This Thursday, April 9 kicks off year 18 for the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, which will present over 60 new doc features, plus shorts, retrospective programming, and several conversations before it wraps up on Sunday, April 12. In addition to a smartly curated lineup culling some of the best work from Sundance, IDFA, SXSW, and other previous events, the Durham NC fest also introduces its audiences to several notable premieres:
Among this year’s world premieres are: Jennifer Redfearn’s TOCANDO LA LUZ, the story of three blind women in Havana; Jon Nealon and Jenny Raskin’s HERE COME THE VIDEOFREEX, about a pioneering collective of independent journalists; Ron Davis’ HARRY & SNOWMAN (pictured), a chronicle of the unique relationship between a gifted horseman and his prized champion; Erika Frankel’s KING GEORGES, a profile of Le Bec-Fin’s legendary chef Georges Perrier; Sharon Shattuck’s FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, which profiles the filmmaker’s transgender father Trisha; Barbara Attie, Janet Goldwater, and Sabrina Schmidt Gordon’s BADDDDD SONIA SANCHEZ, on the noted spoken word poet and activist; Anna Kipervaser’s CAIRO IN ONE BREATH, which looks at the controversial decision to standardize the Muslim call to prayer in Cairo; and Peter Galison and Robb Moss’ CONTAINMENT, on efforts to reckon with the consequences of nuclear energy.
Several features are making their North American debuts in Durham, including: Anders Jedenfors’ IN THE COUNTRY (pictured), a quiet portrait of a marriage; Constanze Knoche’s SAD SONGS OF HAPPINESS, which follows three Palestinian girls as they compete in a European singing competition; and Filippo Ticozzi’s CHASING THE WIND, a profile of an Italian mortician.
Other new programming includes the US premiere of Yael Melamede’s (DIS)HONESTY – THE TRUTH ABOUT LIES, an exploration of why we choose to lie; a work-in-progress screening of E Chai Vasarhelyi’s INCORRUPTIBLE (pictured), which follows Senegal’s controversial 2012 presidential election; and George Butler’s TIGER TIGER, about an acclaimed wildlife conservationist’s quest to find the Bengal tiger.
what (not) to doc 