“True/False is nirvana. When I went to True/False, I remembered what I sometimes forget: the unalloyed joy of making and watching docs.”–Alex Gibney, Oscar-winning director, Taxi to the Dark Side In case you haven’t heard of the True/False Film Fest before now, here’s a quick primer: Thursday–Sunday, March 2-5, 2017 Downtown Columbia, Missouri ~37 … Continued
We are happy to announce the feature films included in our 2016 program! Each of these films expands the boundaries of nonfiction cinema, inviting audiences to be challenged, inspired, and entertained. Several films are celebrating their debuts at True/False. The Pearl takes a sensitive look at gender through the eyes of four middle-aged trans women. … Continued
We are proud to announce that Mehrdad Oskouei will receive this year’s True Vision Award in honor of his achievement in, and contribution to, the field of nonfiction filmmaking. The True Vision award is the only award given out at the fest. Oskouei is the thirteenth recipient of this honor. Last year the award was … Continued
For the 2016 edition of our Neither/Nor sidebar, we are collaborating with film critic Nick Pinkerton on a series exploring Mondo (or so-called “shockumentary”) cinema and its offshoots. This is the fourth edition of Neither/Nor, an archival program of films that muddles the borders between fiction and nonfiction. For the third year in a row, Neither/Nor … Continued
The True/False Film Fest announces Sonita, a film by Rokhsareh Ghaem, as this year’s recipient of the True Life Fund. Sonita marks a decade of powerful films and deserving subjects sponsored by the Fund. Sonita Alizadeh is a young, Afghan rapper living undocumented in Tehran, Iran. She shares a home with her older sister and … Continued
This year True/False music expands its signature, rootsy folk sound, reaching out into the wide sea of American talent and pulling in a diverse display of fiercely independent, internationally influenced musicians. With acts ranging from the Ghanaian gyil/xylophone of L.A. based SK Kakraba, to the big Balkan sounds of Boulder’s ten piece brass band Gora … Continued
As True/False grows, so does our creative fervor and our ambition for the new. Lately, we’ve drawn increased inspiration from other forms of storytelling, and in 2016 we’ll unveil the Good Wizard arcade. This home of T/F transmedia will be styled after a classic 80s arcade, but filled with virtual reality and participatory installations intent … Continued
Film, music, and art installations are the three creative tributaries feeding, growing, and evolving the festival. December in the True/False office is full of passionate brainstorming and discussions as we work to curate this living thing. Talented makers are beginning to emerge, and we’re too excited to keep a lid on it. Here’s a brief teaser … Continued
In light of recent events at MU, Ragtag Cinema and True/False Film Fest are presenting three special, free, community screenings of FREEDOM SUMMER.  Freedom Summer, a documentary by Stanley Nelson (The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution), looks back at the summer of 1964, when the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee organized hundreds of student activist to take segregated Mississippi by … Continued
On November 18 at the Missouri Theatre, True/False and the Jonathan B. Murray Center for Documentary Journalism (a new addition to the University of Missouri’s Journalism School) are co-presenting a special screening of the documentary Killing Them Safely. Directed by Mizzou Journalism School graduate and Columbia resident Nick Berardini, Killing Them Safely is a gripping, … Continued
