There is a particular weekend in early November when the Hamptons belong to the people who never left. The beach lots are empty, the farm stands have gone to mums and cider, and Main Street in Sag Harbor moves at the pace of a village rather than a resort. It is also when one of the East End's most quietly prestigious cultural fixtures arrives: the sixth annual Martin Scorsese Presents: The Sag Harbor Cinema Festival of Preservation, running Friday, November 6 through Monday, November 9, 2026.

Four days of rare 35mm prints, newly restored classics, and conversations with the archivists and filmmakers who pull films back from the brink — inside a 1930s movie house on Main Street, then dinner a few steps away with no summer crowd in sight. For New Yorkers who know how to read a calendar, this is the weekend to be on the East End.

What the Festival of Preservation actually is

Preservation is the unglamorous half of cinema: locating damaged negatives, raising money, supervising scans, arguing over color timing, and rebuilding a director's original vision from whatever survived. The Festival of Preservation puts that work on screen and in front of an audience. Programs this year span a deliberately wide field — Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, Raoul Walsh, Elvira Notari, Roger Corman, Alexander Payne, Brian De Palma, George Pal, Clarence Brown, Med Hondo, and others — introduced by archivists, historians, collectors, and guest filmmakers between screenings.

The festival is the long-standing passion of Martin Scorsese, whose association with Sag Harbor Cinema's preservation mission is well known, and it is programmed by founding artistic director Giulia D'Agneo Vallan. The intent, as she has described it, is juxtaposition: a female pioneer of Italian silent film next to one of the fathers of African cinema, a Hungarian puppeteer next to America's king of the B-movie. The result is a weekend that rewards curiosity rather than completism.

Highlights of the 2026 program

A few of the screenings worth planning around:

  • Gone to Earth (1950), Powell and Pressburger. A long-awaited reconstruction of the Jennifer Jones vehicle, drastically re-edited by David O. Selznick for its American release and restored here to the filmmakers' original vision — supervised by Martin Scorsese and editor Thelma Schoonmaker, using BFI-held footage and badly damaged negatives. A Walt Disney Studios archivist will speak on the film's troubled history.
  • Obsession (1976), Brian De Palma. A new restoration of De Palma's tribute to Hitchcock, with music by Bernard Herrmann and a script by Paul Schrader.
  • Citizen Ruth (1996), Alexander Payne. Newly restored ahead of a national re-release; Payne is joining the festival live via Zoom from Europe, where he is shooting a new film.
  • Roger Corman at 100. A centennial celebration of the director and producer who launched Scorsese, Coppola, Bogdanovich, Dante, Demme, and Cameron. His daughter Mary Corman will be in Sag Harbor for the occasion.
  • Letty Lynton (1932), Clarence Brown. The lavish Joan Crawford melodrama, unscreenable for nearly ninety years over a legal dispute, finally restored by Warner Bros.
  • Me and My Gal (1932), Raoul Walsh. The Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett waterfront comedy, introduced and wrapped up by Film Forum's Bruce Goldstein.
  • West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty (1979), Med Hondo. The anticolonialist African musical epic, introduced by curator Ashley Clark.

Turning it into a proper East End escape

The cinema holds an intimate crowd — this is a village theater, not a stadium — which is precisely the point. One or two screenings a day leaves the rest of the weekend open: galleries, harbor walks, oysters on the water, and the long drive west along Montauk Highway with the light going gold over the bay.

A private villa changes the shape of the trip entirely. Fireplace on, chef in, rooms enough that everyone travels separately and still gathers at one table. Guests come up from the city on Friday afternoon, catch an evening program, and spend Saturday between the beach and a long lunch without ever checking into a hotel lobby. Late autumn villas on the East End are a different proposition from July: more space, more quiet, and a house that feels like a house.

The Maruca Group manages luxury villas across more than 50 destinations, including the Hamptons — from Sag Harbor and East Hampton to Southampton and Bridgehampton. Explore available Hamptons villas for a Festival of Preservation weekend, or speak with our team about a November or winter-season stay on the East End.

Practical details

The festival runs Friday, November 6 to Monday, November 9, 2026 at the Sag Harbor Cinema on Main Street in Sag Harbor, New York. Passes went on sale October 3; program and ticket details are published by the cinema at sagharborcinema.org, where guest appearances and scheduling can also change — confirm before you travel. Coming from Manhattan, the drive runs roughly two to two-and-a-half hours depending on the LIE; regional rail reaches the East End via Jamaica and a connection toward Southampton or Bridgehampton, with a car recommended once you arrive.

Festival of Preservation: frequently asked questions

When is the Sag Harbor Cinema Festival of Preservation 2026?

The sixth annual festival runs Friday, November 6 through Monday, November 9, 2026 at the Sag Harbor Cinema on Main Street, Sag Harbor, New York.

Where should I stay during the festival?

Sag Harbor village itself is walkable to the cinema, and private villas in Sag Harbor, East Hampton, Southampton, and Bridgehampton put you within a short drive of Main Street. A rented villa suits groups who want space, a kitchen, and a quiet house between screenings.

How far is Sag Harbor from New York City?

Sag Harbor is roughly 100 miles from Manhattan, typically a two- to two-and-a-half-hour drive depending on traffic. Rail service reaches the East End with a connection toward Southampton or Bridgehampton; having a car on the East End in November is recommended.

Do I need to buy passes in advance?

Passes went on sale October 3, 2026. Programs at the festival are intimate and screenings can sell through, so check sagharborcinema.org for current pass and ticket availability before traveling.

What kinds of films screen at the festival?

Restorations, rarities, and rediscoveries across a wide range of eras and genres — from Powell and Pressburger and Pre-Code Hollywood to Roger Corman's centennial and newly restored independent features — most introduced by archivists, historians, or filmmakers, with Q&As and a preservation panel across the weekend.