HamptonsFilm announced today the annual SummerDocs series will return for its 17th annual edition in partnership with Guild Hall. This summer’s presentations will feature a selection of the year’s most anticipated documentary features from leading industry storytellers. The series will kick off with a screening of HBO Original Documentary MY MOM JAYNE, a film by by Mariska Hargitay, on Thursday, July 17th, at 7:00PM at Guild Hall, 158 Main Street, East Hampton, followed by Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ MIDDLETOWN on Friday, August 29th, at 7:00PM also at Guild Hall.
HamptonsFilm Artistic Director David Nugent and Co-Chair Alec Baldwin will lead conversations with attending filmmakers and guests, including director Mariska Hargitay for MY MOM JAYNE, and directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss and subject Jeff Dutemple for MIDDLETOWN.
“Now in its 17th year, our SummerDocs Series continues to spotlight some of the most talked-about and buzzy documentaries of the season, and 2025 is no exception,” said HamptonsFilm Artistic Director David Nugent. “The two films we’ve selected this summer have already generated outstanding audience response, and we’re thrilled to share them with our East End audiences.”
The SummerDocs series includes a wide array of both emotional and eye-opening documentaries. MY MOM JAYNE marks Emmy®- and Golden Globe-winning actress and filmmaker Hargitay’s feature film directorial debut, and the first time she has delved into her mother Jayne Mansfield’s story and legacy, almost sixty years after the Hollywood legend’s tragic death. Previously Hargitay, along with Trish Adlesic, produced HBO’s Emmy®-winning documentary, I AM EVIDENCE (HIFF 2017, Winner: 2017 Victor Rabinowitz and Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice). MIDDLETOWN is a coming-of-age story based on exclusive access to hundreds of hours of candid, humorous and nostalgic video outtakes, and the cooperation of Fred Isseks and his intrepid students as they reckon—thirty years later—with a defining event in their lives and a remarkable story of civic courage.
Many past SummerDocs Series selections have continued down the awards path and have gone on to be shortlisted, receive a nomination, and even win an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature Film, including SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY (2024), THE ETERNAL MEMORY (2024), NAVALNY (2023), FIRE OF LOVE (2023), SUMMER OF SOUL (2021), ICARUS (2017), TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOM (2013), SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN (2012), and THE COVE (2009). The series has also featured films from filmmakers including Maite Alberdi, Sara Dosa, Fisher Stevens, Rory Kennedy, Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing, Davis Guggenheim, Andrew Rossi, Daniel Roher, Chiemi Karasawa, Morgan Neville, Marina Zenovich, Louie Psihoyos, Steve James, Ian Bonhôte, and Peter Ettedgui.
Tickets for the 2025 SummerDocs Series individual screenings are now available for purchase for HamptonsFilm members on Guild Hall’s website. Learn more.
HamptonsFilm also announced the return of the FREE Outdoor Screening Series, featuring a lineup of classic crowd pleasers presented Wednesday evenings throughout the summer at East Hampton’s Herrick Park and Main Beach. Films screenings this season include TOP GUN: MAVERICK (July 9), JAWS (50TH ANNIVERSARY) (July 23 on Main Beach), ELF (CHRISTMAS IN JULY) (July 30), SCHOOL OF ROCK (August 6), TOY STORY (30TH ANNIVERSARY) (August 13), and BARBIE (August 20 on Main Beach). Rain dates will be the following Thursdays of each. Find more information and RSVP on the HamptonsFilm website. The series is sponsored by Serhant, and supported in part by New York State Council on the Arts and The East Hampton Star.
Additional HamptonsFilm summer programming includes Film Camps for students ages 8-18, taking place July 7-11 in East Hampton at the HamptonsFilm offices. Registration can be found here: https://hamptonsfilmfest.org/education/hiff-jr-film-camp-2025/.
