THE APEX TIMES
Hamptons Film Festival Sets ‘I Play Rocky’ for Opening Night, to Honor Phil Lord and Chris Miller
The 2026 Hamptons Film Festival, running Oct. 2 to Oct. 12, announced additional programming and honorees ahead of its Long Island run, including directors and performers from recent independent releases.
The Hamptons Film Festival will open its 2026 edition with the screening of “I Play Rocky,” the annual Long Island event said as it released more details about this year’s lineup and awards plans. The festival, which will run Oct. 2 through Oct. 12, also named film creators Phil Lord and Chris Miller as honorees for the program’s recognition portion during the festival dates.
In addition to the opening-night title, the festival announced that “Club Kid” director Jordan Firstman will be part of this year’s honoree or featured-event slate, marking Firstman’s appearance as part of the festival’s broader focus on contemporary independent work. The festival did not characterize the specific format of Firstman’s participation beyond including him among the year’s revealed honorees and lineup elements.
The festival also said it will spotlight “Misty Green” by naming Rosalind Eleazar as a featured star tied to this year’s announced selection. Eleazar’s inclusion follows the festival’s pattern of pairing filmmaker and on-screen talent in its programming announcements, with the 2026 disclosure expanding beyond the opening-night commitment.
The new announcement comes after the festival’s earlier programming communications, with the latest updates providing additional names for attendees, press, and partners planning coverage and travel around the Oct. 2-12 window. The festival’s revealed items add to a growing calendar of screenings and appearances that typically drive ticket sales and scheduling decisions for the Long Island arts community.
Festival organizers have not said in the announcement how many total projects or what additional dates and venues within the Hamptons will be used for the remaining lineup. However, the festival framed the latest reveal as part of a continuing release of programming details as the October dates approach.
For attendees planning around the 2026 dates, the most immediate takeaway is the festival’s opening-night placement of “I Play Rocky” and the inclusion of Lord and Miller among the year’s honorees. With Firstman and Eleazar also named in the initial expanded list, the festival’s early disclosures suggest a lineup intended to draw both creative industry attention and audience interest across film craft and performance.
As the festival nears its October run, additional announcements are expected to fill out the remainder of the schedule, including other screening titles, additional on-stage appearances, and the full structure of the awards and honors portion tied to the named creators.
Why It Matters
- Opening-night and honoree announcements shape attendee travel and scheduling for the festival’s Oct. 2 to Oct. 12 window.
- Naming Lord and Miller, along with other featured creators and performers, provides early indicates about the festival’s priorities for 2026 programming and press attention.
- Including filmmakers and performers from contemporary releases can affect broader audience interest and media coverage for those works.
- The continued release of lineup details helps the festival manage event logistics and ticketing decisions for a community that relies on advance scheduling for screenings and appearances.
Key Facts
- The Hamptons Film Festival will run Oct. 2 to Oct. 12, 2026.
- The festival’s opening night programming will include the film “I Play Rocky.”
- The festival will honor Phil Lord and Chris Miller as part of its 2026 recognition slate.
- Jordan Firstman, identified as the director of “Club Kid,” is included among the festival’s announced honorees or featured participants.
- Rosalind Eleazar, identified as the star of “Misty Green,” is also included among the festival’s announced participants.
- The festival said it is revealing more of its 2026 lineup and honorees as the dates approach.