HamptonsFilm Unveils Its SummerDocs Slate

HamptonsFilm’s 16th annual SummerDocs series will feature three Sundance favorites: “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” “War Game,” and “Super/Man:The Christopher Reeve Story.” HamptonsFilm and Hamptons Intl. Film Festival artistic director David Nugent and chairman emeritus Alec Baldwin will lead conversations with attending filmmakers and guests.

The series will kick-off on July 5 with Jeff Zimbalist and Maria Bukhonina’s “Skywalkers: A Love Story.” Following a successful Sundance debut, Netflix acquired the worldwide rights to the docu about daredevil couple Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus from Moscow, as they take their relationship to terrifying new heights in a wild scheme to climb the world’s last great skyscraper and perform a death-defying stunt on its spire. Following the screening, Bukhonina will take part in a Q&A.

Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss’s “War Game” will screen on July 20 followed by Q&A with both filmmakers. The docu, which debuted at Sundance 2024, imagines a nation-wide insurrection, set on Jan. 6, 2025, in which members of the U.S. military defects to support the losing Presidential candidate, while the winning candidate and his advisors war game the crisis in the White House situation room.

The SummerDocs series will conclude on Aug. 14 with Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.” The doc, about the life of Christopher Reeve, was one of the most sought after films at Sundance this year. After a bidding war, Warner Bros. Discovery acquired the film for roughly $15 million. Reeve’s son Will Reeve will be in the Hamptons to attend a Q&A after the screening.

“Each year, we strive to program our popular SummerDocs Series with some of the season’s most talked-about documentaries, and our 2024 edition is no exception,” says Nugent. “The three titles we have curated this summer have each been met with incredible audience reception thus far, and it is a privilege to now preview them for our communities out East.”

In the past, SummerDocs selections “The Eternal Memory,” “Nalvany,” “Fire of Love,” “Summer of Soul,” “Icarus,” “20 Feet From Stardom,” and “The Cove,” have gone on to receive Academy Award wins or nominations.

“The SummerDocs documentary showcase, a highlight of the Hamptons summer season, offers three uniquely powerful stories to stimulate conversation about the important challenges of our times: social media and internet stardom, America’s political divide, and the relentless spirit of humanity when faced with a seemingly insurmountable challenge,” says HamptonsFilm executive director Anne Chaisson.

HamptonsFilm also announced the return of the free outdoor screening series, featuring a lineup of classic films presented Wednesday evenings throughout the summer at East Hampton’s Herrick Park and Main Beach. Films screenings this season include “Jurassic Park” (July 17), “Singin’ In The Rain”(July 24), “Moana” (July 31), “The Neverending Story” (Aug. 7) and “Jaws” (Aug. 21). 

Additional HamptonsFilm summer programming includes film camps for students ages 8-15, taking place July 8-12 in East Hampton at the HamptonsFilm offices; and July 15-19 in Southampton with partner Southampton Arts Center.

The 32nd annual Hamptons International Film Festival will take place from Oct. 4-14, as an expanded 11-day event.