The multi-media music project Folk to Folk shot a series of videos at True/False 2013, capturing stirring performances from the T/F busking army. In the second entry, the Brooklyn-based duo Mountain Animation jam on the banjo and violin during a showcase at Cafe Berlin.

If you want to hear more, check out Mountain Animation‘s new album, Lava Letter, in it’s entirety on the group’s bandcamp page. And don’t miss the first Folk to Folk video featuring a boisterous street performance by Yes, Ma’am.

Mark your calendars now, the True/False Film Fest returns in 2014 February 27th-March 2nd!

Over the past few weeks, many people have written kind words about their True/False experiences. Here are a few of our favorites.

Film critic Nick Pinkerton and Nicolas Rapold had an amusing conversation in SundanceNOW about their first trip to our small mid-western town.

Nicolas Rapold: I too was suspicious, especially when I heard the verb “experience” applied to True/False in lieu of “attend.” But fortunately the high quality of the programming never put me in the awkward position of praising the hospitality for want of anything else to say. Some of my increased feeling of well-being came from seeing theaters packed for the likes of a Chilean film featuring old folks in a nursing home waiting to die. It made me vaguely ashamed of the single-digit audience turnouts not infrequent at challenging programs back home in bonnie New York. Obviously the festival is a special event, but where are these curious moviegoers of many ages when I sit nearly alone at something awesome at Anthology Film Archives, wiping last-minute-samosa grease off my hands? Are my eating habits perhaps driving away potential waves of repertory enthusiasts?

Nick Pinkerton: The movie you are referring to, of course, is Cristian Soto and Catalina Vergara’s The Last Station, which, with its highly composed images—a face perfectly framed in a small mirror at the bottom of a drawer comes to mind—and lack of the instructive graphics and contextualizing voiceover that mark the infotainment documentary, is fairly representative of True/False’s programming. As for the cinema savvy of the average Columbian (Columbianite?), I must agree—the only time anything like “Oh my stars” prudery emerged was in a screening of Peter Whitehead’s The Fall, when a Destructionist theater group pummeled a live chicken to pieces against the wires of a piano they’d already chopped into kindling with an axe, after which half of the crowd walked out to protest the senseless death of some poultry in 1968. This played as part of a sidebar called Neither/Nor hosted by Columbia’s one FULL-TIME cinema, The Ragtag. The bill-of-fare was made of historical precedents to the festival’s signature dish, neither-fish-nor-fowl documentaries that blur the boundary between… well, you know the rest. Jim McBride was there with David Holzman’s Diary, while the Neither/Nor series was curated by some New York critic called Eric Hynes, who sort of looks like the Hip, Concerned Teacher in an after-school special from 1981. Where did they get that guy?

Critic Eric Hynes, who curated our first ever Neither/Nor chimera series, described True/False as “some kind of monster” in an excellent piece for Cinemascope. Among many other things, Eric wrote on what he sees as our unique critical slant.

With these films as a kind of standard for docu-cinematic delirium, it becomes tempting to judge all of True/False programming according to that standard. While this may be a somewhat reductive or misguided impulse (the implications of which I’ll explore shortly), it nevertheless speaks to True/False’s unique place within the festival landscape. Not just another doc survey, industry marketplace, or act of small-town self-promotion, T/F has a genuinely critical slant—and one that, by now bringing critics into the curation process, implies an ongoing interrogation of the art (and act) of documentary filmmaking rather than just a showcasing of the year’s more appealing fare. At least potentially, it’s programming as scrutinizing rather than cheerleading, inviting critical engagement not just with the chosen films but also with the choosing of those films.

Ben Kenigsburg at Time Out Chicago said of his weekend:

I wanted to write about T/F almost immediately after I arrived, because it’s clearly one of the best-managed and enjoyable film festivals within extended driving distance of Chicago. (The trip takes about seven hours, though various permutations of flying and busing are also available.) Compressing a heady mix of filmgoing and socializing into a long weekend—this year’s edition ran February 28 through March 3—the event seems both intensely curatorial and casually eccentric. Or to put it another way: Never did I dream that one day I could order borscht from a Missouri cinema concession stand and then take it into a screening of Jim McBride’s landmark docu-fiction David Holzman’s Diary (1967).

Vadim Rizov crafted two excellent dispatches for Filmmaker Magazine, briefly reviewing films he saw here in Columbia. The first reflects on These Birds Walk, The Garden of Eden and The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear, while the second ponders Sleepless Nights and Computer Chess. Vadim also gave us a shout out in the Onion AV Club’s best festival experiences.

