Hamptons International Film Festival Announces Closing Night, Star-Studded 2026 Lineup

Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, Amanda Seyfried, John Turturro, Jesse Eisenberg and Ron Howard are among the stars and filmmakers headed to the Hamptons for HIFF 2026

The Hamptons International Film Festival has filled in the picture for its 34th edition — and there will be plenty of star power heading East this October.

HIFF has announced its full 2026 lineup, including the Closing Night film, Wicker, starring Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, Elizabeth Debicki and Peter Dinklage, along with appearances and conversations featuring Amanda Seyfried, John Turturro, Jesse Eisenberg and Ron Howard.

The festival runs Oct. 2-12, with screenings and events across the Hamptons.

Closing Night: Wicker

Closing out HIFF on Monday, Oct. 12, is the East Coast premiere of Wicker, an unconventional comedic fable from directors Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fischer.

Colman stars as an ostracized fisherwoman in a medieval English village who commissions a husband from a local basketmaker, played by Dinklage. Her newly created wicker husband — played by Skarsgård — turns out to be considerably more than she bargained for, setting off jealousy, fascination and upheaval throughout the village.

The film premiered at Sundance and also stars Elizabeth Debicki.

Amanda Seyfried and John Turturro Lead the Centerpieces

Amanda Seyfried stars opposite Scoot McNairy in the U.S. premiere of Tim Blake Nelson’s The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd, screening Saturday, Oct. 3. Inspired by actual events, the film follows a teacher in an abusive marriage who takes a job teaching creative writing at a maximum-security prison and begins falling for an inmate.

Seyfried will also sit down for a festival conversation Sunday, Oct. 4, at East Hampton Middle School.

The second Centerpiece, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, screens Saturday, Oct. 10, with a cast that includes John Turturro, Steve Buscemi, Giancarlo Esposito and Tatiana Maslany.

Turturro plays Harry, an old-school New York hustler trying to survive in a city where cash and watches have given way to credit cards, cellphones and cryptocurrency. Turturro will appear in conversation Sunday, Oct. 11, at Guild Hall.

Jesse Eisenberg and Ron Howard Come to Guild Hall

Jesse Eisenberg returns to HIFF with The Debut, which he wrote and directed. The comedy stars Julianne Moore, Paul Giamatti, Halle Bailey and Eisenberg, with Moore playing a shy housewife whose small role in a community theater production transforms her into an increasingly zealous method actor.

The film screens Friday, Oct. 9, followed by Eisenberg in conversation Saturday, Oct. 10, at Guild Hall.

Also coming to Guild Hall that day is Ron Howard, whose documentary Avedon receives its East Coast premiere at HIFF. The film explores the life and legacy of legendary photographer Richard Avedon, drawing on his personal archives, previously unseen images and footage, and interviews with collaborators.

Howard will take part in a festival conversation Saturday, Oct. 10.

Pedro Pascal, Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver and More

The Spotlight lineup brings another wave of recognizable names.

Tony Gilroy’s Behemoth! stars Pedro Pascal, Olivia Wilde, Eva Victor and Will Arnett, while James Gray’s Paper Tiger pairs Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller.

Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine features John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits and Parker Posey, and Tenzing, about Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary’s historic ascent of Mount Everest, stars Tom Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe.

Other Spotlight selections include Josephine, starring Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan; The Liberation, with Carrie Coon, Lily James, Bella Ramsey and Tracy Letts; Love of Your Life, starring Margaret Qualley and Patrick Schwarzenegger; and Up Against It, starring Antonio Banderas and Forest Whitaker.

Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles is also coming to the festival with the documentary Sara Bareilles: Good Grief, an intimate look at the creation of her first album in seven years following profound personal loss. Bareilles will participate in an extended discussion after the screening.

From Elon Musk and Basquiat to Pete Townshend — and SoulCycle

The documentary slate may be one of the festival’s most eclectic.

Alex Gibney turns his lens on Elon Musk in Musk, while Jean-Michel Basquiat explores the artist through personal archives and the perspective of his sisters, Lisane and Jeanine.

Musk

Jean-Michel Basquiat

The New York premiere of Carl Sagan: We Are Made of Star Stuff examines the life and legacy of the astronomer, author and television personality, while Pete Townshend: Behind Blue Eyes looks at a pivotal chapter in the life and work of The Who guitarist.

And one documentary comes with a particularly strong Hamptons connection: Spin Wars traces the rise of SoulCycle from a small Upper West Side studio into a cultural phenomenon — including its infamous Hamptons locations and the fierce competition with Flywheel and Peloton. Katie Couric is among the spinning devotees featured in the film.

There’s also House of Criticism, about married New York art critics Roberta Smith and Jerry Saltz, which will be preceded by the short documentary Cindy Sherman: Picture This.

A Big Screen Everest First

HIFF will also host the first public U.S. IMAX screening of Everest: The Other Side, from Academy Award-winning filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin.

The National Geographic film follows elite ski mountaineers Jim Morrison and the late Hilaree Nelson as they pursue their extraordinary goal of climbing and skiing down Everest’s direct North Face.

Opening and Closing the Festival

As previously announced, HIFF opens Oct. 2 with the East Coast premiere of Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky, the true story of Sylvester Stallone’s fight to star in the movie he wrote and his refusal to give up the role of Rocky Balboa.

Eleven days later, Wicker brings the festival to a close.

Between them: more than a week of premieres, documentaries, international cinema and some very familiar faces making their way to the East End.

The 34th annual Hamptons International Film Festival runs Oct. 2-12, 2026. For the complete lineup, screening times and ticket information, visit HamptonsFilm’s website.

Angela LaGreca

Editor, Co-Founder/Publisher

Angela LaGreca, Editor-in-chief and co-Founder/Publisher of Spark Hamptons, is a four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, producer, writer and comedian/host. Her TV credits include NBC’s “Today,” ABC’s “The View,” and, most recently, the primetime cable news program “Cuomo” on NewsNation. On the East End, she was the Creative Director at LTV, VP Features/Events/Photo Editor at Dan’s Papers, and has performed at Guild Hall, Bay Street Theater and the WHBPAC. Her publishing career began at Modern Photography, where she was managing editor. LaGreca lives in Manhattan and East Hampton and can be reached at angelatvmedia@gmail.com and angela@sparkhamptons.com .