Let’s face it: major film festivals such as Sundance and Toronto International all sound great in theory, but most of us college students just can’t afford to trek across the country to see them. That’s why Mizzou students are in luck, as one of the country’s largest documentary film festivals has made its home in Columbia.
The True/False Film Festival returns to Columbia March 3-6. Although T/F is a smaller scale fest, many of its films come straight from Sundance, Toronto and other international film festivals.
The festival kicks off with the “March March” parade through downtown Columbia from 5:15 to 5:45 p.m. Friday. More than 40 films are already on the schedule to be screened throughout the weekend at various locations downtown, including the Missouri Theatre, the Blue Note and the Ragtag Theatre.
Now in its eighth year, the festival has expanded with earlier screenings on Thursday and Friday. This is also the first year for the True Life run through downtown Columbia at 8 a.m. Saturday. The run benefits the festival’s True Life Fund, which helps support the real-life subjects of a new film. This year’s proceeds will be donated to the three subjects of the documentary The Interrupters, who work with an anti-violence group in Chicago.
Individual tickets can be purchased from the True/False Box Office at 5 S. Ninth Street starting at noon Thursday, March 3, or at the venue before the screening.
Overwhelmed by the 40+ films screening at True/False? Her Campus Mizzou has you covered on a few films to look out for this year.
Life in a Day
If you logged onto Youtube at all this past summer, you probably noticed advertisements inviting you to take part in a historic global experiment: Life in a Day. On July 24, 2010, thousands of people across the world uploaded videos of their everyday life to the Web site to be edited into an experimental documentary film. 80,000 submissions and more than 4,500 hours of footage were received from more than 120 countries and transformed into a cohesive film directed by Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland). Life in a Day premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and is currently only screening at T/F. Showtimes are 10 a.m. Saturday at the Globe Theater and 8 p.m. Sunday at the Missouri Theatre.
Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times
Here at the world’s first school of journalism, The New York Times is a journalism student’s bible. That’s why J-students are sure to be lined up to see Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times. The film explores a year inside the country’s leading newspaper and covers everything from iPad technology to WikiLeaks. Anxious to see what reporters at one of the world’s most famous newspapers have to say about the future of journalism? Check out this film at one of its several T/F screenings: 6 p.m. Saturday at Windsor Cinema, 9:45 p.m. Saturday at the Globe Theater or 10 a.m. Sunday at the Missouri Theatre. Director Andrew Rossi and producer Josh Braun will be there to introduce the film and answer audience questions.
Buck
Whether it’s for securing two Guinness World records or inspiring a popular Robert Redford film, one thing’s for sure — people are talking about Buck. The film, which won top honors at Sundance earlier this year, tells the story of horse whisperer Buck Brannaman. Buck travels across the country sharing his extensive knowledge about horsemanship and taming the most unruly horses. Director Cindy Meehl and producer Julie Goldman, as well as Buck himself, will attend the film’s screenings at T/F. Buck screens at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Missouri Theatre, 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Blue Note and 6 p.m. Sunday at the Globe Theater.
Project Nim
This year’s True Vision award, the only award at T/F, will be presented to director James Marsh (Man on Wire), who also recently directed Project Nim. This film tells the story of a chimpanzee that is taught sign language and raised by humans. It also won the world cinematography documentary directing award at Sundance this year. Project Nim screens at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Forrest Theater, 7 p.m. Saturday at the Missouri Theatre and 8:30 p.m. Sunday at the Blue Note.
Other 2011 Sundance selections screening at T/F this year include The Redemption of General Butt Naked, Resurrect Dead, and The Black Power Mix Tape 1967-1974. The full schedule of this year’s films can be found on truefalse.org.