Other outstanding responses included Kevin B. Lee’s “Funner Than Fiction” Video at the British Film Institute, Tim Grierson’s report at Paste Magazine, Brian Brooks’s coverage for The Film Society of Lincoln Center, Basil Tsiokos’s post at What (Not) To Doc, Tom Roston’s capsule reviews at PBS’s Doc Soup blog and IndieWire‘s list of 8 things we are doing right. Locally, The Columbia Daily Tribune and Vox Magazine expanded their coverage further than ever before, digging deep into every nook and cranny of the festival.

On the audio side, Adam Schartoff of Brooklyn’s Filmwax Radio recorded a series of dispatches from Columbia featuring conversations with Gabriela Cowperthwaite of Blackfish, film producer Esther Robinson, T/F co-conspirator David Wilson, Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq of These Birds Walk,  Maxim Pozdorovkin of Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer and Judith Helfand about our SWAMI program. KBIA also created an eleven-part series titled True/False Conversations which offers both audio and transcripts of brief interviews with filmmakers and fest-goers.

True/False 2013 has come and gone, a heady whirlwind of art, conversation and celebration. We’re still swapping stories and laughs and trying to come to terms with it all.

Fortunately, a team of talented, professional photographers contributed their services and captured dazzling images all for us all weekend long. We asked the members of this team to share their favorites from their own pics. You’ll find these pictures below, organized by photographer. You can also check out the day by day galleries on our photo page and even more photos in our Facebook albums. We’ve included links to the photographers’ homepages so that you can explore their other work or hire them to document an event of your own.

Josh Hailey- Homepage

Kevin Dingman - T/F Facebook Album

Parker Michel-Boyce - Homepage - T/F Facebook Album

Rebecca Allen – Homepage - T/F Facebook Album

Roxana Pop - T/F Facebook Album

Sarah Hoffman – Homepage - T/F Facebook Album

Scott Patrick Myers – Homepage - T/F Facebook Album

Stephen Bybee – Homepage - T/F Facebook Album

Taylor Glascock - Homepage - T/F Facebook Album

Congratulations to T/F co-conspirator David Wilson and his co-director AJ Schnack who just received Special Jury Recognition for Directing for their film We Always Lie to Strangers at South by Southwest. Pete Bland reports.

Folk to Folk, a multi-media documentary project exploring the inclusive, community building spirit of folk music, was in Columbia for True/False 2013. The group captured a series of videos, the first of which is this vital street performance by the New Orleans based Yes, Ma’am.

Yes, Ma’am‘s new album Stirrin’ da Mudd is available in its entirety to stream or purchase on the group’s bandcamp. Swing on by and give it a listen.

One film from last weekend’s fest is already available to watch online. Joe Callander’s Tina Delivers a Goat is a less than two minute masterpiece on the insufficiency of good intentions.  Don’t miss it.

True/False has come and gone, but if you still want to hear a bit more from some of the T/F 2013 filmmakers you should explore KBIA’s True/False Conversations. This eleven part series offers audio and text of brief chats with Dirty Wars director Rick Rowley and journalist Jeremy Scahill, These Birds Walk filmmakers Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq, Crash Reel director Lucy Walker, Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer co-director Maxim Pozdorovkin, Cutie and the Boxer director Zachary Heinzerling, Computer Chess director Andrew Bujalski, Expedition to the End of the World director Daniel Dencik, After Tiller directors Martha Shane and Lana Wilson, I Am Breathing co-director Emma Davie, Twenty Feet From Stardom director Morgan Neville and The Moo Man co-directors Heike Bachelier and Andy Heathcote. Tune in here.

Alas, another True/False is behind us, and we must all part ways. The gratitude we are feeling towards our town, our volunteers, our guests and everyone else who came out to support the fest can not be put into words. Thank you, together we built something special.

If you’re looking to bask in the afterglow of T/F 2013, we can point you in a few directions. Our friends at the Columbia Daily Tribune really outdid themselves with their coverage this year. The crowd-sourced POYi  photo project offers a random tour of the weekend that was. And KBIA created an audio postcard from the fest. We’ll have much more coverage on our blog as it begins to roll in over the next few days.

We’d like to thank the good people at Encyclopedia Pictura for creating the video series that played before our screenings this year. This was the first time our bumpers were themselves documentaries, recording the creation of strange and wonderful structures. You can revisit these fanciful places below.

Sunday was another day crammed full of films and events. To name just a few, at The Blue Note the La Operación Jarocha of Veracruz played a fiery set before a showing of Who is Dayani Cristal?, the film they created the soundtrack for. Later, co-director David Wilson presented Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel with our True Vision Award before a screening of their powerfully immersive Leviathan. David noted their work is “changing the way other filmmakers think about film”.

Following a packed screening of Cutie and the Boxer at the historic Missouri Theater, 81-year old action-painter Ushio Shinohara jabbed at a canvas in the parking lot of Tiger Cleaners.

