That's a Wrap: The True/False Film Fest Weekend in The District
The True/False Film Fest is startling, in the best way.
Every year it’s startling.
Startling in its artistry. Startling in its levels of thoughtful organization, hopeful cooperation, and buoying festivity. Startling in the oft-repeated encounter with the realization: In just one year how lax one can get in placing oneself in circumstances which will challenge thinking, retreating into comfort and complacency and, then, the startling and immense gratitude which eventually comes after being thrust into moments of documented uncertainty, into the raw emotions of others, into wrestling with questions of ethics, justice, love, and the peculiarity of human existence in a way only True/False art and cinema can provide.
The District’s Business & Events Coordinator, Nikki Reese as a “Q Queen” alongside T/F fest enthusiast and Columbia resident.
Held in various venues across The District of downtown Columbia, and beyond, the True/False Film Fest is best experienced, not described. If you’ve never experienced T/F, in short, it’s a documentary film fest which seeks to bring together artists, musicians, filmmakers, and audiences from around the globe to create immersive cultural experiences and perspective shifts throughout the four day event. But even those of us who attend the fest year after startling year, may discover that the initial fervor for the late winter T/F weekend wanes in the shadow of all we experience as the weekend wraps; finding ourselves unable to describe what we felt, and saw, and (now) think. This isn’t due to a lack of impact, but entirely, the reverse. At T/F, filmgoers are beckoned into a kind of deep processing, into thoughtful repose, into newfound energies which will slowly emerge as if from a state of groggy hibernation. It’s true!
Sweeping Promises and They Hate Change during their T/F fest performances at Cafe Berlin (photos via theT/F facebook page)
“With cinema as a focal point, Ragtag Film Society (the non-profit behind T/F) exists to captivate and engage communities in immersive arts experiences that explore assumptions and elicit shared joy, wonder, and introspection,” - that’s the True/False mission statement. Filmgoers will likely agree. But business owners in The District and Columbia residents might tack on a clause, a secondhand because of the fest: It adds an economic jolt to our city as well. The purchasing power(s) of film enthusiasts arrive, spending their dollars on everything from hotel stays, to breakfast, lunch, dinner, artwork, coffees, spirits, music, and more. It’s a real shot in the proverbial arm for many Columbia establishments and if you’ve ever made your way downtown during T/F you’ll see the evidence(s). Bustling streets, musicians on nearly every corner, full restaurants, busy bars, and so on.
Trading Post installation on 9th Street during True/False.
All this traffic brings its benefits, its costs too. Trash, composting, and recycling receptacles, combined with a team of trash sorters, haulers, and more are elements of T/F that need daily attention during the fest. Afterwards too. True/False staffers put together teams of hundreds of volunteers in order to make the fest run smoothly and create as little waste as possible, but come Monday morning after the fest, the fifty blocks that make up The District will go back to being tidied by a small but mighty crew of five Block by Block employees. Unsung heroes to our downtown streets. Year-round work on District alleyways, sidewalks, and garage entrances, the steady hands and feet of Block by Block are sweeping up cigarette butts, removing graffiti, picking up bottles and cans, giving directions, locating assistance, and emptying trash throughout The District’s boundaries. Through their partnership with the CID, Block by Block gives downtown shoppers, residents, property and business owners a fighting chance when it comes to keeping Columbia an inviting place to visitors, business owners, and residents alike. Give them a high five if you see them out and about, won’t you?
True/False works year round to make the film, music, and art offerings compelling and whimsical; working to keep the fest safely open to more people, more discovery, collaboration, more art and more joy even as we navigate the inevitable messiness of humanity.
Which, in some ways, is strangely, startlingly close to what The District is trying to achieve in its own way, since its inception, year after year. It’s true!
Until your opportunity to enjoy next year’s T/F fest, come enjoy the vibrancy of time spent exploring The District and learn why - It’s Good to be Here!