A weekend of great films! True/False 2013

The True/False Film Fest of 2013 hit full-on just over a week ago (I know, I'm behind) and after several weeks of volunteering on the venue design crew and making blu-ray discs for the festival bumpers, it seemed T/F came around the corner while I was looking the other way and I smacked right into it. Regardless, it was a busy and exhausting, but fun weekend. So, what did I see and what did I think? Oh, I'm so glad you asked...

Friday I went to the Secret Screening Gold at the Forrest Theatre with my folks. They had tickets, I did not, and since I can't talk about the film itself except to say that I enjoyed it, I'll talk about the Q process and the venue itself. So, for those unaccustomed to the "Q" process that T/F employs, here's a quick how-to: T/F sells passes and reserve tickets. Once all the reserve tickets are sold, your only option for getting into the film of your choice is to wait in the Q (if you have a pass, you've already paid to get in, if not, you pay when you head into the theatre). Because T/F sells only about 80-90% of available seats as reserve tickets, each film/venue has a Q and as far as I know, each film always lets in people from the Q. How many people depends on how many reserve ticket holders show up. I Q'd for this film at the Forrest Theatre, which seats 190 (I heard) and my number was in the 48-53 range (I don't remember, geez it was a long weekend with several Qs). I got in! There is one other thing I want to say about this venue - the venue design is stunning, you truly feel like you're in a forest, but if you're seeing a film with subtitles, make sure you get a good seat! Alas, I did not have a good seat.

Probably the film I was most excited for was Sarah Polley's Stories We Tell, which I successfully Q'd for Friday night. It was a lovely film and I'm so glad I got to see it. There was a short that played before it called My Favorite Picture of You, which was also a lovely piece. Both films seemed like projects that each director needed to do for some personal reasons. Having felt like I "grew up" with Sarah Polley - she was the main character on my favorite childhood TV show Avonlea - it was interesting to get a glimpse into her real family. I really liked how she incorporated reenactments to tell the story of her mother, as told by older siblings, her father, and her mother's friends. Sadly, she was not able to make it to the fest...but I bet I would've been too star-struck to actually say anything to her anyway.

Saturday morning I went to Blackfish at the Missouri Theatre. It was the story of captive killer whale, Tilikum, whose genes have made their way into a very generous number of other captive orcas since he's one of the few male orcas kept for breeding. The film was expectedly astonishing. I was most impressed, I think, by how the flow of the film kept me captivated the whole time - at some times feeling worst for the whales and then at others, for the trainers. I will not look at captive animals in the same way again. It will be on CNN films sometime in the future.

Then I saw The Gatekeepers. To me, this film felt a little sterile. Part of my problem with this film was how much it expected it's audience to already know the background and history. I really couldn't keep up.

Manhunt, however, I thought was a terrific film! After seeing it, I decided it was my favorite film of the festival and that lasted through the next two - also very good - films I saw. It's about the female investigators who sort-of foresaw the 9/11 Al-Queda attack. Giving what felt like a very full picture of investigation to end result, this film was definitely one of the best of the weekend and I would encourage anyone and everyone to see it. It'll be on HBO soon...

Where's the Front Line From Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington wins the prize for longest title this year. Also a good movie and incidentally the only one I cried in, but not the best of the weekend.

Sunday morning I saw most of Moo Man which was fun, but I didn't feel like I missed the end of the film (for the record I had to leave due to other festival obligations - making the bumper discs for Sunday evening's screenings).

Then, with a winning finish, I saw Twenty Feet from Stardom. (Side anecdote: My folks and I got Q tickets 1-3 for this and felt like a nerd but I don't care because it was so worth it.) Hands-down best film of the fest! No seriously you should all go out and see this film. It features rock-stars who are out-shined by the amazing backup singer subjects of the film. And wow, what voices! So incredible and an incredibly well-done film! And when one of the stars of the film - Lisa Fischer - came out on stage you could just feel the energy in the room increase from her presence.

Well, that's it folks. It's always a tough weekend, but so great to be a part of the festival!

Pin It