Montauk's Offshore Art and Film Festival returns this weekend for its fifth year, with two nights of short films at two venues: an opening night at the Montauk Yacht Club on Friday, October 23, and a Surf and Skate Night at the Montauk Playhouse on Saturday, October 24.

The festival screens independent shorts across categories that run from drama and documentary to comedy, horror and surf and skate film, and it pairs the screenings with live music, art and filmmaker conversation.

Opening night at the Yacht Club

Friday's opening night runs 6 to 9:30 p.m. at the Montauk Yacht Club, 32 Star Island Road. Doors open at 6 p.m. with live music and food and drinks available for purchase. The film program begins at 7 p.m., and the evening closes around 9 p.m. with a question and answer session between the filmmakers and the audience.

Nine short films are on the Friday bill, a mix of narrative, documentary, comedy and experimental work: Something Pointless by Asa Bailey, Under One Roof by John Gebhart, The Liars of Black Mountain Road and Hell by Parker Croft, Mouthfeel by Max Tullio, Dog Days of Summer by Artie Brennan, They Took the Sky by Jack Bart, Ball Lightning by Catriona Baker, and I Wanted to Hear Your Voice by James Pellerito.

Admission is $20, the event is open to all ages, and parking is free. Tickets are sold through the festival's Eventbrite page.

Surf and Skate Night at the Playhouse

Saturday's program moves to the Montauk Playhouse at 240 Edgemere Street, where the festival's Surf and Skate Night runs from 6 p.m. The evening is built around independent films about surfing, skating, outdoor adventure and coastal culture, a category the festival awards each year. Last year's festival named Sand Dancers its Best Surf and Skate Film.

The Playhouse, the hamlet's community center on Edgemere Street, lists the screening on its own October calendar.

Five years of films at the end of the island

The festival began in 2022 as a showcase for emerging and established filmmakers, artists and designers, and its past editions have included art installations, a fashion night and a street art program alongside the screenings. Its submission categories this year included dramatic, comedic, horror, documentary, surf and skate, and a new category for films made with artificial intelligence.

For a reader planning the weekend: Friday, October 23, doors at 6 p.m., films at 7 p.m., $20, Montauk Yacht Club at 32 Star Island Road. Saturday, October 24, from 6 p.m. at the Montauk Playhouse, 240 Edgemere Street. Tickets and the full program are on the festival's site and Eventbrite page.

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