Brett Morgen - True/False Film Fest Brett Morgen - True/False Film Fest

Brett Morgen

2007

Dissatisfied with the conventions of documentary film, Brett Morgen is on a bold course to break free and re-imagine the genre. Morgen finds strong narratives, whether in the star-crossed struggles of Robert Evans or the fortunes of a high school basketball team, and runs with them. In his early solo effort, Ollie’s War, he nakedly set out with just a Hi-8 camera and microphone, insinuating himself into Oliver North’s collaborative efforts with Nanette Burstein (On The Ropes The Kid Stays in the Picture) have been marked by an at-times brilliant sense of narrative structure, a willingness to experiment with form, and, most of all, a clear-headed drive to let the content guide his style. In Morgen’s most recent film, Chicago 10 (opening night at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival) we see these tendencies in full as he achieves an immediate, experiential cinema. Morgen refuses to let history exist as a static photograph and uses animation and a bracing rock soundtrack to rattle the viewer out of complacency. In all the above films, we find a tension between historical reality and visceral, personal narrative. It is to Brett’s credit that he navigates this tension with a balance of intellectual rigor and irresponsible creativity. T/F is proud to present Brett Morgen with the 2007 True Vision Award.