‘Westhampton’ Screening Wraps up Stony Brook Film Festival in Southampton

Westhampton filmmaker Christian Nilsson (right) with Alan Inkles, director of the Stony Brook Film Festival, at the July 26 screening at the Avram Theater at Stony Brook Southampton. Photos by Matthew Lundy.

Stony Brook Southampton hosted a special screening of the film Westhampton at the Avram Theater on July 26, wrapping up the 31st annual Stony Brook Film Festival.

The free screening included a Q&A session with Christian Nilsson, who wrote and directed the award-winning film, which took home the Jury Award for Directing at the Stony Brook Film Festival last year. The session was hosted by Alan Inkles, director of the Stony Brook Film Festival, presented by Stony Brook Medicine.

The film is a beautifully shot tale of forgiveness and acceptance by Nilsson, a Long Island native. It tells the story of a filmmaker who is haunted by an accident he caused in high school and finds himself drawn back to his hometown. There he is confronted by former friends and a community that disdains him as he tries to find peace with the hurt he left behind.

Westhampton filmmaker Christian Nilsson with Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith at the July 26 screening at Stony Brook Southampton.

Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith attended the screening and provided opening remarks, noting that concluding the film festival at the Southampton campus is another example of the rich programming Stony Brook brings to the East End. Those events include the Jazz Loft @ Southampton Summer Jazz Festival, held July 23-25; the Jazz Loft @ Southampton Concert Series, which hosts monthly concerts all year long; and the Stony Brook Southampton Dialogues series which began in April and included the July 14 discussion on how quantum networking can shape the future.

"From imaginative scriptwriting to the breathtaking cinematography and seamless editing, we are honored to host such dedicated and creative artists and filmmakers at our university where their captivating stories challenge our intellect and world view, touch our hearts, and ignite our emotions," Goldsmith said. "Tonight's screening is a perfect example of the exceptional artistic programming Alan creates by bringing to our East End community the spectacular film Westhampton."

The 31st annual Stony Brook Film Festival returned to the Staller Center for the Arts from July 16-25, presenting 36 films from 23 countries, filmmaker Q&As, special events and some of the year's most acclaimed independent cinema. It honored the recipients of the 2026 Festival Awards at its closing night ceremony at the Staller Center.

Stony Brook Southampton will host the next event in the Stony Brook Southampton Dialogues series on Friday, August 28, a conversation between President Goldsmith and M. Sanjayan, the CEO of The New York Climate Exchange, a first-of-its-kind climate solutions center on Governors Island anchored by Stony Brook University. RSVP and submit questions for the event online.