Columbia Filmmakers Shine at The 31st Annual Hamptons International Film Festival

The 31st Annual Hamptons International Film Festival is happening now through October 15, 2023, and several Columbia filmmakers are screening their work at the world renowned showcase, referred to by Variety as “one of America’s most glamorous displays of the best in cutting-edge cinema.”

The annual film festival—the premier film event on New York State’s East End—continues to play an important role during awards season, with a significant number of its titles being recognized each year at the Academy Awards.

Read on for more information about the Columbia films and filmmakers at this year's festival: 

So They Say

Written by Natalia Luque ’22 
Directed by Donovan Tolledo ’22
Produced by Cecilia Otero ’22

Rumors spread like wildfire in a small Chilean town as an aborted fetus is found floating in a lake. A conservative saleswoman’s values are put to the test when she discovers the culprit to be one of her young female clients.

Classmates

Written and directed by Major Dorfman '22
Produced by Grace Merriman '21, Will Pinke '22, and Justine Pinke

An apathetic teenager is dropped off on the outskirts of town to work on a project with the school outcast. The two boys form an unlikely connection, but not without consequences.

Radical

Written and directed by Chris Zalla ’04
Produced by Ben Odell ’04 

Sixth grade students at Jose Urbina Lopez Elementary are among the worst performing students in Mexico, with their world one of violence and hardship, not possibility. It might seem like a dead end, but it’s the perfect place for new teacher Sergio Juarez to try something different.

Rule of Two Walls

Written, directed, and edited by David Gutnik ’12

Rule of Two Walls is an intimate look at the war in Ukraine, as seen through the eyes of Ukrainian artists who remain in their country to make art as a defiant act in the face of aggression.

See the full lineup of the 2023 Hamptons International Film Festival here.