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True/False Film Fest Announces 2022 Lineup
The Territory After last year’s largely virtual film festival, True/False Film Fest returns for its 19th edition. This year’s festival— scheduled to take place on the ground in Columbia, Missouri from March 3 to 6—boasts four world premieres in its lineup (After Sherman, It Runs in the Family, Gods of Mexico and Let the Little Light Shine). The full lineup of features and short films is below; click here to read the full press release, including full demographic breakdowns of this year’s directors.
2nd Chance | Dir. Ramin Bahrani; 2022; 89 min.
Director Ramin Bahrani tackles the bizarre life of body-armor inventor Richard Davis, who repeatedly shot himself on camera to promote his products’ efficacy.
Açucena | Dir. Isaac Donato; 2021; 71 min.
Guiomar Monteiro is a 67 year-old who, for religious reasons, celebrates her seventh birthday every year surrounded by her ever-growing collection of dolls.
After Sherman | Dir. Jon-Sesrie Goff; 2021; 88 min.
From a unique corner of the American south, inheritance and generational wisdom shape this deeply personal portrait of collective history.
The Balcony Movie | Dir. Paweł Łoziński; 2021; 100 min.
A filmmaker sets up a camera on his balcony and strikes up conversation with passers-by in this warm-hearted portrait of a community.
Brotherhood | Dir. Francesco Montagner; 2021; 97 min.
An immersive and visually stunning portrait of three Bosnian brothers during the incarceration of their father, an Islamic preacher and shepherd, on terrorism charges.
Caballerango | Dir. Juan Pablo González; 2018; 62 min.
A quietly devastating portrait of grief as the community in a rural Mexican town continues life after the loss of a young horse wrangler. (Preceded by “Las Nubes”)
Canoa: A Shameful Memory | Dr. Felipe Cazals; 1976; 115 min.
Reimagining a real-life incident in the town of Canoa in 1968, a group of students are wrongly accused of being communist agitators with horrific consequences.
Children of the Mist | Dir. Hà Lệ Diễm; 2021; 90 min.
Ancient customs and modernity clash in the North Vietnamese mountains when a young girl resists societal pressures and foregoes marriage to pursue education.
Days and Nights of Demetra K | Dir. Eva Stefani; 2021; 72 min.
Twelve years in the life of a fiercely independent sex worker in Athens turn a mirror on a country undergoing economic turmoil.
The Delights | Dir. Eduardo Crespo; 2021; 65 min.
At an agriculture-based boarding school in Argentina, kids learn by doing—and are given the time and space they need to start finding their own path to adulthood.
Dos Estaciones | Dir. Juan Pablo González; 2022; 98 min.
The strong-willed owner of a tequila factory in the Jalisco Highlands fights to save her business from encroaching foreign corporations.
Eventually | Dir. Rikke Nørgaard; 2021; 56 min.
Two young people with a complicated love life reconstruct moments from their relationship to figure out whether they have a future together. (Preceded by “Nazarbazi”)
Factory to the Workers | Dir. Srđan Kovačević; 2021; 106 min.
Ten years after a successful worker takeover, an employee-owned Croatian factory struggles to operate amidst an increasingly globalized capitalist economy.
Fire of Love | Dir. Sara Dosa; 2021; 93 min.
The epic love story of volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft told through the breathtaking films they shot of their adventures to study the volcanoes of the world.
GES-2 | Dir. Nastia Korkia; 2021; 77 min.
In the heart of Moscow, a former energy plant that once fueled the Kremlin undergoes a dramatic transformation into a massive art space—with a few bumps along the way.
Gods of Mexico | Dir. Helmut Dosantos; 2021; 97 min.
The diverse communities of rural Mexico fight to preserve their cultural identity in the shadows of modernization.
H6 | Dir. Yé Yé; 2021; 113 min.
H6 takes us inside one of the largest hospitals in Shanghai through a series of interconnected stories of patients, families, and medical staff.
I Didn’t See You There | Dir. Reid Davenport; 2022; 77 min.
