On The Hamptons Summer Party Circuit: Ukraine Doc Screening, Southampton Arts SummerFest Gala

On the weekend before the Democratic National Convention — in the midst of a high-temperature season of presidential fundraisers — Hamptons heavyweights with serious political bona fides gathered at a series of events on the tony East End, along with folks from the entertainment world.

Clash of the Hamptons Cultures: "We Don't Want People Wearing Shorts"

On Saturday, Aug. 17, there were two big charitable functions on one evening. The nonprofit Haiti Air Ambulance — which provides helicopter ambulance services to people in Haiti — held a fundraiser at the Bridgehampton home of real estate honcho Ken Fishel attended by the likes of adman Jerry Della Femina and author, producer ( My Unorthodox Life ) and fashion designer Julia Haart. Meanwhile, the Southampton Arts Center held its SummerFest gala, where Tony Award-winner Adrienne Warren and Broadway star Jessica Vosk performed for guests including Candace Bushnell, skincare guru Peter Thomas Roth and real estate mogul David Levinson.

On Sunday, Aug. 18, Hamptons power players gathered for a screening at Southampton Arts Center of a film produced by Earle Mack, former U.S. Ambassador to Finland, former chairman and CEO of the New York State Council on the Arts, and the producer and co-director of the documentary The Children of Theatre Street .

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Recalls This Very 'Veep' Story About Hillary Clinton

Former New York Governor George Pataki, journalist Lally Weymouth, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Wendy Stark, NY Jets co-owner and former U.S. Ambassador to the U.K Woody Johnson, former UN Ambassador and National Security Advisor John Bolton (with six bodyguards), art collector and producer Jane Holzer, writer Bob Colacello, and billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson were among those who gathered to watch a half hour version of the 90-minute documentary, Once Upon a Time in Ukraine, directed by Betsy West. After the screening, a Q&A was held with David Rubenstein, chairman of the board of the Council on Foreign Relations, and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Judith Miller.

After, guests trekked across the street through the rain to gather at Le Charlot for dinner, where people discussed the most moving parts of the film, which showed the war in Ukraine through the eyes of the country’s children, and also talked up their own projects. Pataki’s daughter, Allison Pataki, a New York Times-bestselling author ( Sisi , The Traitor’s Wife , Finding Margaret Fuller ), is working on a script about an unsung African American who helped win the Revolutionary War. Ivana Lowell discussed the new show about her family, House of Guinness , that she will executive produce for Netflix, and author Howard Blum talked about Village Roadshow making an eight-episode series from of The Night Comes Falling , his book about the University of Idaho student murders and revealed that Ron Howard will be making a feature out of his Gold Rush tome The Floor of Heaven . Said one guest of the turnout, “It doesn’t matter if it’s Jaws on the beach, or a serious documentary. On a Sunday night in the Hamptons, they come to see their friends, share a cinematic experience and give their private chef a night off.”

What Kamala Harris and Donald Trump's Music Choices Reveal About Each Campaign