I am sure that everyone is tired of my updates, to which I will say, “you don’t have to read them”. But like any good….decent…alright mediocre blogger, I have to give an overall impression of my time at the festival along with the highlights, never focusing on the negatives.So this will be a compilation of my favorite documentaries at the festival, what I enjoy in terms of screenings and lastly, photos and videos. While not professional photos or videos in any way, still a little piece of True/False Fest to take home. So away we go.
Also here are the links to the recaps of each day of the festival if you have read them
True/False Fest Preview
True/False Day One
True/False Day Two
True/False Day Three
True/False Day Four
Top 5 Documentaries of the Fest
1. Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope
As a geek, this is at the top of the list. I have never been to Comic-Con but I will soon enough. It is the mecca of geek culture and this documentary by Morgan Spurlock managed to cram just 1/100th of what makes the convention amazing. He jam packed this documentary with some of the most prominent personalities of geek culture going on an on about why they are a geek and how incredible the con is. But while the interviews with celebrities and fans are insightful and filled with personal moments to them, the documentary managed to weave in multiple stories from different fans they followed on their journey to comic-con. From the aspiring artists to cosplayers to collectors, every small nuance of people that show up to San Diego is lovingly captured.
The crow in Jesse Auditorium couldn’t have been more amazing and receptive to the film and as a fellow geek and one of the people who submitted an application to be a part of the documentary (that’s right, I was one of 2000 applicants) this was truly a film that reaffirmed that “geeks shall inherit the Earth”. The Q&A was amazing as Morgan Spurlock was there along with Holly Conrad (the designer geek) and local Columbia, MO native Skip Harvey who was in attendance.
Morgan Spurlock addressing the crowd
The subjects of the comic-con doc.
Me and Holly the design geek *swoon*
Holly even autographed my Mass Effect Card
Me and local Columbia, MO native and star Skip Harvey
Me with Morgan Spurlock, super awesome
2. Bully
When a documentary manages to make the audience tear up in the first opening credits of the film, you know that you are in for an emotional and moving documentary. Bully was just flat out powerful as a documentary, with a subject that effects not only kids, but the parents left to pick up the pieces of a damaged life. The documentary managed to weave in heartbreaking tales of children being bullied, not just with first hand accounts, but footage that showcased the cruelty that was inflicted on them. From a teen that is choked on a bus, to parents trying to find answers from the school district about their sons death, and a young girl struggling with her sexual orientation, all these struggles hit home in a way that shakes you to your core.
The documentary doesn’t just offer up the subject of bullying with no context or motive, it has a message to send to the audience about standing up for those that remain silent through adversity. The Q&A was incredible as director Lee Hirsch came out with most of the subjects and families he followed all receiving a standing ovation and uproarious cheers. The sad thing about this documentary is that the recent rating it received will stop it from showing to teens that need to see that their actions have consequences and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for those that are bullied.
Cast of Bully at the Missouri Theater
The cast and director of Bully conducting Q&A
3. How to Survive a Plague
This documentary caught me off guard, not because of the content, but by how well done this archival documentary was put together and presented a sweeping narrative about the struggle of Gays and AIDS patients during the early 80s. The content and subject was going to be compelling enough, but director David France compiled over 700 hours of footage from people documenting, what those filming thought, were the final memories they would have before dying of AIDS. What was captivating about this film is that it is a piece of Americana, a thing of the past that we have forgotten about as time went on. For most people living in this generation or even children of the 90s will know, that the AIDS medicine and “treatment” just appeared out of nowhere. It was something that was had a movement that accomplished more for not only Gays and AIDS patients, but for the future that might be affected by this disease.
Utilizing archival footage and interviews with the prominent members of the ACT UP group that fought and died for a treatment for AIDS, How to Survive a Plague is documentary that captures the movement and fervor of a time when there was no help in sight for the Gay community. They had to become the spokes people for the cause, the scientists, the pharmacists and it was all up to them to do it. If they didn’t they were going to die and nobody was going to care. They changed the way that government and drug testing was conducted and paved the way for strong bridge of dialogue between the public and government. The film received a standing ovation and an emotional Q&A with director David France and one of the original members of ACT UP Peter Staley.
