06/03/2026
The Hamptons Comedy Film Festival will return 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 will present a curated showcase of comedy shorts, feature films, TV pilots, web series, sketch comedy and animation for Hamptons audiences and entertainment industry guests. Doors open 30 minutes before each showtime. Guests may visit the art gallery, enjoy drinks and light fare, and listen to live music by composer-guitarist David Kra, who performs as “KRAMAN!,” and DJ Mars Fox.
“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?’” said Abby Russell, founder and artistic director of the Hamptons Comedy Film Festival. “Ed Helms performed a few times before ‘The Hangover’ and ‘The Office,’ so we have 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 premiere 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.
Lobel is an Emmy Award-winning producer whose work has appeared on PBS, A&E, VH1, MSNBC and Nickelodeon. “Anxiety Club,” which premiered at the 2024 DOC NYC Film Festival, marks her feature directorial debut.
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.
At 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 6, Janelle Draper & Friends will take the Sticks & Stones stage for a live set. 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. The doors open at 7:30 p.m.
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. Additional dates and information will be announced at sticksandstonescomedyclub.com.
Sticks and Stones Comedy Club at the Southampton Cultural Center is located at 25 Pond Lane, Southampton. For tickets and information, call 917-855-4828 or visit sticksandstonescomedyclub.com.
https://www.27east.com/article_cf52310a-689c-4512-9a43-46b2421cdb18.html
The Hamptons Comedy Film Festival will return to the theater of the Southampton Cultural Center this summer with film premieres, stand-up comedy and special events at Sticks and Stones Comedy