Prompted by a local circus, a filmmaker examines America’s Freak Show history and its connection to enduring disability stigmas.
It Runs in the Family | Dir. Victoria Linares Villegas; 2021; 83 min.
A revelation about her family connection to an influential Dominican director from the 1940’s sets a filmmaker on her own path of playful self-discovery. Presented by Ikaria Design Company
Let the Little Light Shine | Dir. Kevin Shaw; 2021; 86 min.
In Chicago, a beloved predominantly African-American school with a track record for excellence is threatened by plans that smack of gentrification—but it won’t go down without a fight.
Miguel’s War | Dir. Eliane Raheb; 2021; 128 min.
With his personal narrative in the crossfire, this dynamic tête-à-tête between Miguel and director Eliane offers provocative interrogations of war, exile, religion, identity, queerness, and love.
Mija | Dir. Isabel Castro; 2022; 88 min.
The daughters of undocumented parents, both Doris and Jacks are navigating the music industry to make a better life for themselves and their families.
Mr Landsbergis | Dir. Sergei Loznitsa; 2021; 246 min.
Wielding a stunning arsenal of archival footage, master filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa illustrates beat by beat how a mild-mannered reluctant politician led Lithuania out of the Soviet Union. Presented by the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy
No U-Turn | Dir. Ike Nnaebue; 2022; 92 min.
A poetic travelogue exploring what migration means to young people today in Africa as a filmmaker retraces the route he took as a young man in the hopes of reaching Europe.
Octopus | Dir. Karim Kassem; 2020; 64 min.
In the wake of the Beirut port explosion, a city in a state of shock begins to process and pick up the pieces of this catastrophic collective trauma. (Preceded by “Kalsubai”)
Riotsville, USA | Dir. Sierra Pettengill; 2022; 90 min.
An archival onslaught of a fictional town created by the U.S. military during the uprisings of the late 60s.
Sirens | Dir. Rita Baghdadi; 2022; 78 min.
An all-woman thrash metal band in Beirut chase their dreams while navigating the complexities of friendship and sexuality against a backdrop of political unrest and destruction.
The Still Side | Dirs. Miko Revereza & Carolina Fusilier; 2021; 70 min.
Speculative confabs and mythological undertones occupy the architectural afterlife of an abandoned resort in Capaluco, an island off the coast of Mexico. (Preceded by “Expo Film (this film is my memory)”)
The Territory | Dir. Alex Pritz; 2022; 85 min.
The Uru-eu-wau-wau Indigenous surveillance team defend their land against a network of Brazilian farmers intent on colonizing their protected territory.
Turn Your Body to the Sun | Dir. Aliona Van der Horst; 2021; 93 min.
A daughter retraces her father’s footsteps as a WWII Soviet Soldier, POW, and Gulag victim reconstructing the fourteen-year ordeal he concealed.
Vedette | Dirs. Claudine Bories & Patrice Chagnard; 2021; 99 min.
An aging cow who held the top rank in her Alpine pastures adjusts to aging and displacement after a new pecking order is established.
We Met in Virtual Reality | Dir. Joe Hunting; 2021; 88 min.
A tender and charming portrait of the online VR community and the unexpected human connections made possible by the digital space.
Where are we Headed | Dir. Ruslan Fedotow; 2021; 63 min.
Embedded in the Moscow Metro, a roaming camera builds a rich mosaic of Russian society today, capturing moments both exceptional and everyday with great humor and intuitive insight. (Preceded by “Quitting Time”)
TRUE/FALSE FILM FEST 2022 SHORT FILMS
Abisal | Dir. Alejandro Alonso; 2021; 30 min.
Men move through the abandoned skeletons of ships on the lookout for ghostly presences as the line between the living and dead is blurred. (Plays in: Shorts Macondo)
Death | Dir. Nadia Hallgren; 2021; 9 min.
Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem comes to life in an epic and stark manner (Plays in: Shorts Agartha)
Expo Film (this film is my memory) | Dir. Penny McCann; 2020; 9 min.