Our big closing night films at Jesse and the Missouri Theater were Twenty Feet From Stardom and No. Afterwards everyone huddled together in the Missouri Theater’s lobby for the bittersweet Busker’s Last Stand. They assembled musicians brought True/False 2013 to a fitting conclusion.

One last look at some of the reactions on our #truefalse hashtag.

Driving home, trying to pick a favorite film of the fest. Have to say The Gatekeepers. Loved the transparency of the sujects. #truefalse
-Alex @amc112

Can’t stop thinking about “The Crash Reel”– an incredible, inspiring documentary @lucyjwalker @KevinPearce #truefalse
-Candice Aviles @CandiceAviles

I am so proud of the so many people from The Crossing I see volunteering this weekend at true/false. #truefalse
-Dave Cover @davecover

#TheInstitute was the perfect cap for #truefalse this year. Best Q&A of the festival.
-Mike Sickels @SocioMike

COMPUTER CHESS is a weird ass TERMINATOR prequel #truefalse
-Robert Greene @prewarcinema

Went to #truefalse thinking I’d just see some films. Ended up with an emotional, life-changing weekend that added perspective to my life.
-Em. @EmilyRackers

Again, our deepest thanks to everyone who made this festival happen. Here’s to the next ten years!

Saturday is the biggest and craziest day of True/False. Today featured 42 screenings on 8 screens in addition to concerts, panels, a fete, a stroll, a race and a game show!

Things started off at 9:00 AM with an extra chilly edition of our True Life Run. Seventy or so brave souls faced down the cold and competed, with Mike Burden finishing victorious.

The True Life Run is a benefit for our True Life Fund. Which Way is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington, this year’s True Life Fund film, played to a near capacity crowd at the 1,700 seat Jesse Hall in an especially moving screening. Before the film pastor Dave Cover of sponsor The Crossing explained his church’s interest in “film as a window into the human condition”. Afterwards Sebastian Junger received a standing ovation for his film about his fallen comrade.

As David mentioned at the show, this is the first time the subject of the True Life Film is no longer with us. The Fund will be benefiting two causes, The Milton Margais School for the Blind, an institution that played an important role in Tim’s life and work, and Reporters Instructed in Saving Colleagues, a charity created by Junger to offer freelance war reporters free medical training. Junger explained why started RISC, “I realized that if I had been with him, I couldn’t have saved his life, cause I didn’t know what to do either”.  You can donate to the True Life Fund online.

Saturday’s events included our annual soiree at PS Gallery, the Filmmaker Fete.

And Speed Levitch’s whimsical tour of the town, The Speculative Stroll.

photo by Andrew Richmond

The 2013 edition of Gimme Truth!, the world’s only (known) documentary game show, was the first to feature a panel of all returning judges, reigning champion Heidi Ewing (Detropia, Jesus Camp), Bill Ross (Tchoupitoulas, 45365) and Sergio Oksman (Notes on the Other, A Story for the Modlins). Between tequila shots, the trio watched ten 2-minute shorts and tried determine if they were 100% True or 100% False. Hosted by Johnny St. John, Gimme Truth! is big part of what makes True/False True/False.

photo by Catherine Meagher

T/F’s Chelsea Myers interviewed Lucy Walker, the director of one of Saturday’s big hits, The Crash Reel, for this short video. In it Walker discusses the multi-source documentary.

As always, our secret weapon, the T/F busking army, was out in full force. The day concluded the So Many Dynamos headlining our Mojo’s A-Go-Go showcase. Earlier, Snya So Pro warmed up a crowd at The Blue Note.

Our #truefalse hashtag continues to collect outbursts of enthusiasm. Here are a few examples:

Crash Reel had me tearing up so many times. Such a great film. Congrats to Lucy Walker and team! #truefalse
-Dan Lindsay  @dan_lindsay

Wow! The Last Station. Intimate look at the last days of life with fantastic cinematography. And the sounds too, so wonderful. #truefalse
-Brandon Hoops @courtsidehoops

I’ve got that cold clammy hand feeling of just having seen one of the best docs in years; THE ACT OF KILLING. #truefalse
-Tom Roston @DocSoupMan

“Cutie and the Boxer” is a revelation. A near-perfect film. #truefalse
-Aarik Danielsen @aarikdanielsen

“Which Way Is the Front Line from Here?”: The life of a journalist who successfully humanized war and people involved. #truefalse
-Katie Yaeger @KatieYaeger

When Jeremy Scahill spoke after Dirty Wars, I just wanted to get up and shout “AMEN” to everything he said. #truefalse
-Beatriz Costa-Lima ?@Bcostalima

Cutie and the Boxer was a unique love story, romantic but also painfully messy. And to meet the protagonists! What a day. #truefalse
-Luke Damiani @lukeandrewd

Can you believe it? Only one day left. We’ll see you tomorrow!

photo by Scott Patrick Myers