Dan's Papers - October 10, 2008 - Local Filmmakers on Tap at this Year's Film Festival

Films from across the country and around the world will be shown throughout the East End in about a week, but don't think the Hamptons International Film Festival, which runs from Oct. 15-19, will ignore local filmmakers. In fact, the festival boasts a segment called View from Long Island, which is comprised of a series of short films called East End Shorts, along with several other films.

One of the shorts, Twin Lenses, is a documentary about twin, female photographers - Frances McLaughlin Gill and Kathryn Abbe, who now lives in Montauk - who were pioneers in the field of fashion photography. Directed by Oscar-nominated director Nina Rosenblum, the 30-minute long film is told through the voices of the sisters, weaving in interviews with family members and showing photographs they took throughout their long and prosperous careers, as well as family photos.

Filmed in black and white, Peter Glanz's A Relationship in Four Days is very much influenced by French new wave cinema and Woody Allen films. Set against the backdrop of New York City, this film tells the tale of a short-lived relationship between Paul, a witty and, at times, pretentious, wealthy playboy and Sabine, a younger woman he meets on the subway. A Relationship in Four Days premiered domestically at the Sundance Film Festival and internationally at Cannes. Glanz is currently working on expanding the film into a full-length feature, The Longest Week.

The Muffin Top is the senior thesis project of recent Ross School graduate and Guild Hall filmmaking contest winner Gloria Dios, who is currently in her freshman year at New York University, where she is studying film. Utilizing stop motion animation, in this seven-minute short the lives of a baker and a late-night radio DJ collide in their dreams.

Second Guessing Grandma is a charming coming out story. Ed decides to tell his family that he's gay - including his 76-year-old, traditional, Jewish grandmother. Directed by Bob Giraldi, a member of the Art Director's Hall of Fame, Ed decides to tell his grandmother he's gay despite pressure from his mother and boyfriend that he shouldn't. He then spends the next week trying to educate her on his life, with surprising results.

The final film in the East End Shorts series is an animated piece, It Was a Dark and Silly Night, based on a story for children by Neil Gaiman, a science fiction author best known for his work with The Sandman series. Directed by HIFF alumni Steven-Charles Jaffe, and animated by a Sag Harbor native, Gahan Wilson, It Was a Dark and Silly Night is the tale of a group of children who throw a party in a graveyard, waking the dead, who wind up joining them in their festivities.

Also part of the View from Long Island segment, Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies is a feature-length documentary by director Arne Glimcher, and also introduced and co-produced by Martin Scorcese. Featuring interviews with contemporary artists such as Chuck Close, Julian Schnabel and Robert Rauschenberg, the documentary discusses the influence of early film on Cubist painters, friends and rivals Pablo Picasso and George Braque.

Finally, The Artist's Eye: Bruce Weber is part of a new annual program at HIFF, this year setting its focus on Montauk artist and filmmaker Bruce Weber. Rajendra Roy, HIFF's former artistic director, will have a conversation with Weber about his illustrious career, which includes innovative advertising campaigns for some of the world's biggest clothing companies, music videos and 10 short and feature films, one of which, a documentary on Chet Baker, earned him a nomination for an Academy Award. Clips from some of his short films, his commercials and some of his music videos will also be shown.

East End Shorts can be viewed on Oct. 18, at 3 p.m., in Southampton, and on Oct. 19, at 8 p.m. at the United Artists Cinema. Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies can be seen on Oct. 17, at 9 p.m., in Southampton, and on Oct. 18, at 2 p.m., at the United Artists Cinema. The Artist's Eye: Bruce Weber can be seen on Oct. 18, at 4:30 p.m., at the United Artists Cinema. For more information, go to www.hamptonsfilmfest.org.