>True/False Film Festival

>From Thursday until Sunday night, I found myself in various theaters all around downtown Columbia. Once a year, the True/False Film Festival visits our town and brings with it a wealth of great documentaries. By the time it was over, I saw 9 movies. Yes, my brain was a little fried and my body was a little lethargic. The festival never fails to open my eyes to the world a little more.

I honestly appreciated every single film I saw. I was lucky enough to fill my schedule with killer choices. However, I’m human so there are for sure some I enjoyed more than others. Here’s their ranking- starting with the least liked and moving to the most liked films.

The Oath
This was one of those films that I know was good, but was a little over my head. I simply don’t have much context to draw from when the whole film is about the Taliban, Al-Quaeda, Iraq and politics.

Waking Sleeping Beauty
This documented the animation department of Disney. I loved seeing how the power house of films like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Lion King came about. Who knew there was so much drama behind the scenes of these movies?

Enemies of the People
Our church sponsored this film. The directors actually spoke at The Crossing last Sunday. It was one of those films that I appreciated and was very good but I would never want to watch again. As this man interviews people who participated in the genocide in Cambodia, I was haunted by their remorse and deep sadness.

Colony
Did you know the honeybee population is disappearing?? I didn’t. Did you know that America’s agricultural system is depending on those little guys? I didn’t. I was completely unaware of the problem. This was one of those films that you walk away from thinking, “Gosh, we have a big problem here!” However, I don’t quite feel called to action by this film. I mean, what am I supposed to do? Start a little hive my back yard? That would suck.

Holy Wars
Man, this film was good. What do you get if you take one bible-belt fundamentalist Christian and one extreme Muslim activist? Conflict, passion, anger, and extremes. This one gave us a lot to talk about.

Last Train Home
OK, I’ll admit, this film was depressing. But I can’t stop thinking about it. As we followed the lives of a family that worked in a Chinese factory, I felt so convicted about my standard of comfort. It made me so thankful for my job. However, I was left with a sense of hopelessness for people like the ones in this film. It has just really stuck with me for some reason.

Smash His Camera
I had a love/hate relationship with, Ron Gallela, one of the most famous paparazzi photographers to date. His hilarious personality made up for the fact that he leached off other people to make a living. Between his love for rabbits and fake garden, I really enjoyed a peek into this guy’s life.

British in Bed
I was scared to go to this one. It could have been crude and nasty. To much surprise- I loved it! It was simply a film documenting people talking about their relationships. From the couple that had been married 60 years to the newly weds, we were able to laugh and cry with the couples sharing their lives. I loved it!

(Before seeing this film, a girl got up in front of the crowd, talked about how much she and her boyfriend loved True/False, and proceeded to ask her boyfriend to marry her. Yes, you read it right. SHE asked HIM. Only at True/False would this action be applauded).

Racing Dreams
My number one favorite! Basically, there is a mini-nascar league out there. Kids under the age of 12 can drive these go-cart like cars that get up to 80 miles per hour! It wasn’t the racing stuff that I loved about the film but the peek into 3 very different families and the hilarity of middle school maturity.

Like I said, these were all great films. This festival always makes me realize how much I don’t know about the world. Hope you can enjoy the festival next year!