Let the Hamptons Film Festival Bring You to Hamptons, N.Y.

Any young screenwriter or would-be film director knows the adage "It's not what you know, it's who you know," but how are you expected to get to know anybody in the industry if you are standing on the outside? Let the Hamptons Film Festival guide you to Hamptons, NY, and you'll have a chance to rub elbows with the brightest stars and best directors. Not only will you have a chance to learn invaluable information about film production during the 5-day film festival, you'll see, up close and personal, what your competition is doing with film.

New Visions

By celebrating independent films, the Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) offers a unique perspective in the form of long, short, fiction, and documentary films presented to the public. No longer are movie-goers forced to see only the big-budget, highly-advertised films from the few large studios, instead, the Hamptons Film Festival showcases the films made by the individuals and small movie studios. Filmmakers from around the world are invited to present their point-of-view, in the hopes of enlightening audiences and encouraging a global dialogue about the issues that affect all human beings, no matter their location.

A Now Historic Tradition

For nearly 20 years, the Hamptons Film Festival has showcased formerly-unknown directors, granting them an exposure to the spotlight that they may never have seen otherwise. The 5-day film festival, held each October at locations throughout the Hamptons, New York, attracts upwards of 15,000 visitors each year, making it one of the best attended film festivals in the US. Any young filmmaker wanting to learn about the industry would be well-advised to attend the Hamptons Film Festival.

Amazing Filmmaker Incentives

Finished your own film? The Hamptons Film Festival offers to winning directors one of the best prizes in the industry: $200,000 for the awards package. If that isn't incentive enough for filmmakers to submit their work to the HIFF, the luminaries who attend each film festival should encourage the submission. When Hollywood notables attend a film festival, you know they are scouting for new talent and ideas as much as they are there to enjoy the ambiance. In fact, it's not unusual for small films shown at the festival to become the next big thing in the mainstream theaters, and it's exactly due to the amazing exposure that the filmmakers get during the festival.

Workshops and Programs

Each year of the HIFF film festival includes a section called "A Conversation With..." which features successful and well-known film directors, producers, and other luminaries. Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Isabella Rossellini are just a few of the notables who have participated in these intimate Q&A sessions. Workshops are offered on a variety of topics of particular interest to industry insiders (or outsiders looking in). Finally, another facet of the Hamptons Film Festival is the Screenwriters Lab, which pairs established screenwriters with emerging ones in a one-on-one workshop designed to improve skills and facilitate the exchange of ideas.

Tickets

While you can buy tickets individually for the screenings, future filmmakers and anyone interested in learning more about the film industry, should consider purchasing the Filmmakers Discovery Package, which includes tickets to 6 screenings, and an invitation to the HIFF filmmakers salute.