Full Frame presents documentaries under the stars

News, Press Releases

If you are near Durham, North Carolina this August, you can enjoy documentaries outdoors. The Summer Road Show is presenting three films outdoors. The series starts with Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story about the legendary bandleader for The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. If you’ve been watching the reruns on Antenna TV, you’ll want to catch up with Doc. He just celebrated his 95th birthday. Storm Lake gets into what it takes to produce a newspaper in a small community. Things wrap up with Mama Bears about community leaders. Here’s the press release from Full Frame:

Home - Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

Full Frame Returns to In-Person Programming with the

Summer Road Show in Durham Central Park

Tuesday, July 12, 2022 – Durham, NC – The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, a program of the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, returns to in-person programming with the Summer Road Show in Durham Central Park, presented by American Tobacco Campus and Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc.

The Summer Road Show is scheduled to take place every other Monday in August and will present three outdoor documentary film screenings for free to the Triangle community.

“Bringing people together through film is what Full Frame does best. After more than two years of virtual programs, we are excited to reconnect with the Durham community at the Road Show this summer,” said Emily Foster, Full Frame’s interim associate director and marketing director.

“Each of these documentaries highlights the power of human connection, which feels particularly meaningful as we celebrate a return to gathering together in-person,” said Sadie Tillery, Full Frame’s interim festival director and artistic director. “The series features three Full Frame official selections, one from each festival year since 2020, allowing us to pay tribute to these works on the big screen.”

Originally scheduled as the Opening Night Film at the 2020 festival, Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story kicks off the outdoor screenings on August 1. The film chronicles the life of master trumpeter and mainstay of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Doc Severinsen.

Storm Lake, screening on August 15, follows the efforts of Pulitzer Prize– winning journalist Art Cullen and his colleagues as they fight for the survival of their small-town newspaper. The film held its world premiere at the virtual 2021 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.

Recent 2022 festival alum Mama Bears will conclude the outdoor screenings on August 29. Mama Bears explores the journeys of Sara Cunningham and Kimberly Shappley, two “mama bears” ­–  whose profound love for their LGBTQ+ children turned them into fierce advocates for the entire queer community – and Terrell Morris, a young African American lesbian whose struggle for self-acceptance exemplifies why the mama bears are so vitally important.

The Summer Road Show schedule and film details are listed below.

August 1              Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story

dirs. Kevin S. Bright, Jeff Consiglio | 85 mins | Full Frame 2020

August 15            Storm Lake

                                dirs. Beth Levison, Jerry Risius | 85 mins | Full Frame 2021

August 29            Mama Bears

                                dir. Daresha Kyi | 90 mins | Full Frame 2022

All film screenings take place at Durham Central Park and begin at 8:30 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own chairs and blankets to sit on during the screenings.

For more information about the films and how to attend the events, please visit fullframefest.org.

About Full Frame

The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is an internationally recognized, Academy Award–qualifying event that proudly presents the best of nonfiction films on the festival circuit each year. Based in Durham, North Carolina, the annual festival gathers thousands of enthusiastic fans from around the globe to celebrate the documentary art form, engage in meaningful conversation, and experience the impact of exceptional nonfiction cinema firsthand. The 26th Annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is takes place virtually April 13–16, 2023.

The festival is a program of the Center for Documentary Studies, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) affiliated with Duke University, and receives support from corporate sponsors, private foundations, and individual donors whose generosity provides the foundation that makes the event possible. The Presenting Sponsor of the festival is Duke University. To learn more about the mission of Full Frame or how to support Full Frame, visit fullframefest.org.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.