Full Frame Documentary Film Fest in 15th Year

The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival begins today. Lovers of non-fiction cinema travel from all over the world to Durham to view this juried competition.

Leoneda Inge:  This is Full Frame’s 15th year.  As many as 12-hundred documentaries pour in from every corner of the globe.  Just over 100 films will be shown during the festival.  That’s a lot of films, ranging from “The Invisible War,” about rape in the military, to a family’s quest to eat local in Alabama.

Eating Alabama:  So, how did I get to this freezing cold shack in the middle of the woods trying to kill a deer?  Well, that’s a good question.

This year’s themed documentaries explore “family.  Sadie Tillery is Full Frame’s Director of Programming.

Sadie Tillery:  You know family films are something we see a lot of and it’s hard to strike a balance between telling a story that is singular and personal that also has universal themes.

Tonight’s opening night premiere event is “Jesse Owens” written and produced by Stanley Nelson.   Nelson is this year’s Full Frame Tribute honoree.  Several of his films will be shown throughout the four-day film festival including, “The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords,” which airs today.  Josh Gibson, a professor at Duke University is premiering his artistic film, “Light Plate.”  And there’s “Love Free or Die” by Macky Alston, who grew up in Durham.  The film is about Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church of America.  Also, “Without A Fight,” directed by UNC grad, Jason Arthurs.  It features a group of young, poor Kenyans who play soccer to survive.

Without A Fight:  My life without soccer I think will not be good, most of the time I have, I think about football.

To help celebrate the first 14 years of Full Frame they’re digging into their vault to show 14 short films.  Viewers can watch the “shorts” inside the theatre or at night for free under the stars in Durham Central Park.