True/False 2024 Dispatch: “Three Promises,” “A Photographic Memory,” “Background”

Quite a few films that screened at the 2024 True/False Film Festival dealt with memory, using photos and videos of the past to create a dialogue with the present. The three films I’ve reviewed below all take this approach in a broad sense, but use it to different ends: to learn about a mother her […]

True/False 2024 Dispatch: “As the Tide Comes In,” “The Other Profile,” “Flying Lessons”

This theme of this year’s True/False Film Festival was “the human paradox”, and while such complicated questions as what it means to be human and live a fulfilling life, often in a world where the odds are stacked against you, was evident across all the film’s programmed at the annual non-fiction festival, the immense variety […]

True/False 2024 Dispatch: “There Was, There Was Not,” “1489”

Displacement has been a common theme across many of the films I’ve watched at this year’s True/False Film Festival, the annual event in Columbia, Missouri celebrating nonfiction filmmaking, and with the current genocide unfolding in Palestine, each of them feels particularly urgent. Coincidentally, two Armenian films by women documenting the Artsakh War and the way […]

True/False 2023 Dispatch: “Tavuri,” “Three Women,” “The Stroll”

For my sixth and final dispatch from this year’s True/False Film Festival, I’m reviewing the final three documentaries I saw: Tavuri, the wild story of a con artist; the tender slice of life Three Women; and the powerful story of NYC’s trans sex workers, The Stroll, which is coming to HBO later this year. Read […]

True False 2023 Dispatch: “Art Talent Show,” “Time Bomb Y2K,” “How to Have an American Baby”

For my fifth dispatch from the 2023 True/False Film Festival, I’m spotlighting three documentaries that are all preoccupied with capturing a moment in time: the hilarious Art Talent Show and Time Bomb Y2K, and the gut-wrenching How to Have an American Baby. Read my capsule reviews of those films below. ART TALENT SHOW dirs. Adéla […]

True/False 2023 Dispatch: “Going Varsity in Mariachi,” “Bad Press”

For my next dispatch from the 2023 True/False Film Festival, I’m spotlighting two underdog stories that recently premiered at Sundance: Going Varsity in Mariachi, the festival’s 2023 Show Me True/False selection, and Bad Press, the recipient of this year’s True Life Fund. Read my reviews below. GOING VARSITY IN MARIACHI dirs. Sam Osborn and Alejandra […]

True/False 2023 Dispatch: “Milisuthando,” “Ramona,” “Anhell69”

One of the most interesting and fun things about watching so many movies in quick succession is spotting some of their similarities and shared themes. Both Milisuthando, which recently premiered at Sundance, and Anhell69, which also screens at SXSW this weekend, are powerful personal essays, and Anhell69 and Ramona (my favorite film from the fest) […]

True/False 2023 Dispatch: “R 21,” “Feet in Water, Head on Fire,” “Paradise”

As this nourishing few days of documentary cinema at the 2023 True/False Film Festival approaches its conclusion, I’ve got mini reviews of 3 more films I’ve watched this weekend. R 21 AKA Restoring Solidarity presents rare and recently restored films created in solidarity with the Palestinian fight for freedom, while Feet in Water, Head on […]

True/False 2023 Dispatch: “Going to Mars,” “Red Herring,” “Dogwatch”

Greetings from the 20th True/False Film Festival! I’m excited to be back in Columbia, Missouri this weekend celebrating thrilling new works of documentary filmmaking. For my first batch of capsule reviews from this year’s festival, I’m looking at two feature debuts (one a world premiere) and a doc about a well-known subject that recently premiered […]

True/False Day 4: “The Delights,” “The Territory,” “After Sherman,” “Açucena,” “Gods of Mexico”

Here’s my recap of the films I watched on my fourth and final day covering the 2022 True/False Film Festival, which saw what ended up being my favorites of the fest (“The Territory” and “Gods of Mexico”), as well as “The Delights,” “Açucena,” and “After Sherman.” Read my reviews of all those movies below. “THE […]