For every attendee’s experience at the True/False Film Fest, one thing stands out plainly: the films. Seems like an obvious statement, right?
Believe it or not, there are numerous aspects that make the fest as astounding as it has become in its 11th year. Whether it’s late night music performances, massive barbeque after parties or the True Life Run on Saturday morning, True/False offers a horizon filled with marvelous art, excitement and camaraderie.
The one part of the fest that seems to be forgotten in the background is the artwork. Any festival veteran could talk about the massive “Dragon” that dauntingly stands outside the Globe Theater or the magnificent pieces that litter the alleyway between Hitt Street and Eighth Street.
“The art makes the experience more vibrant and exciting,” says Camellia Cosgray, manager of True False production, operations and installations.
Cosgray is in charge of overseeing all the art installations and venue designs for the fest. As production manager, she heads of procedures that involve selecting artwork for True/False and deciding where each piece ends up.
In her sixth year with the festival, Cosgray is basically the queen of everything logistics-wise, whether she is deciding to invite certain artists back, managing tech staff at each venue during the fest or just working toward ensuring the fest goes smoothly.
Cosgray and her team decided on allowing submissions from any artist to be considered, instead of the previous way of simply inviting artists in past years.
“We wanted to open it up and get artists we weren’t familiar with,” Cosgray says. “It’s pretty cool to have a new group.”
The selection process ran its course through months of deliberating which artists deserved to have their work chosen. Cosgray’s team has been working out every detail that goes into the design of nearly everything art-related at True/False.
“It’s everywhere,” Cosgray says of the artwork at the fest. “If you’re attending, every venue has something artistic. There’s a great amount of spots downtown that have artwork put up also.”
The art seen at the fest provides Columbia with an awe-inspiring vantage point of the overall creativity and imagination that goes into everything True/False.
“The art kind of transforms things in a way that the familiar looks unfamiliar,” Cosgray says. “We try to transform spaces people walk by every day without noticing and making it cool and new.”