HamptonsFilm celebrates artistic excellence with its 18th annual SummerDocs series, bringing 'compelling films that challenge, inspire, and engage audiences' to the East End community.
The selection of Rushdie's attack documentary as opening night—and Wildenstein's tabloid saga as a centerpiece—suggests organizers know their audience craves spectacle over subtlety. Nothing draws Hamptons crowds quite like someone else's dramatic downfall.
Gibney's 'Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie' opens the series on June 27, 2026 at Guild Hall in East Hampton. Wildenstein documentary 'The Lion Queen' premieres August 1 via HBO Original; K2 film 'The Last First: Winter K2' closes the series as an Apple Original Film.
With Rushdie's near-assassination and Wildenstein's tabloid implosion on the marquee, HamptonsFilm is betting big that its affluent audience wants their documentaries served with a side of schadenfreude. The lineup drops June 27—mark your calendars for the drama.
HamptonsFilm just dropped its 2026 SummerDocs lineup, and let's be real: they're not programming this thing for the faint-hearted. Alex Gibney's "Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie" will open the series on Saturday, June 27 at Guild Hall in East Hampton, serving as a brutal reminder that literary courage sometimes comes with a literal price tag. The documentary—inspired by Rushdie's own memoir "Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder"—doesn't just chronicle the author's physical recovery from being stabbed multiple times during a 2022 lecture in Chautauqua, New York; it allegedly digs into how he managed to retain his spirit through rehabilitation and beyond.
Gibney himself will appear for a post-screening conversation, which should make for must-watch Q&A moments. But wait—there's more drama packed into this lineup than a Real Housewives reunion. "The Lion Queen," an HBO Original documentary directed by Alden Nusser and Ben Fries, tracks Jocelyne Wildenstein's meteoric rise as a '90s tabloid obsession so consuming she earned the nickname "Catwoman." Producer Caroline Baron will join for post-screening conversation on August 1, giving audiences the chance to hear behind-the-scenes details about capturing one of pop culture's most bizarre metamorphoses.
The film doesn't just revisit Wildenstein's headline-grabbing transformation—it presumably examines how an Upper East Side socialite became a global punchline and somehow survived it all. For those craving adventure over affluence, Amir Bar-Lev's "The Last First: Winter K2"—an Apple Original Film—closes the SummerDocs series with high-altitude tension. The documentary follows a team of mountaineers who, in 2021, attempted the first successful winter ascent of K2, the world's second-highest mountain at 28,251 feet.
Bar-Lev will be on hand for his post-screening conversation, presumably to discuss how sub-zero temperatures and near-death experiences make for compelling cinema. David Nugent, HamptonsFilm's Chief Creative Officer, framed this year's selection as a celebration of storytelling resilience. "In its 18th year, our SummerDocs series continues to spotlight compelling films that challenge, inspire, and engage audiences," Nugent said in a statement.
But the real star here might be Alec Baldwin, who joins Nugent as a co-chairman leading post-screening conversations—a pairing that guarantees at least some unfiltered commentary on everything from literary freedom to plastic surgery culture. The series runs Saturdays throughout summer at Guild Hall, with all screenings beginning at 7:00 PM. HamptonsFilm members receive ticket discounts, while non-members can purchase individual admissions through Guild Hall's website. Beyond the main series, the organization also announced a free outdoor screening program featuring crowd-pleasers like "Mamma Mia!" (July 8), "Home Alone" (July 22), and—fittingly given this year's documentary theme—"Jaws" on August 19 at Main Beach.
