Hamptons Comedy Film Fest

Overview

The Hamptons Comedy Film Festival returns to the theater of the Southampton Cultural Center this summer with film premieres, stand-up comedy and special events at Sticks and Stones Comedy Club. The festival presents a curated showcase of comedy shorts, feature films, TV pilots, web series, sketch comedy and animation for Hamptons audiences and entertainment industry guests. We allow for rolling submissions and present our selected films at our beautiful comedy club theatre at Sticks and Stones Comedy Club. The Hamptons Comedy Festival, originally sponsored by HBO, screened its first film in 2000 at Guild Hall, and it was also Sarah Silverman’s first film, ‘Who’s the Caboose?’” Ed Helms performed a few times before ‘The Hangover’ and ‘The Office,’ so the Festival has a long history of finding and presenting exciting new comedic talent. The season opens Saturday, June 6, at 6 p.m. with the Hamptons Comedy Film Festival screening of “Anxiety Club,” followed by a talkback with director Wendy Lobel and producer-comedian Janelle Draper. The documentary explores anxiety through the perspectives of comedians including Aparna Nancherla, Marc Maron, Tiffany Jenkins, Joe List, Baron Vaughn, Eva Victor and Mark Normand. The evening will also feature screenings of two short comedy films: “Wanna Be A Star!,” directed by Brian Russell, follows a frustrated actress who loses her temper with an indie film director. “Homebodies,” directed by Rachel Olson and written by Jorja Hudson and Ethan David, is set in a near future where residents must pay an “exit toll” to leave their homes. After the films, Janelle Draper will take the Sticks & Stones stage for a live set, alongside comedians Joe Winchell, Ted Jones, Pete Cestaro and Kyle Mara. Draper is the first comedian to sign an overall licensing deal with Bumble, creating comedy content for the company’s social media platforms. She began performing stand-up while working as an NBC page on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and has appeared at festivals including San Francisco Sketchfest and HBO’s Women in Comedy Festival. Later this summer, The Hamptons Comedy Film Festival will premiere SXSW-winning filmmaker Kestrin Pantera’s comedy feature “Backseat Drivers.” The film stars Randy and Jason Sklar, David Wain, Tiffany Haddish, Tia Carrere and “Weird Al” Yankovic. The festival will also co-present a slate of comedy films with The Southampton Playhouse. Sticks and Stones Comedy Club at the Southampton Cultural Center is located at 25 Pond Lane, Southampton. For tickets and information, visit sticksandstonescomedyclub.com Hamptons Comedy Festival and Hamptons Comedy Film Festival were established in 2000 and was sponsored by HBO, and featured comic artists such as Ed Helms, Judy Gold and Joy Behar. The NY Friars Club presented a comedy award here, in honor of Soupy Sales. After many consecutive years of the HBO Hamptons Comedy Festival, the festival organizers moved to LA and began producing live comedy with performers like Marc Maron and Maria Bamford at venues like UCB. Now, the Hamptons Comedy Festival presents live comedy and screens curated selections of comedy shorts and features at Sticks and Stones Comedy Club theatre in Southampton, NY. Some of the standout projects presented by the Hamptons Comedy Film Festival include: Carol & Janet, written & directed by Andrea Rosen, starring Tara Copeland and Giselle Gant; The Jack & Brendan Show, created by and starring Jack Adam and Brendan Ryan; and Rewriting: The Journey of a Joke, written & directed by comic Kyle Mara; The EKSPATS: We're Going to Africa, a well-received animated film, directed by Ron Myrick; Mother Father Sister Brother Frank, written & directed by Caden Douglas and starring Mindy Cohn; The Grievance, starring Rosie O'Donnell and Kevin Pollak and directed by Richie Keen; A Friendly Turn, directed by Boris Schaarschmidt; Separate Checks, directed by Amelia Arnold; The Hidden Talent of Gilbert Gottfried, directed by Lily Gottfried; and spotlight film Dr. No Means No, directed by Kestrin Pantera and starring The Sklar Brothers, all of whom flew in from LA for the screening, Q&A and party.

Last updated Sep 27, 2026

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• Filmmaker

  Hamptons Comedy Film Fest was the perfect place for my novel and script for my memoire satire,"60 Dates in Six Months (with a Broken Neck)" which is now in post-production for movie release in the Fall 2025. Maureen Meehan

• Filmmaker

  Awesome! Great high quality films and an intimate setting for Q&A.

• Filmmaker

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