The 20th installment of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival has wrapped up in Durham, North Carolina with a big heaping of BBQ to go with a feast of films. The the programmers have once more done an amazing job finding recent films that can inform, entertain and move audiences. Many of them did all three.
During one of the Speak Easy discussions, the Festival Director Deirdre Haj mention how over the last year a lot of people were asking if Full Frame was going to movie out of North Carolina in wake of the bathroom bill. But she had zero plans to take it to a state that wouldn’t pass legislation similar to HB2. I have learned that you can’t change attitudes if your first response is to change addresses. Thankfully the festival proved once again that it is one of the great showcases for documentaries with an appreciative audience. Of course everything feels so much better with a nice plateful of pork BBQ.
The award winners this year included:
THE REVA AND DAVID LOGAN GRAND JURY AWARD
Sponsored by The Reva and David Logan Foundation
QUEST by Jonathan Olshefski. This was a remarkable film in that it captured 10 years of the life of a husband Christopher (“Quest”) and mother Christine (“Ma”). It told so much about their life in Philly and his radio show. It also won the KATHLEEN BRYAN EDWARDS AWARD FOR HUMAN RIGHTS.
Besides getting Honorable Mention by the Grand Jury, Last Men in Aleppo by Feras Fayyad pulled in the Full Frame Inspiration Award. The film about the destruction inside Syria was especially timely with President Trump commencing the bombing of the country.
FULL FRAME JURY AWARD FOR BEST SHORT
Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405 by Frank Stiefel. This was an insightful visit with artist Mindy Alper. Her artwork is made all the more stunning by seeing all she has to deal with in her everyday life. It also won the audience award for Best Short.
FULL FRAME AUDIENCE AWARD – FEATURE
Anatomy of a Male Ballet Dancer by David Barba and James Pellerito follows Marcelo Gomes around the globe. What makes Gomes remarkable is that he’s pushing an age where few male dancers have been able to physically handle the roles.
FULL FRAME ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD
Samuel in the Clouds by Pieter Van Eecke was the tale of what happens to ski resort when its glacier melts away. An Honorable Mention went to Plastic China by Jiu-liang Wang. Both films are reviewed on InsidePulse and need to be seen if they come to your neighborhood art house.
FULL FRAME PRESIDENT’S AWARD
Sponsored by Duke University
The Earth Did Not Speak by Javier Briones uncovers how Guatemala killed 200,000 people in the early ’80s.
Encore 5 – 4:50 pm, Cinema 4
CHARLES E. GUGGENHEIM EMERGING ARTIST AWARD
Strong Island by Yance Ford investigates the murder of the filmmaker’s brother in the early ’90s. Why was the white mechanic that pulled the trigger never indicted by the police? The film also won the CENTER FOR DOCUMENTARY STUDIES FILMMAKER AWARD.
There will be more reviews from films viewed at Full Frame coming this week including Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton and Long Strange Trip about the Grateful Dead.
