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The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) hosted Amazon Studios’ The Aeronauts last weekend with a special East Coast screening after the film’s world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in August.
The Aeronauts tells the story of real-life British meteorologists James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne) and fictional co-pilot Amelia Wren (Felicity Jones) as their death-defying 1862 hot air balloon ride breaks the world flight altitude record while overcoming storms, oxygen depravation, and balloon damage in their fight for survival.
Producers Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman of Mandeville Films and Television produced The Aeronauts for Amazon Studios after their record-breaking Disney film Beauty and the Beast and the critically-acclaimed true story Stronger with Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions.
Courtesy of Amazon Studios
Lieberman credits Amazon Studios for being “creatively attuned” to director Tom Harper’s vision of The Aeronauts and for inaugurating Lieberman into the festival scene. “Generally we have a film that’s entrenched within the studio world and most of our releases haven’t generally had festival pushes but we’ve been very lucky with The Aeronauts,” Lieberman explained. “Amazon Studios has been very supportive about wanting to get this out into the festival circuit, and they certainly know that world really well.”
After premiering at the Telluride Film Festival, The Aeronauts went on to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival, the London Film Festival, the Mill Valley Film Festival, and then HIFF. “I’d never been not only to the HIFF but I’ve never been to the Hamptons in general before,” Los Angeles-based Lieberman said. “It reminded me a lot of the feel of the Telluride Film Festival which is very low key, all film lovers, and very welcoming and friendly. It’s not a rat race, and it’s a good counterbalance to have a festival like Telluride or Hamptons that is a little bit more chill.”
Courtesy of Amazon Studios
The Aeronauts has other upcoming festival stops in Savannah, Chicago, San Francisco, and the American Film Institute Festival leading up to awards season, yet HIFF holds a special place for Lieberman. “I loved that festival,” he said. “It was a lovely stop along the tour. It was perfect.”
As highly-anticipated The Aeronauts continues screenings prior to its December 6th wide release, Lieberman remains passionate about the power of festivals. “There’s a lot of value here. We’re learning on the festival circuit that the natural selection of people who comes to film festivals are people who love films, so it’s a great word of mouth tool and great to just get the movie up on big screens in front of audiences,” Lieberman said.
The reunion of stars Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones after their Academy Award-nominated turns in The Theory of Everything only adds to the anticipation of historical drama The Aeronauts. The blend of a period story with the intimacy of two passionate actors definitely makes The Aeronauts a film to watch.
The Aeronauts is set to be released in theaters on December 6 and available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video on December 20.
