The critics are coming to True/False Film Fest.
True/False season is one of the busiest for University of Missouri School of Journalism students, because each outlet has a different way of covering the event. For example, at KBIA, the True/False Conversations series highlights film directors and musicians through in-depth discussions of their work. Vox Magazine devotes much of its March issue to festival coverage, including a film matrix and features about different aspects of the event. And reporters at The Maneater review the festival's films.
This year, about 65 reporters will be critiquing this year's True/False lineup for The Maneater, according to a news release from the Missouri School of Journalism. Five professional critics have been brought in as part of the Reynolds Journalism Institute's new residency program, Critics in Columbia. As part of the residency, the critics have offered guidance to these reviewers and are providing a free workshop to high school students.
"We don't know what the future of journalism is going to look like," said Monica Castillo, a critic and film programmer based in New York. "We don't know what the future of filmmaking is going to look like. But it's going to start with that generation, so it is so important to be in conversation with them."
Castillo was joined by Slate Senior Editor Sam Adams and Marina Fang, who formerly served as a senior culture reporter and editor at HuffPost. All three have extensive experience in film criticism and culture coverage. They sat down with KBIA's Kiana Fernandes to discuss their most anticipated True/False films and how to approach documentaries from a critical lens.
Here's an excerpt from their conversation. You can find and listen to the full conversation below this transcript.
Kiana Fernandes: To start, what films are you most looking forward to seeing at True/False?
Monica Castillo: I am curious about the film Tropical Park. Now, I love picking films that I don't know a lot about. I'm just going to dive in and give something a shot. I have no expectations, more curiosity. And that curiosity gets rewarded a lot at True/False.
Marina Fang: I'm really looking forward to First They Came for My College, which, first of all, it's a world premiere. And that's always exciting — when you come to a festival and something is premiering. And also I just think, you know, I love a topical documentary.
Sam Adams: I'm looking forward to a movie called The Great Experiment by Stephen Maing and Eric Daniel Metzgar. And it's also a world premiere this year. I don't know very much about it, which is part of what intrigues me about it.
Fernandes: Yeah, since you guys already mentioned, kind of, following curiosity and not necessarily always knowing too much about the films before you go into them, how do you approach watching and critiquing a documentary? Particularly one that's maybe a little bit more experimental?
Castillo: I personally like to go in with almost as much of a blank canvas as possible and just let the visuals kind of wash over me, especially if it's more in that experimental space. It's not probably, you know, hand holding you through a narrative, so you have to let the visuals kind of tell you the story.
Fang: It definitely depends on, you know, the format and sometimes the subject matter, too. I'm someone who likes to think about the ideas that a film is presenting. So, I'm often looking at, you know, maybe there's an argument that the filmmaker is trying to make, or maybe there's a kind of thesis statement or theme or through line they're trying to explore or tease out.
Adams: Part of how I try to approach a documentary — and this is a very simple answer — but I try to approach a documentary as a movie, right? And not just a sort of tube for the delivery of information.
Fernandes: Moving a little bit past the critics lens — how do you— how can layviewers approach these films at True/False? Particularly if they're more used to, maybe, standard blockbuster-type films and not so much ones that are cerebral and thought-provoking in the way True/False often is.
Castillo: I think it's the same way that you would go to a museum to look at a gallery and appreciate the art. You go in with an open mind. You go in with open eyes. You see if something moves you. You read the description. I really do think this is a festival that rewards curiosity.
Adams: I think an underrated privilege of critics across the board is how much we get to see — how often we get to see movies that we know nothing about. And so film festivals are an experience for regular ticket-buying people to get that experience. And I think it's really valuable and can be really special.
Fang: Yeah. I mean, totally agree with both Monica and Sam. Festivals are all about exploration. There's so many movies that I've seen at festivals that I wouldn't otherwise have seen, and so many of my favorite festival memories are like, "Oh, I don't know anything about this." Came out of it. Maybe I didn't even like it, but I, you know, I appreciated it.
