Alec Baldwin’s Hamptons International Film Festival has overhauled its Israel-Palestine programming after a local temple accused the event of crossing “the line from arts programming into political propaganda.”
Randy Mastro, Baldwin’s co-chair at the festival, confirmed in a September 23 letter that the East Hampton event had already revised its advertising for “NAZA,” a Venice Film Festival award-winning documentary due to screen Saturday evening. The film, directed by Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra, examines Israeli military operations in Gaza. Mastro, 73, wrote that the festival adjusted its wording to state the movie’s “depiction of events has caused controversy, drawn criticism, and generated intense public debate.”
The changes came after Temple Adas Israel in Sag Harbor sent its own letter to the festival board, which includes Baldwin, 66, Bob Balaban, and Kathleen Turner, 70. The temple wrote that “although we would prefer you not to screen the film, we fully support your right to screen it and in no way believe in censoring creative expression.” But the congregation objected to the festival’s original description of “NAZA” as a film that “reveals in detail the systems behind Israel’s calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”
The temple’s board argued that “by presenting this inflammatory accusation as fact, rather than making unequivocally clear that it is merely the filmmakers’ conclusion-claims that are fiercely disputed, HIFF crosses the line from arts programming into political propaganda.”
Mastro fired back with a defense of the screening. “The answer to speech considered offensive is not censorship; it is more speech,” he wrote. “That is why we are going to screen this film.”
He added that the festival would expand “our programming and dialogue to provide more diverse views.” The expanded slate now includes “The Choice,” a premiere about Israeli families grieving after October 7 who found solace in Holocaust survivor Dr. Edith Eger’s memoir, plus an encore screening of “Holding Liat,” which follows a hostage couple and their families after the same attack. Both films will feature Q&As with their filmmakers.
The temple had proposed several specific measures: a brief statement acknowledging “serious and deeply contested allegations,” delivered by a festival representative before the screening, displayed on screen alongside sponsor names, and handed out in written form. The festival did not adopt all of these suggestions but did add a Sunday panel discussion featuring John Spencer, an urban warfare expert; journalist Richard Behar; and Libby Lenkinski, founder of Alibi, a fund supporting Israeli-Palestine storytelling that produced “Holding Liat.”
The Jewish Center of the Hamptons and individual letter writers had also raised concerns about “NAZA,” according to festival sources. East End Jews for Israel have organized a rally outside Sag Harbor Cinema, where the documentary will screen.
The 2024 Hamptons International Film Festival runs October 2 through October 12 across six venues in East Hampton and Southampton. Baldwin, who is separately facing an involuntary manslaughter trial in New Mexico over the 2021 “Rust” shooting, has co-chaired the festival for multiple years.