Dir. David France and Activist Peter Staley
Me with Peter Staley and David France
4. Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present
I am not much of a performance art aficionado, so I decide to go out of my comfort zone for this film. Matthew Akers documented legendary performance artist Marina Abramovic as she prepared for one of the most challenging galleries that she would take part in. Now in the past, Marina has teared down the barrier between art and realism, blurring the line between artists and audience, by having the audience become apart of the art. She pushes the limits of the physical body to a point where it seems more like torture than art, but art is torture. She once walked half the distance of the Great Wall of China to meet her lover and fellow performance artist at the middle of the wall, she let audience members pin and pierce her skin as an art piece and she deconstructs the notion of what is art with physical limits and baring her body for all to see. She is a powerful figure in the performance art world and we get to peer into her mind to understand why she does it.
So what possible performance art could she be doing that would challenge the art world? Her latest piece that is covered by Akers has her engaging the audience one by one, just simply sitting and looking at them. It’s a ridiculous concept at first thought. I mean sitting and looking at someone is art? Anybody could do, but having the ability to do it, with your fame and status and do that for a total of 700+ hours over the course of 3 months is daunting. The idea though is not so simple or mundane. In our everyday lives, we don’t really make eye contact with strangers, lest we be considered creepy and rude. But the act of just looking someone in the eye for an extended period of time is the most intimate form of contact we can ever experience. It’s an emotional reflection on humanity, where art and audience become one and the true emotional connection is brought forward from the gazes of those that took part in the exhibition. A profoundly moving and thought provoking film about performance art, Marina Abramovic was one of the surprise films I enjoyed this festival.
5. Detropia
From the directors of Jesus Camp, Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady brings us chilling and somber look at a once great American city, teeming with life and industry, but sadly a former shell of itself in an economy that sees jobs and people fleeing the dying city. Detropia was a sobering film that chronicled the downfall of the Motor City. Gorgeously shot and edited, the directors showed life in Detroit from the perspective of those that continue to hang on to hope that their city will return to glory. A young blogger who sees the efforts of those falling under the weight of disagreements, a club owner needing the car manufacturers to come back and revitalize the working class, and union president just fighting to keep his people employed. All their stories and situation have an undercurrent of pride and remorse that things just might not turnaround, but they are already at the bottom and there is no way out but up.
Stark, grainy night time shots of the city mask the despair and ruins of Detroit, only to be shown in the day light where the problems become real and apparent. It’s a city that is dying and an example of what is wrong with the economy and politics. The big automakers employed a large portion of the city and so carelessly packed it all up, leaving thousands without jobs that trickled down to those that depended on the employed to make a living. The documentary is effective showing the public that it is not just Detroit that is effected and one example, but that their situation could become a reality to many other cities across America. There is one thing that doesn’t make this an utterly bleak documentary, it’s the showcase of the American spirit and attitude that even through all the shit and despair, they have to fight to survive.
Highlights:
While I only touched on my favorite films of the festival, there were a few films that I saw that I couldn’t outright talk about. The Secret Screening shows were some of the most unique experiences ever, getting to watch the debut of a film in such a small setting gives you a sense of joy. I only managed to catch two of the screenings, but suffice to say that if I was allowed to refer to them by name, I would be placing them in the top five films of the festival. A fantastic experience and opportunity to see new documentaries before they even hit the big festival circuit.
The Q&A’s were amazing to be a part of. It isn’t often that we get to have an open dialogue with the creators and subjects of the films we watch, so it was incredible to pick their brain about the film and made for a great event. I personally thing the highlight of my Q&A participation was getting a photo with director Morgan Spurlock of Comic-Con and David France of How to Survive a Plague. Also meeting with the AIDS and Gay rights activist Peter Staley was truly inspirational.
The other thing to talk about was the Buskers. These were musicians from all over the US and even international bands that would come here and play a few songs before each showing. It was an intimate setting and powerful musicians getting a chance to showcase their talents and wow a captive audience. I met a few of the bands and fell in love with some and my favorites were Pearl and the Beard, Busman’s Holiday and Grand Marquis. The final culmination of the event was at Busker Last Stand which had many of the bands coming together and just jam out with one another to a packed lobby. Truly a great way to end the festival.
I know that I will be back again next year for the festival. I will try and take part in more of the workshops and events there instead of films, but frankly there is just so much to do there and the experience of this well organized festival is just overwhelming. I hope that some of my readers will attend next year and maybe do a plot devices meet up. Who knows, stranger things have happened.
Here are some photos and videos of the events and a forewarning that there is a lot of Pearl and the Beard shots and stuff, kept running into them all over the place.
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