Harry Chapin doc to premiere at this year's Hamptons Film Fest

A documentary on Long Island singer-songwriter Harry Chapin will have its world premiere at this year’s Hamptons International Film Festival, which will rely on a combination of at-home and drive-in screenings from Oct. 8 to 14.

“Harry Chapin: When in Doubt Do Something,” directed by Rick Korn, will focus on the Grammy-winning, Huntington Bay-based artist behind such hits as “Cat’s in the Cradle” and “Taxi.” Away from the spotlight, Chapin was a tireless activist and Long Island booster who served on the boards of the Long Island Philharmonic and Hofstra University and helped establish the food bank Long Island Cares. On July 16, 1981, Chapin was driving his Volkswagen Rabbit to perform at a free concert in East Meadow's Eisenhower Park when a tractor trailer fatally collided with his vehicle on the Long Island Expressway. Chapin is buried in Huntington Rural Cemetery.

The Hamptons festival is one of many that has had to adjust its plans during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tribeca Film Festival offered a similar combination of virtual and drive-in screenings; the New York Film Festival will take place virtually beginning in September.

The Hamptons also announced a number of other titles in its lineup. The opening night film, “With Drawn Arms,” looks at the legacy of Tommie Smith, the Black gold medalist whose fist-raising gesture of protest during the 1968 Olympic Games made him a political lightning rod. Florian Zeller’s “The Father,” starring Anthony Hopkins as a man whose memory is failing and Olivia Colman as his daughter, will play in the Spotlight section. “Nine Days,” a science-fiction film starring Winston Duke and Zazie Beetz, will hold its East Coast premiere at the Hamptons festival. “Stray,” a documentary about the street-dogs of Istanbul, will also hold its East Coast premiere.

For more information go to hamptonsfilmfest.org.