As previously announced, the 33rd annual Hamptons International Film Festival will take place from October 3 – 13, 2025, as an 11-day event. Please visit www.hamptonsfilmfest.org for further information on the SummerDocs series, the Hamptons International Film Festival, and all year-round programming.
2025 SummerDocs Series Lineup
MY MOM JAYNE
A Film by Mariska Hargitay
Thursday, July 17th at 7:00PM at Guild Hall in East Hampton
Mariska Hargitay was three years old when her mother, Jayne Mansfield, tragically died in a car accident at the age of 34. The film follows Mariska as she seeks to know, understand, and embrace her mother for the first time. Through intimate interviews and a collection of never-before-seen photos and home movies, she grapples with her mother’s public and private legacy and discovers the layers and depth of who Jayne was, not only to her audience but to those who were closest to her. An HBO Documentary Films release.
MIDDLETOWN
Directed by Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss
Friday, August 29th, at 7:00PM at Guild Hall in East Hampton
1991. Upstate New York. A group of teenage misfits, inspired by a renegade English teacher, embark on a student film project and uncover a vast conspiracy that is poisoning the ground beneath their feet. Banding together to confront the indifferent adults, corrupt politicians and a violent criminal organization threatening their small town, they produce an investigative documentary that causes shockwaves in their community. MIDDLETOWN is a coming-of-age story based on exclusive access to hundreds of hours of candid, humorous and nostalgic video outtakes, and the cooperation of Fred Isseks and his intrepid students as they reckon—thirty years later—with a defining event in their lives and a remarkable story of civic courage.
2025 FREE Outdoor Screening Series Lineup
TOP GUN MAVERICK
Wednesday, July 9, at Sunset at Herrick Park in East Hampton Village
JAWS (50TH ANNIVERSARY)
Wednesday, July 23, at Sunset at Main Beach in East Hampton Village
ELF (CHRISTMAS IN JULY)
Wednesday, July 30, at Sunset at Herrick Park in East Hampton Village
SCHOOL OF ROCK
Wednesday, August 6, at Sunset at Herrick Park in East Hampton Village
TOY STORY (30TH ANNIVERSARY)
Wednesday, August 13, at Sunset at Herrick Park in East Hampton Village
BARBIE
Wednesday, August 20, at Sunset at Main Beach in East Hampton Village
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ABOUT HAMPTONSFILM
HamptonsFilm, home of the Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) was founded in 1992 to celebrate the art of film and to introduce a unique and varied spectrum of international films and filmmakers to our audiences. A non-profit organization with year-round screenings of global narrative and documentary films, an annual Screenwriters Lab, a summer documentary showcase, and extensive educational initiatives, HamptonsFilm offers programs that enlighten, educate, and provide invaluable exposure for filmmakers, while also providing the East End of Long Island with an educational and cultural experience that enriches the lives of its citizens and contributes to the local economy. HIFF, celebrating its 33rd year, is an annual premiere film event in New York State, and an intimate showcase of some of the year’s best offerings in contemporary cinema from around the world. Awarding prizes to filmmakers in cash and goods and services of over $130,000 each year, with over $5 million awarded in competition funds and services over the decades, our program continues to play an important role during awards season. For more information, please visit hamptonsfilmfest.org.
ABOUT GUILD HALL
Guild Hall is the cultural heart of the East End: a museum, performing arts, and education center, founded in 1931. We invite everyone to experience the endless possibilities of the arts: to open minds to what art can be; inspire creativity and conversation; and have fun.
Guild Hall has served four generations and introduced audiences to the most storied artists and performers of our time. As we approach our centennial, we have completed a state-of-the-art renovation to match the caliber of our artistry for twenty-first-century audiences. The facility-wide Capital Improvements Project & Campaign includes top-of-the-line physical and technological enhancements to better deliver on our mission as an artist-driven, interdisciplinary institution. For more information about Guild Hall, please visitGuildHall.org. Follow @GUILD_HALL on Instagram.
