The Hamptons International Film Festival Announces Tommy Lee Jones’ The Homesman Starring Hilary Swank as its 2014 Centerpiece Film

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Hilary Swank Also Announced To Headline The Festival’s Signature Program “A Conversation With…”

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East Hampton, NY - August 26, 2014 - The 22nd Annual Hamptons International Film Festival proudly announces that THE HOMESMAN will be this year’s Centerpiece film and its star, Hilary Swank will be in attendance for its East Coast premiere. The festival is also pleased to announce its “Views from Long Island” section, which focuses on local filmmakers and films with geographic ties to the Hamptons, along with one of its most famous local filmmakers, Bob Balaban who is this year’s Honorary chairman.
 
THE HOMESMAN star, Hilary Swank will attend the film’s premiere and will participate in the festival’s signature program “A Conversation With…”
 
Directed by Tommy Lee Jones, THE HOMESMAN is based on the novel by Pulitzer Prize-nominee Glendon Swarthout. When three women living on the edge of the American frontier are driven to the brink, the task of saving them from their surroundings falls to the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy (Hilary Swank). Transporting the women by covered wagon to Iowa, she soon realizes just how daunting the journey will be, and employs a feisty low-life drifter, George Biggs (Tommy Lee Jones), to join her.  The unlikely pair and the three women (Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto, Sonja Richter) head east, where a waiting minister and his wife (Meryl Streep) have offered to take the women in.  But the group first must traverse the harsh Nebraska Territories marked by stark beauty, psychological peril and constant threat. Roadside Attractions and Saban Films will release the film on November 14, 2014.
 
“Beginning our 22nd annual film festival announcement with the highly acclaimed film from Tommy Lee Jones as our Centerpiece and having Hilary Swank be a part of our Signature program Conversation with… is the tip of what HIFF will showcase this year,” says Anne Chaisson, Executive Director of the festival.
 
The Hamptons International Film Festival is also delighted to announce the first three films screening in its “Views from Long Island” section. Showtime Networks will be a lead sponsor for the section this year. Set against the beautiful backdrop of the eastern end of Long Island, the upcoming SHOWTIME® series "The Affair" explores two marriages and the emotional and psychological effects of the affair that disrupts them. The provocative drama stars Dominic West, Ruth Wilson, Maura Tierney, and Joshua Jackson and premieres on Sunday, October 12 at 10:00pm ET/PT on SHOWTIME.
 
Lou Howe’s GABRIEL, much of which was filmed in the Hamptons, stars Rory Culkin as Gabriel. Longing for stability in the throes of mental illness, Gabriel will stop at nothing until he proposes to his high school girlfriend – nevermind the fact that they haven’t seen each other in years. A sure-footed portrait of a young man on the edge, Howe's debut feature examines our fixation with the nuclear household, and whether or not it's all it's cracked up to be.
 
The festival will hold the New York premiere of Amagansett resident Volker Schlöndorff’s DIPLOMACY. At the end of World War II, General Dietrick von Choltitz, the governor of Nazi-occupied Paris, received an order to destroy the city if the Nazis were to lose it to Allied Forces. Adapted from the stage and directed by legendary German filmmaker Volker Schlöndorff, DIPLOMACY is deeply connected with its moment in history, yet resounds with timeliness in its study of diametrically opposed ideologies and the necessary search for common ground.
 
The short film WEENIE will mark its world premiere at the festival. WEENIE was filmed in East Hampton and filmmaker Dan Roe lives in Sag Harbor, teaching at the Ross School. The film’s main character, Weenie is 16. Weenie wants to go to a party. Weenie has just been grounded. Weenie's mom just doesn't understand. What will Weenie do?
 
And returning for the sixth year, the Suffolk County Film Commission will present their annual Next Exposure Award, with a cash value of $6,000, to one of the full-length features in "Views From Long Island" section.
 
The festival is also pleased to announce that renowned Hamptonite, Bob Balaban will be this year’s Honorary Chairman. He has a long history with HIFF having been awarded with the 1994 Audience Award for a film he wrote, produced and directed named, THE LAST GOOD TIME. He was named a member of the Honorary Board that same year. This fall he will star in the Broadway revival of Edward Albee’s play “A Delicate Balance,” with Glenn Close and John Lithgow.
 
“This is a great festival in a great location. It's a joy to attend for the viewers. And the prefect place to launch your independent film or doc,” says Bob.
 
The Hamptons International Film Festival greatly appreciates the support from their corporate sponsors, including Delta Airlines, Altour International, Silvercup Studios, A&E Indie Films, Corcoran, The Wall Street Journal, and WNBC New York.
 
The 22nd Annual Hamptons International Film Festival will be held over Columbus Day Weekend, October 9-13, 2014. A limited number of Founders Passes are currently on sale for 15% off until Labor Day.
 
ABOUT THE HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) is a year-round 501(c)3 non-profit organization with events, screenings, film workshops, comprehensive summer programs and an annual film festival each October. The Festival is the premiere film event on New York State's east end, and is an intimate showcase of some of the year's best offerings in contemporary cinema from around the world. With cash and in-kind prizes handed out totaling more than $190,000, HIFF continues to attract some of the best films of the year. Selections from all of our programs continue to play an important role during awards season. 2013 marked the 5th time in the last 6 years that a film at the Festival has become the eventual Best Picture winner at the Oscars, making HIFF the only Festival on the East Coast with such a distinction. In those 6 years, films screened in the festival have received 150 Oscar nominations.