See “Forgotten Founders: David Hempstead, Senior,” a documentary of an enslaved East End man’s journey after manumission, during the 2023 Hamptons International Film Festival.
Local filmmakers Sam Hamilton and Julian Alvarez are the directors and William N. Collage is the producer of this short-form documentary. The festival screening is Monday, October 9, at 6 PM at the Regal UA in East Hampton.
About the David Hempstead film
The film tells Hempstead’s story from his manumission in 1804 to his death in 1834. Hempstead’s children were founding members of the Eastville community in Sag Harbor.
The documentary is part of the “Forgetting to Remember” project, an 18-month collaboration between Sag Harbor Cinema and the Plain Sight Project.
Supporting it was a grant from U.S. Senator Charles Schumer through the federal Department of Education.
The Forgotten Founders film also documents the work of the Plain Sight Project, which works to uncover the legacies of enslaved, indentured, and free people of color on the East End of Long Island and beyond. It includes insights from Donnamarie Barnes, co-director of the Plain Sight Project and director of History and Heritage at Shelter Island’s Sylvester Manor.
A Q&A with David Rattray, co-director of the Plain Sight Project, and Sam Hamilton, co-director of the film, follows the screening.
About the creative team
Filmmaker Sam Hamilton earned a BA in Film Studies at Columbia University and worked as an assistant editor on projects for HBO, YouTube Originals, and Roku, among others. Sam directed and edited “Our Own Main Street Fire.” The short film chronicles the fire that destroyed the old Sag Harbor Cinema. He’s also the creator of Sag Harbor Stories, an ongoing short documentary series about local individuals.
NYC-based Julian Alvarez is a director and cinematographer with a BFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. While there, he won technical 13 achievement awards in cinematography. In his work, Julian aims to bring documentary and naturalistic sensibilities to his subjects.
Hamptons International Film Festival
HamptonsFilm, a nonprofit organization, annually produces the Hamptons International Film Festival in partnership with other entities.
HamptonsFilm was founded in 1992 with the mission “To celebrate the art of film and to introduce a unique and varied spectrum of international films and filmmakers to our audiences.”
The 31st annual festival takes place from October 5 through 12; see the guide to films and venues here.
To learn more about HamptonsFilm and see the festival lineup, visit hamptonsfilmfest.org/.
Image credit: Sam Hamilton and Julian Alvarez.
