True/False numbers increase

By Gwen Daniels
March 7, 2008

The line to purchase tickets for ‘Box Elder’ stretches to the door on Thursday night at the Ragtag Cinemacafé. The new location on Hitt Street served as a central location for the True/False Film Fest last weekend.

Film enthusiasts can skip Sundance, Tribeca and Toronto.

Last weekend, thousands of directors, producers and movie buffs traveled from across the globe to Columbia for the True/False Film Fest.

Columbia business owners said they expect True/False to make a name for the city as a key member of the film circuit.

This year, approximately 18,000 people attended the documentary film festival, said Paul Sturtz, co-founder of the Ragtag Cinemacafé, which helped house the event.

Last year, the festival attracted about 14,450 people, Sturtz said. Sturtz also co-founded True/False.

Lorah Steiner, director of the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the festival transitioned this year from being regionally recognized to being nationally renowned.

Acclaim came online from film aficionados and bloggers, she said.

“It has definitely made the leap,” she said. “A number of prominent bloggers from the film industry said, ‘I’m hopping on a plane to St. Louis and taking a bus to Columbia. I don’t know what possessed me, but I have to see what it is about.’”

The True/False Film Fest has become a community staple, Columbia Special Business District director Carrie Gartner said.

“It’s their fifth year, so this is about the time that you can tell if the festival really has a foothold in the community, and it certainly proved it did,” she said.

Gartner said the festival helps put Columbia on the map.

“It’s just like having our football team as No. 1 and on the cover of Sports Illustrated, but for the film community,” she said. “Columbia gets a stronger name as a result.”

Because of the festival and other programs, Columbia could become a hot spot for the film industry, Gartner said.

“There’s a lot of things that could be coming together to really create a city that’s the place to come if you’re interested in learning film,” she said.

MU offers a minor in film studies, and Stephens College is developing its own film department, Gartner said.

In addition, the Missouri Film Commission is located in Columbia. According to its Web site, the commission works to attract film, television, video and cable production to Missouri.

Steiner said the film festival shows the more surprising, cultured side of Columbia that could draw tourists and economic investment to the city and students to MU.

“I think when people think of Missouri, they think of cows and pastures,” she said. “If you talk to people from New York, they think we all have straw in our mouths. The festival is raising the profile of Columbia, and it creates a perception in someone’s mind that Columbia is a smart, cultured, innovative, interesting place to be.”

Consistent branding helped launch the True/False Film Fest, Steiner said. Every year, the festival has upheld its image in print advertisements, on its Web site and on merchandise like T-shirts and hats.

“It’s been consistent in terms of theme, in terms of mission, in terms of what they wanted to accomplish, in terms of films they’ve wanted to bring,” Steiner said.

This year, the program included “Taxi to the Dark Side,” which was named Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards in February. The film was included in the program long before winning the award, Steiner said.

Steiner said in the end, it is the love of film that keeps people coming. Directors cannot believe the excitement, intimacy and interaction of the audiences, which are sometimes as large as 1,000 people at one showing, she added.

“People go, they enjoy it, they love it, they’re bubbling about it, they go back and tell someone else,” she said. “It’s the festival for people who love film.”

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True/False numbers increase

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