In a celebratory kick-off to the spring season and to commemorate the weekend that True/False 2021 would have happened were it not for the global pandemic, Ragtag Film Society plans to host a multi-faceted event called Rites of Spring. Taking place on Saturday, March 6, Rites of Spring will be a full day of festivities: the 3rd annual True/Love shopping event, an online How-To-Fest session, a physically distanced in-person community-fire-ritual-turned-group-art-installation, and a drive-in screening, all dedicated to ushering in the season and the Fest-to-be.
Daytime Rites of Spring activities will primarily take place in person at the Boone County Courthouse Amphitheater, where participants are invited to reflect on the past and the future by taking part in a Fest art project and casting personal notes into an original fire sculpture, all while enjoying a busker concert. After the concert, festival staff will share information and answer questions about how to access the 2021 festival. Following Rites of Spring, the fire sculpture will be transformed into an (electric) “eternal flame” that will live outside on the lawn at Hittsville (10 Hitt street) until the festival in May. The art created during Rites of Spring will be incorporated into an installation piece displayed at the festival. Daytime Rites of Spring activities run from noon to 4pm and are free and open to the public.
The True/Love shopping event is a partnership with local retailers and restaurants during which 10% of the day’s proceeds from participating businesses go to support True/False. True/Love kicks off virtually on the Fest Facebook page from 9am-noon, and in-person shopping takes place during businesses’ operating hours. There will be buskers around The District, and the Les Bourgeois’ official T/F 2021 wines will make their debut at participating restaurants and bars. The full roster of True/Love participants is available online.
Building a throughline between March and May, Rites of Spring also marks the beginning of an eight-week virtual True/False retrospective series called Hindsight. Weather permitting, the first Hindsight film, Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun? (T/F 2017, Dir. Travis Wilkerson), will be screened at a pop-up drive-in at RE/MAX Boone Realty’s parking lot on March 6. Following this in-person event, the eight elusive and enduring True/False films making up Hindsight will be available for online viewing, along with a virtual Q&A with the directors, launching weekly from March 7 through April 25. Each film will open online at 6pm on Sunday evening, with a real-time Q&A afterwards. Recordings of the Q&As for each film will be available online for the rest of the week. The Hindsight pass is available for purchase online. Individual tickets for each film will also be available separately starting one week prior.
Safety has always been a top priority for True/False and all event safety plans have been developed in collaboration with the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services. More information about Fest health precautions can be found online.
For more information, contact:
Stacie Pottinger, RFS Director of Development & Communications: [email protected]