form an unlikely bond as Molina recounts the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favorite silver screen diva, Ingrid Luna (Lopez), challenging each of them to expand their world views. Accomplished director Bill Condon (DREAMGIRLS) returns to the movie musical in this story of political resistance punctuated with dazzling Technicolor-hued fantasy. A Roadside Attractions release.

Director: James Vanderbilt
Cast: Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Michael Shannon, Richard E. Grant, Leo Woodall, John Slattery,
Mark O’Brien, Colin Hanks, Lydia Peckham, Wrenn Schmidt, Lotte Verbeek, Andreas Pietschmann
US Premiere | Narrative Feature | USA | 2025 | 148 minutes | English/German

Imprisoned Nazi leader Herman Göring (Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe) awaits the consequential Nuremberg Trials while chief prosecutor for The Allies Robert H. Jackson (Academy Award® nominee Michael Shannon) maps out his case against Göring. As US Army psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Academy Award® winner Rami Malek) is tasked with keeping him alive through the trial, the pair develop a complicated doctor-patient dynamic in which boundaries dissolve and psychological warfare ensues. NUREMBERG’s lauded leads and standout ensemble cast—including John Slattery, Colin Hanks, Richard E. Grant, and Leo Woodall—imbue this lesser-known piece of World War II history with thrilling suspense and palpable personal stakes. A Sony Pictures Classics release.

Writer-director Ari Selinger’s directorial debut follows the true story of Tom Ferreira (Tim Blake Nelson), a down-on-his-luck Montauk mechanic whose life takes an unexpected turn when he falls for Freckles (Mireille Enos), a fellow outcast. Their love is jeopardized when town bigwigs conspire to forcibly remove Tom from his beachfront home and auto repair shop. With delightful performances from a sparkling ensemble cast featuring Anna Chlumsky, Lois Smith, James Badge Dale and Sawyer Spielberg, ON THE END is a love story that evolves into a David vs. Goliath battle against greed and power in the rapidly changing East End.

Director: Ira Sachs
Cast: Ben Whishaw, Rebecca Hall
Narrative Feature | USA/Germany | 2025 | 76 minutes | English

Ira Sachs’ (FRANKIE, HIFF 2019) latest is a rich cinematic rendering of a conversation recorded in 1974 between two major figures in the legendary 1970s New York downtown scene: the singular writer Linda Rosenkrantz (Rebecca Hall) and the brilliant and famously uncompromising photographer Peter Hujar (Ben Whishaw). As the sun sets in Linda’s West Side apartment, she interviews him about every detail of his previous 24 hours, including vivid recounts of interactions with contemporaries Allen Ginsberg and Susan Sontag. A masterclass in acting from Whishaw and Hall, PETER HUJAR’S DAY is an immersive rumination on both an artist’s life and the ephemerality of time itself. A Sideshow/Janus release.

Writer-director Max Walker-Silverman (2020 HIFF Screenwriters Lab alum) returns with this gently humanist story of the American West. Dusty (Josh O’Connor, CHALLENGERS) is a divorced father whose ranch burns down in a devastating wildfire. Living in a government-run trailer campsite with nearly nothing left, he seeks a way forward by reconnecting with his young daughter Callie-Rose (Lily LaTorre) and ex-wife Ruby (Emmy Award® nominee Meghann Fahy, The White Lotus) and by finding common ground with his new neighbors. Filmed against the rapturous backdrop of southern Colorado, REBUILDING is a ruminative, moving portrait of resilience and human connection in the wake of loss. A Bleecker Street release.

Set in modern-day Tokyo, RENTAL FAMILY follows an American actor (Academy Award® winner Brendan Fraser) who struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese “rental family” agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality. Confronting the moral complexities of his work, he rediscovers purpose and belonging. RENTAL FAMILY is a touching depiction of the quiet beauty of human connection. A Searchlight Pictures release.

Director: Joachim Trier
Cast: Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Elle Fanning, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas
Narrative Feature | Norway/France/Denmark/Germany | 2025 | 134 minutes | English/Norwegian

SENTIMENTAL VALUE reunites Renate Reinsve with director Joachim Trier (THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD, HIFF 2021) in this Cannes Grand Prix winner. After the loss of their mother, Nora (Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) reconnect with their estranged father, the charismatic, once-renowned filmmaker Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård). When Nora turns down a role written for her in Gustav’s ambitious, highly personal new film, she soon finds he has instead given her part to an eager young Hollywood star (Elle Fanning). With masterfully rendered emotion, Trier delivers a stirring portrait of a family grasping for connection through grief and art when ordinary language fails. A NEON release.

Based on Denis Johnson’s beloved novella of the same name, TRAIN DREAMS is the moving portrait of Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton, in a magnetic lead performance), a logger and railroad worker who leads a life of unexpected depth and beauty in the rapidly-changing American West of the early 20th century. Academy Award®-nominated writer-director Clint Bentley (JOCKEY, HIFF 2021) and Academy Award® nominated co-writer Greg Kwedar (SING SING, HIFF 2024) craft a sweeping and visually lush epic of one man’s place in American history, featuring fantastic supporting turns from Felicity Jones, William H. Macy, and Kerry Condon. A Netflix release.

Director: Rian Johnson
Cast: Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington,
Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, Thomas Haden Church
US Premiere | Narrative Feature | USA | 2025 | 144 minutes | English

Everyone’s favorite modern movie detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is back on the case for the third installment of this beloved murder-mystery franchise, following KNIVES OUT (HIFF 2019) and GLASS ONION (HIFF 2022). Set in a small-town church, WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY follows Blanc as he cleverly tries to solve another seemingly uncrackable case. Josh Brolin, Glenn Close, Kerry Washington, Jeremy Renner, Cailee Spaeny, Andrew Scott, Josh O’Connor, and Mila Kunis join the star-studded ensemble for the most dangerous installment of Rian Johnson’s franchise yet. A Netflix release.