Column: Stranger than fiction
Feb. 29, 2008
Today kicks off the second official day of the fifth True/False Film Fest. That’s pretty thrilling, right? Apparently this is the biggest year the documentary festivals ever experienced. Passes sold out about two weeks ago, which means scores of other people and I will need to scramble to the Cherry Street Artisan to pay more now for individual tickets.
The subject of the festival has dominated the discussion of all my friends, and I’m increasingly curious to see just how this changes the nature of the town. I’ve heard the filmmakers actually love coming to Columbia and request this event, according to one of the festival’s representatives who spoke in one of my classes. They dig the quaint nature of mid-Missouri, apparently; I suppose the infinitely walkable downtown of five square blocks doesn’t hurt either.
“For four days, downtown Columbia, Missouri is transformed into a small-town midwestern utopia,” claimed Paul Sturtz and David Wilson when talking about this leap day weekend on the True/False Web site.
That begs the question: Is Columbia ever anything else? As far as small-town Midwestern utopias go, Columbia’s not terrible.
Between this and events such as the Roots ‘N Blues ‘N BBQ Festival from a few months back, I’d say Columbia is doing fairly well for itself this year. I don’t know whether it’s the Special Business District’s efforts or just the right time-and-place magic of it, but this really is far from the worst town these days, and it’s showing in the population explosion. One of the big forces behind the festival, Ragtag Cinemacafé, is getting a total revamp and combining with Uprise Bakery. I can’t wait to see its new location on Hitt Street. The Ragtag’s only been around since the late ‘90s, but it’s bizarre imagining Columbia without its presence now.
Although in terms of weird Columbia facts, try this one: Recently closed nightclub Shattered used to be located in what’s now the Cherry Street Artisan back in the day. How’s that for mind-blowing?
This’ll be the first year I manage to experience any of the essence that is True/False (or any film festival, for that matter). My freshman year, I was an idiot and had no idea it was worth checking out. Last year, I would have gone crazy to attend, but my presence in Europe affected that possibility. This year, though, I’m ready. I’m especially thrilled to learn there’ll be a couple free movies if you present your student ID, including one today.
Columbia was the first place I started really getting into documentaries. I might have seen a Michael Moore film and a few things in high school, but none of my friends were hip to theatrical releases of documentaries. I owe the Ragtag some of that. My memories still run strong from each year of their releases, whether the films are touching on the Iraq War, the MPAA ratings, the electric car or even zoophilia (VERY eerily enough) in a recent summer release there.
So I’m grateful to be in Columbia this year for the True/False and take it as a fantastic excuse to kick back with some popcorn and a drink and take in some drama that’s compellingly more relevant than other movies out there. Life really can’t be easily imitated, and I say that as the son of a former Catholic priest and former Catholic nun who went on to discover they won their state lottery on a Friday the 13th. You can’t make that shit up. A good documentary is golden and worth recognizing.
Hope to see you all out there this weekend!
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