Hamptons Film Fest Sets ‘I Play Rocky’ for Opening Night, Will Honor Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Exclusive)

The 2026 Hamptons Film Festival will open with the East Coast premiere of Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky, with star Anthony Ippolito set to receive a breakthrough performer award.

Other stars set to be honored at this year’s festival include Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Bob Balaban; Project Hail Mary directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who will receive the Achievement in Directing Award; Club Kid director Jordan Firstman, receiving the FLYTE Breakthrough Director Award; and Misty Green star Rosalind Eleazar, who will receive the FLYTE Breakthrough Performer Award. Both Firstman’s Club Kid and Misty Green, directed by Chris Rock, will screen at this year’s festival.

The Hamptons Film Festival will also host world premieres of Jake Silberman’s Barbizon, Anne Sundberg’s documentary The Drug in Our Pocket, Josh Thompson’s documentary Kingdom Fungi Célia Millat and Bastien Garcia’s Maman Bibi Coco and Eric and Nick Weber’s Not Dead Yet, starring Richard Kind, Paul Raci, Polly Draper, Tovah Feldshuh, Toby Huss, Seth Herzog, Ed German and Bill Smitrovich.

Other titles set to screen at this year’s Hamptons Film Festival include the U.S. premiere of Florian Zeller’s Bunker, starring Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz; Ira Sachs’ The Man I Love, starring Rami Malek, Tom Sturridge, and Rebecca Hall; and the East Coast premiere of Anton Corbijn’s A Talent for Murder, starring Helen Mirren, Alden Ehrenreich and Olivia Cooke.

The festival will also feature the East Coast premiere of Andrew Morgan’s Bleeding Hearts, following Chaparelle musicians and real-life couple Zella Day and Jesse Woods.

“This year’s program brings together an exciting range of films, from highly anticipated premieres and ambitious new work to distinctive discoveries from emerging filmmakers,” HamptonsFilm chief creative officer David Nugent said in a statement. “Across our narrative, documentary and spotlight selections, we’re seeing bold storytelling, singular perspectives and films that will spark conversation long after the screenings. We’re thrilled with the breadth and depth of this year’s lineup and look forward to sharing these films with audiences throughout the Hamptons.”

HamptonsFilm executive director Bob Feinberg added, “For more than three decades, HamptonsFilm has been a place where audiences come together to discover great films and celebrate the artists who make them. This year, we’re especially proud to welcome Bob Balaban, Phil Lord and Chris Miller and Jordan Firstman, whose work has made such a lasting impact on audiences. We look forward to bringing filmmakers and film lovers together once again and creating the kind of shared experiences that make this festival so special to our community.”

The 2026 Hamptons Film Festival is set to run from Oct. 2-12.