East Hampton TV Festival Debuts

The first annual East Hampton TV Festival is slated to take place on July 22 and 23, at Guild Hall in East Hampton. The inaugural event will introduce innovative and new TV programming from around the globe to an East End audience that includes TV industry professionals.

The festival will feature screenings of 13 shows and documentary films made for TV from Canada, Germany, Austria, Spain, France, and the U.S. There will also be panels discussing important topics in television.

The event’s emcee is actress Anthoula Katsimatides, who is currently playing a recurring character on two shows: CBS’s “FBI,” and “Jessica Jones” on Netflix. She has also held recurring roles on “Seven Seconds,” “Law & Order: SVU,” and “Manifest.” Her latest role is in the soon-to-be-released feature film “What is Life Worth,” starring Michael Keaton, where she plays herself.

“A TV Festival is an imperative necessity in this new era of TV. Netflix has changed the way we interact with television. I created the East Hampton TV Festival to give new talented filmmakers a place in the Hamptons to showcase their work and to establish the East Hampton TV Awards,” said EHTVF founder Roberto Rizzo.

Rizzo is also the founder of the New York City International Film Festival, which is celebrating its 10th year, and the New York City TV Festival, which launched in 2018.

East Hampton actor Rebecca Knox from “Orange is the New Black” will be on hand to kick off the opening night. Her film, “Cavity,” a screenplay that she wrote and stars in, will be screened along with four other shows that evening.

Four documentaries will explore fine artists and art institutions. Artist Marcus Jansen, the subject of one of the EHTVF documentary films, “Marcus Jansen – Examine and Report,” will be attending.

Another highlight is singer-songwriter and actor Ameliarose Allen from “American Idol,” who will perform on opening and closing nights.

A VIP opening reception and closing award ceremony and reception will bookend the two days of events and screenings. Nominations for the EHTVF Awards will be posted on the website and the winners will be announced on awards night. For a full schedule and ticket information, visit www.ehtvf.com.

jessica@indyeastend.com