In 2007, True/False created the True Life Fund, a philanthropic effort that raises money and awareness for the subjects of a new nonfiction film each year. The True Life Fund allows us, as viewers, to respond to the stories we see on-screen and create change by offering tangible assistance to the real-life subjects of a new nonfiction film. It acknowledges that documentary filmmakers and festivals thrive because of the stories given to us by people. The fund serves as a small way for us to repay that gift. Spotlighting one movie each year, we support and honor those who share their stories in front of the camera. Collaborating with filmmakers, whose intimate knowledge of their “characters” enables us to pinpoint needs, we work hard to make sure that this money is given and received with as much thought as possible.
2026 TRUE LIFE FUND
In the 2026 True Life Fund selection How to Clean a House in 10 Easy Steps, fantasy and truth are interwoven as they playfully explore immigration and labor. Beatriz, one of the film’s main subjects, made the heartbreaking decision to migrate from Colombia to the U.S. to be a domestic worker and provide for her family, leaving her two children behind. Decades after she and her children first separated, they find themselves on the brink of another upending parting. Carolina invites her mother, Beatriz; her brother, her aunt, and four friends to tell their story on their own terms, co-creating the fantasy of a best-selling writer. This becomes the bridge where fiction makes space for truth and healing.
Through the True Life Fund, True/False acknowledges and celebrates the contributions of documentary subjects — The 2026 True Life Fund recognizes the stories of Beatriz Valencia Cuartas, Leonor Ponte, Gina Paola Marin, Alba Zapata, David González Valencia, and Gleidy Rozo; they collaborated with filmmaker Carolina González Valencia for more than eight years to share their story with the world. How to Clean a House in 10 Easy Steps showcases their dedication and perseverance at a pivotal moment, both for themselves and the United States.
This year, attendees have the opportunity to make a direct impact on the lives of these caregivers and their families who have spent their lives looking out for others, while often lacking a social safety net that ensures their own wellbeing.
HISTORY
Three Promises
A filmmaker excavates the hidden childhood home movies recorded by his mother during the tumultuous early 2000s in the West Bank.
Bad Press
A fearless indigenous journalist fights for independent media and democracy in her community.
The Territory
The dangerous documentation efforts undertaken by the Uru-eu-wau-wau Indigenous surveillance team are essential to preserving their way of life and Indigenous land in Brazil. This
Sabaya
Sabaya, directed by Hogir Hirori, follows Mahmud and Ziyad, volunteers who run the Yazidi Home Center outside the Al-hol refugee camp on the Iraq/Syria border. Their
Welcome to Chechnya
This vital and harrowing film confronts an ongoing genocide directed at the LGBTQ+ citizens of the republic of Chechnya. Director David France (How to Survive
Midnight Traveler
Armed only with cellphone cameras, Hassan Fazili and his family flee from the Taliban, capturing every step of their high-stakes search for a new home.
Primas
Two cousins, Rocio and Aldana, courageously transcend trauma through creative therapy in this True Life Fund selection. Presented by The Crossing
Quest
This epic labor of love vividly spotlights one Philadelphia family’s highs and lows over the course of a decade. True Life Fund Film (Presented by
Sonita
Dead-set against being sold as a bride, a feisty Afghan refugee breaks loose to become a rapper.
The Look of Silence
One man’s search for the men who murdered his brother. True Life Fund Film. Presented by The Crossing
Private Violence
Opening with one of the the great nonfiction scenes ever, Private Violence immediately announces itself as far more than an issue-driven documentary. This is storytelling
Which Way Is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington
The 2013 True Life Fund film tells the story of Tim Hetherington (Restrepo), a combat photographer extraordinaire, who bore witness to the personal stories too
Bully
2012 True Life Fund Film. Filmmaker Lee Hirsch makes the bullying epidemic in American schools intensely personal, demonstrating how, for some kids, mere survival can
Enemies of the People
2010 True Life Fund selection. On a mission to investigate and to also forgive the brutal murderers who perpetrated the Killing Fields of Cambodia, journalist
