True/False Conversations

'Dirty Wars' exposes US covert operations around the world

Rehman Tungekar — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 04:02:34 +0000

This story is part of True/False Conversations, a series of in-depth interviews with the filmmakers of this year’s True/False Festival. Find the rest of them here or download the podcast on iTunes.

'These Birds Walk' wants to be a 'vehicle for empathy'

Rehman Tungekar — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 00:14:51 +0000

'The Crash Reel' highlights pro snowboarder recovering from brain injury

Kristofor Husted — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 22:59:36 +0000

When professional snowboarder Kevin Pearce crashed in the half-pipe in 2009, his life’s trajectory took a turn for the uncertain. After barely surviving a devastating head injury from the fall, Pearce’s recovery ultimately became more than just returning to full health.

Enter filmmaker Lucy Walker. In “The Crash Reel,” the Oscar-nominated documentarian opens a door to Kevin and his family as they struggle with how to handle Kevin’s injury and recovery. The intimate interactions between family members highlight the horrors of traumatic head injuries and the effects they have on loved ones.

'Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer' tells the inside story behind the protest

Rehman Tungekar — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 21:17:54 +0000

A little over a year ago, members of the feminist punk rock collective Pussy Riot staged an unauthorized performance inside Russia’s main cathedral, railing against the recently re-elected President Vladimir Putin. Video of their "punk prayer" went viral, and their subsequent arrest raised an international outcry, with notable figures like Madonna and Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi calling for their release.

'Cutie and the Boxer' tells an unconventional story about love, but not a love story

Ryan Famuliner — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 18:41:21 +0000

Ushio Shinohara was a “rowdy, confrontational" young artist, seemed destined for fame after moving to New York City in the late 1960’s. He hung out with Warhol. He’d been part of Japan’s post-war avant-garde movement, most well-known as the “boxing painter,” for his exhibitionist art where he would dip his cloth-bound hands in ink, and punch his way down a canvas. But his full potential was never realized.

"Computer Chess" is the dawn of the digital age

Scott Pham — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 19:18:01 +0000

In 1997, a computer beat a human at chess for the first time. Gary Kasparov was reputedly the best chess player of his time but an IBM program named Deep Blue wore him down. It was a landmark moment for technology and is one of the seminal moments of the digital age. Director Andrew Bujalski, most famous for inaugurating the “Mumblecore” genre in the 1990s—wanted to find the root of that moment, and it took him to the obscure nerd culture of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

'The Expedition to the End of the World' explores life's meaning through art and science

Kristofor Husted — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 19:53:52 +0000

For three weeks, Danish filmmaker Daniel Dencik and his film crew drifted on an old wooden schooner through the remote arctic waters of Greenland. Also on board, a group of artists and scientists studied the changing landscape of northeastern Greenland and used it to answer questions for scientific research and existential definition. Dencik’s job was to capture this age-old tradition of artists and scientists searching for truth and meaning in a rarely navigated locale. (Think Columbus and other early explorers.)

'After Tiller' delves into complex lives of third-trimester abortion doctors

Kellie Kotraba — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 14:00:00 +0000

'I Am Breathing' highlights the human aspects of dying

Harum Helmy — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 20:57:37 +0000

Eight months after doctors diagnosed him with a disease that attacked his nerve cells, successful British architect Neil Platt became paralyzed from the neck down. As the down-to-earth, often humorous Neil struggled to figure out his legacy for his young son, filmmakers Emma Davie and Morag McKinnon gained intimate access to the Platt family in Neil's last months.

The film, I Am Breathing, will get its North American premiere at this year's True/False Film Festival. Neil described the film as "a tale of fun and laughs with a smattering of upset and devastation."

'Twenty Feet from Stardom' brings background singers to the forefront

Harum Helmy and Rehman Tungekar — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 19:50:42 +0000

What happens when you end up in the background of someone else’s accomplished dreams? That’s the central question in documentarian Morgan Neville’s Twenty Feet from Stardom. The film will be screened at the True/False Film Festival.