True/False Film Festival welcomes spring with annual March march

A man wearing a mask marches down the street during the True/False film festival. (Photo by Ankur Singh/Medill)

By Ankur Singh
Medill Reports

True/False is one of the largest documentary film festivals in the United States.

Every year documentary filmmakers and audiences from all over the world arrive in Columbia, Missouri, for four days of documentary screenings and events.

Several notable films screened at the festival include Knock Down the House, which follows several women as they run for Congress in the 2018 election, including New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, who won her race.

Cai Thomas, a filmmaker from Chicago, said her favorite film was Amazing Grace. “Seeing the late Aretha Franklin soulful and melodic performance in Amazing Grace was without a doubt a highlight for me,” she said.

Sohib Boundaoui, another Chicago filmmaker, said the highlight for him was “being with my peers on the frontlines of challenging extractive film-making practices at a major documentary festival.”

The festival features live music before every film screening, volunteers dressed as queens and kings passing out tickets, and features the annual March march to welcome the new month.

Aya Blanco attended the festival, coming all the way from Colorado, and thought the march was “a reflection of the quirky nature of the festival as well as its significance in the community of Columbia.”

Below are photos from this year’s march.

Photo at top: A man wearing a mask marches down the street during the True/False film festival. (Ankur Singh/Medill)