True/False bigger than ever this year

The participation has grown to more than 15,000 people.

By Anna Gaynor

Published Feb. 26, 2009

When the True/False Film Fest started in summer 2004, it was a bit of a wonder how the little city that could had gone so long without something so obviously Columbian.

Take the three venues that made downtown Columbia a hotbed of film and theater: the grand movie palace, the Missouri Theatre; the theater-turned-music venue The Blue Note; and a little storefront café/mini-cinema Ragtag. Combine that with the fact that Columbia is a metropolis of journalism -- from shoulder-padded news anchors and pavement-stomping journalism students to documentary makers and those who love them.

Late as it might have been, it was timely. 2003 has been called "The Year of the Documentary" by some, for the number of documentary films that actually found a home in theaters across the country.

What made the idea of the festival exciting was that the acclaimed, power-packing films that had made it to the big-time festivals, such as Sundance and Toronto, weren't just outsourced to fancier locales, but were being brought right into Columbia's living room (and were being shown at venues conveniently within walking distance to each other, making it easy to catch a flick). The films chosen -- and the directors present to show off their work and discuss it with the community -- were based on the guiding principle that documentaries are (usually) undeserving of their image as stuffy, pretentious high-horse films and could be thought-provoking and accessible, in more ways than one.

The first year, organizers put on a show that brought the cream of the nonfiction filmmaking crop to downtown for sold-out shows, inaugural awards and films and presentations by inspiring directors. The first True/False True Vision Award winner that year was Bruce Sinofsky, who is best known for "Brother's Keeper" and "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" (that movie where the members of Metallica go to therapy and, you know, scream at each other a lot).

In the following years, the festival simply grew. In year two, organizers were able to round up 50 filmmakers from all over the world. Ticket sales boomed and Q&As with filmmakers like the brains behind "Murderball," Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Alan Shapiro, drew crowds of more than 1,000.

As the festival grew in prominence, it started to become a fixture of Columbia that began to draw people in from all over the country, giving the college town something else besides journalism to brag about. But it was never about bragging rights for True/False. Part of its success comes from the fact that it's down-to-earth. Nothing about it was overly ostentatious, but rather inviting. With so many films under the umbrella of so many subjects there was something for everyone.

By 2007, the festival had outdone itself. With attendance nearing 15,000 and a volunteer staff of more than 250 people, organizers were able to do more than ever. Projects of True/False raised money for a documentary to tell the story of an African orphanage. First-time directors got a chance to mingle with mentors, industry professionals who could help them with their festival aspirations.

Now in 2009, True/False has descended upon Columbia again and has a lot in store. From parties, bands and workshops to films as diverse as "Afghan Star" and "The Yes Men Fix the World," following an American Idol-esque singing competition and a documentary about corporate greed, respectively, the festival is ready to pull it all off again, bigger than ever.