Hamptons Doc Fest To Highlight “Jane Fonda In Five Acts,” “Carmine Street Guitars,” “To A More Perfect Union: U.S. v Windsor,” “Free Solo” And More

Hamptons Doc Fest, previously known as Hamptons Take 2 Documentary Film Festival, returns for an 11th year on Thursday, November 29 – with screenings taking place through Monday, December 3 at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor.

“Entering our 11th year, now with an ‘all docs, all year’ mantra, we are proud to stake our claim to a new, more succinct name that reflects our passion for the non-fiction film genre,” founder and executive director Jacqui Lofaro noted.

The Festival will launch with back to back programming for local students, followed by viewings of Sasha Friedlander and Cynthia Wade’s Grit, Richard Miron’s For the Birds, Aaron Kopp and Amanda Kopp’s Liyana and the Opening Night Film – Jeff Kaufman’s Every Act of Life, which celebrates Terrence McNally, award-winning playwright, librettist, screenwriter and LGBTQ rights activist, who will be in attendance, as will actor Harris Yulin. McNally, who was born in Texas and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University, journeyed across the world as tutor to John Steinbeck’s children. He went on to pen several groundbreaking plays and musicals, earning Tonys for Kiss of the Spider Woman, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Ragtime, and Master Class. He was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters this year, and at 80 is still busy working on three new plays.

Friday will kick-off with a Shorts Program, Susie Rivo’s Left on Pearl, Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster’s Science Fair, and Matthew Kaplowitz’s Nothing Changes: Art for Hank’s Sake. The Friday Night Spotlight Film, Carmine Street Guitars, which is co-presented with Sag Harbor Cinema Arts Center, will be followed by a Q&A with director Ron Mann and legendary guitarist G.E. Smith, former SNL band leader and the guitarist for Pink Floyd’s most recent worldwide tour. Carmine Street Guitars boasts an impressive array of notable musicians and artists, documenting five days in the life of Carmine Street Guitars, a Greenwich Village shop helmed by Rick Kelly who creates custom guitars out of reclaimed wood and apprentice Cindy Hulej. The duo has crafted one-of-a-kind instruments for the likes of Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, and many other rock and roll icons.

Saturday will showcase James William Theres’ The Hello Girls: The 100-Year-Old Story of America’s First Female Soldiers, Steve Cantor’s Ballet Now, Sam Pollard’s Sammy Davis Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me, and Kirk Simon’s Strangers No More. The evening will conclude with the Hamptons Doc Fest Gala wine and buffet reception, honoring Sheila Nevins with the Lumiere Career Achievement Award, and screenings of Nevin’s Triangle: Remembering the Fire and The Number on Great Grandpa’s Arm.

Sunday will feature Robert Anderson Clift and Hillary Demmon’s Making Montgomery Clift, Tim Wardle’s Three Identical Strangers, Susan Lacy’s Jane Fonda in Five Acts, and Rob Fruchtman’s Moving Stories. The Sunday Night Spotlight, Donna Zaccaro’s To a More Perfect Union: U.S. v Windsor, follows LGBT rights activist Edie Windsor’s fight for same-sex marriage, which brought her to the U.S. Supreme Court. The landmark decision in Winsor’s case granted same-sex married couples federal recognition. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Judith Kasen-Windsor, Edie’s spouse.

Monday, the Douglas Elliman Free Community Day, will highlight Steve Wystrach’s Manry at Sea: In the Wake of a Dream, Don Hardy, Jr. and Dana Nachman’s Pick of the Litter, Michael Dweck’s The Last Race, and Jennifer DeSane and Thomas O’Donoghue’s Stand Up. The Closing Night Film, Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s Free Solo, explores free soloist climber Alex Honnold’s quest to scale the face of the 3,000-foot El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, without a rope.

Several of the film’s directors, producers, and subjects will be in attendance.

Tickets to Hamptons Doc Fest screenings start at $15 for adults and $13 for senior citizens (no online sales). A Festival Pass is $150 and there is no fee to attend the Douglas Elliman Free Community Day, however reservations are required.

Bay Street is located at 1 Bay Street in Sag Harbor. For more information, visit /www.hamptonsdocfest.com.