With Deborah Stratman and Michal Marczak

Deborah is the director of The Illinois Parables and Michal is the director of All These Sleepless Nights. In this tête-à-tête working session, they share how they help create bespoke, multi-dimensional soundscapes in their film work. Presented by Field of Vision

Are you ready for True/False’s newest game show? Together with our friends at Field of Vision, we’ve dreamt up some archival video anarchy in which two teams compete to find the best online video based on a series of topic prompts. The format is “CoMO vs. The World”, as a group of local heroes face off against the supervillains of found footage, with ample audience participation. Expect manic clips and canny quips in this viral video adventure. Hosted by filmmaker AJ Schnack. Presented by Field of Vision

With Jeff Feuerzeig and Heidi Ewing

Filmmakers Jeff Feuerzeig (Author: The JT LeRoy Story) and Heidi Ewing (Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You), two first-rate filmmakers who don’t suffer fools, delve into the art and science of biographic filmmaking. From taking the testimony of unreliable narrators to making the most of a sit-down interview, they’ll hash out how to dodge the well-worn pitfalls of this classical documentary genre. Presented by Field of Vision

With Roberto Minervini and Kaitlin Prest

Roberto Minervini is the director of The Other Side and Kaitlin Prest is the co-creator and host of The Heart podcast on the Radiotopia network. Both of these artists display a sometimes uncanny ability to create profound trust with their subjects, exhuming skeletons and moving empathetically through even the most taboo topics. Come eavesdrop on the conversation as they share the secrets of drawing out people’s most intimate stories. Presented by Field of Vision

Standing more than 20 feet from stardom have been Cameraperson director/Citizenfour cinematographer Kirsten Johnson and critic Eric Hynes, a film programmer at the Museum of the Moving Image. These two wise, compassionate artists will engage in a dialogue about the advantages and disadvantages of being “behind the scenes.” Presented by Field of Vision

With Brian Chirls and Jessica Brillhart

Part of the excitement of the burgeoning artform known as Virtual Reality is just how damn new it is, but already it veers towards cliche. The brilliant, sarcastic minds of Brian Chirls and Jessica Brillhart, visionary VR creators, aren’t afraid to puncture the pretensions of this infant artform. In a session both informative and funny, they’ll work their way through their own “VR Drinking Game”, leaving the audience better educated and themselves in need of a liver transplant. Presented by Field of Vision

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Thanks to a grant from the Ford Foundation, this year we’ve built a mini-Ideas Fest within True/False. After months of searching, our team located six people from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines, all with challenging ideas and provocative presentation styles. Paired with a feature film in our program, these folks stand ready to rearrange your worldview with the power of words. 

The 2016 Provocateurs are:

Geoff Dyer - Geoff is the author of several books, which include a book on jazz called But Beautiful, a novel called Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi, and Zona, a book about Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Stalker. His new book, White Sands, will be published in May. Provocation before screenings of Cameraperson

Sam Green - Sam is a documentary filmmaker whose work includes The Measure of All Things and The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller, a live cinematic collaboration with Yo La Tengo. His film, The Weather Underground, was nominated for an Academy Award. Provocation before screenings of Thy Father’s Chair

Jae Rhim Lee - JR is an artist, designer, and the CEO and Co-founder of Coeio. Her living units, furniture, wearables, and recycling systems propose unorthodox relationships between the mind/body/self. Provocation before screenings of Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You

Dr Mehret Mandefro - Mehret is a social entrepreneur, scholar and storyteller who draws on her background as a cultural anthropologist and public health-trained physician. She produced the feature film Difret, and produced/co-wrote the documentary Little White Lie. Provocation before screenings of Presenting Princess Shaw

Jillian Mayer - Jillian is an artist who makes work that explores how technology affects our identities, lives and experiences. Much of her work investigates the tension between physical and digital iterations of identity. Mayer also helps run the Borscht Corp. Provocation before screenings of Secret Screening Scarlet   

David Rees - David is the author of "How to Sharpen Pencils" and the host of "Going Deep with David Rees," a how-to show on the Esquire Network. His cartoons and writing have appeared in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, the New Yorker, and many other publications. Provocation before screenings of Michael Shannon Michael Shannon John

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CHAUTAUQUA - Sunday, Mar 6 / 9:30AM / Rhynsburger Theatre

On Sunday morning, join our six piquant Provocateurs and host, Kaitlin Prest, for a variety show featuring provocations, music, and storytelling. Immediately following, continue the conversation one-on-one in the Bingham Gallery (right across the hall) with a high tea featuring Fire Pot teas from Kaldi’s Coffee. Presented by The Ford Foundation

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Riffing on our Off the Trail theme, True/False manifests Missouri’s first work of interactive, immersive theater. A personal history told in fragmented memories, LOST LETTERS challenges the audience to solve puzzles, decipher codes and engage with the performers in order to navigate this narrative. Part escape room, part Sleep No More, this collaborative work comes together with a lot of labor and love from a team of creators that includes Greenhouse Theatre Company, Breakout COMO, Neon Treehouse and T/F. Presented in partnership with Kickstarter

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SYNAPSES UNDERWRITTEN BY THE FORD FOUNDATION