A visual expression of an artist’s attempt to recover childhood memories of the Expo ’67 she attended by blending footage of the event. (Plays before The Still Side)
Golden Jubilee | Dir. Suneil Sanzgiri; 2021; 18 min.
Relationships to personal history, geography, and ancestral lineage layer and merge. (Plays in: Shorts Agartha)
Greetings from Myanmar | Dirs. Sunniva Sundby & Andreas J. Riiser; 2020; 6 min.
In the shadow of genocide, unsuspecting tourists enjoy a peaceful holiday. (Plays in: Shorts Macondo)
Ikebana | Dir. Rita Ferrando; 2021; 13 min.
A meditative, many-colored exploration of the Japanese art of flower arrangement as a tool for non-verbal communication, creative expression, and the unlocking of memories. (Plays in: Shorts Agartha)
In Flow of Words | Dir. Eliane Esther Bots; 2021; 22 min.
Examines the experiences of three interpreters of the Yugoslavia Tribunal in the Hague. (Plays in: Shorts Hillwood)
Kalsubai | Dir. Yudhajit Basu; 2021; 20 min.
An enchanting ethnographic film exploring the legend of the goddess Kalsubai who remains ingrained in the consciousness of the Koli tribe today. (Plays before Octopus)
Kicking the Clouds | Dir. Sky Hopinka; 2021; 15 min.
A personal reflection on descendants and ancestors using an audio archive of a familial language. (Plays in: Shorts Agartha)
Las Nubes | Dir. Juan Pablo González; 2017; 21 min.
Unfolding in a single take, a man recalls the memory of the last time he saw his daughter before sending her to the US. (Plays before Caballerango)
Last Days of August | Dirs. Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck & Robert Machoian; 2022; 13 min.
A moving-image photo book offering compassionate and poignant portraiture of American towns drained of dreams and left for dead by our internet-commerce epoch. (Plays in: Shorts Hillwood)
Liberation Radio | Dir. Esther Johnson; 2021; 14 min.
A revival of the 1960’s radio station disseminating propaganda tapes made by American military deserters during the Vietnam War. (Plays in: Shorts Macondo)
Nazarbazi | Dir. Maryam Tafakory; 2022; 19 min.
A cinematic collage of unspoken desire and stolen glances responding to censorship and suppression in Iranian film after the 1979 revolution. (Plays before Eventually)
Nuisance Bear | Dirs. Jack Weisman & Gabriela Osio Vanden; 2021; 14 min.
In Churchill, Manitoba, a polar bear embarks on a treacherous journey through an obstacle course of tourists and wildlife officers. (Plays in: Shorts Hillwood)
Our Ark | Dirs. Deniz Tortum & Kathryn Hamilton, 2021, 12 min.
This hypnotic and lyrical piece both eases and challenges our transition into the apocalypse as it considers humanity’s past 50 years of digitizing everything in sight. (Plays in Shorts Hillwood)
Quitting Time | Dir. Cameron Yates; 2022; 8 min.
A city bus driver’s shift ends—but even after Luis clocks out, he fills his hours with an extra-curricular activity that keeps him on the move. (Plays before Where Are We Headed)
The Rightful | Dir. Ana Galizia; 2022; 21 min.
Summoning documents, images, and sounds from the archives to connect the past with the present in the struggle for land and water in the Guapiaçu valley region in Brazil. (Plays in: Shorts Macondo)
You Can’t Stop Spirit | Dir. Vashni Korin; 2021; 15 min.
The radiant baby dolls of Mardi Gras revel in the origins of tradition. (Plays in: Shorts Hillwood)
You’ve Never Been Completely Honest | Dir. Joey Izzo; 2021; 11 min.
Gene Church details physical torture and brainwashing endured at a leadership seminar, exposing the underbelly of the burgeoning 1970’s self-help movement. (Plays in: Shorts Macondo)
Zigipouse | Dir. Alan Sahin; 2021; 10 min.
Across age, language, and profession, these casually charming ten minutes of liminal space speak a common tongue: the smoke break. (Plays in: Shorts Macondo)
