Imagine signing up to volunteer at CoMo’s ever-growing claim to hipster fame, the True/False Film Fest, for the first time.

You’re super excited but also crazy nervous because every year the fest is becoming more and more of a BFD, and now you’re one of the people who make it happen. Volunteering at a (primarily) documentary film fest? It’s a red-lipstick-and-high-waisted-jeans-wearing journalism student’s dream, really.

Then you find out you can’t make the four-hour, comprehensive volunteer training sesh because of an out-of-town commitment. And the make-up training doesn’t happen until the day the festival starts. And your first shift is the day before the make-up training. And you don’t have a volunteer T-shirt and you don’t know what your team leader looks like and you’re probably going to ruin the entire fest, aren’t you?

Then again, that probably only happens to me. When I volunteered at True/False for the first time last year, it started out a little rough. But Christina Kelley, the über-friendly head of the fest’s merch team, calmed me down and brought me up to speed despite the growing crowds, and I was selling T-shirts and making small talk with fest attendees from all over the world in no time.

If you’ve ever interacted with any of the volunteers at True/False, you know that Christina’s warmth and willingness to help aren’t unique to her. The volunteers are really, truly there to make True/False the best possible experience for the festivalgoers, and it creates an awesome atmosphere for everyone involved.

I won’t pretend there aren’t major benefits to volunteering: With a volunteer pass, you’re able to get into films for free via the Q line. If you’re not sure what the Q is, it’s essentially a way for those without tickets or special pass privileges to “fly standby” for the chance to snag a seat at a screening. It sounds a little risky, I know, but I’ve never missed out on a film while using the Q system.

As if getting into films for free wasn’t enough of an incentive for a pathetically poor college student (pretentious hipster?), there’s also a super awesome volunteer party at the festival’s end. I wasn’t able to attend last year, but I’ve heard stories. Legends, really. Needless to say, I’m pumped.

When it comes down to it, I truly believe that the True/False Film Fest cannot be properly experienced without taking a fully immersive approach. (Read: You just can’t do True/False halfway.) For me, that immersive approach involves volunteering.

This year, you can find me at the box office, handing out passes, selling single-screening tickets and attempting to act as a source of information on the fest. (I’m seeing a lot of studying of this year’s film schedule and the different passholders’ privileges in my near future.)

Feel free to swing by and say hi to the little redhead behind the counter. And if you feel inclined to join me next year? Keep an eye on the volunteer page at [truefalse.org](http://truefalse.org/) to find out when the 2016 application will go up. You won’t regret it, you fest-going film buff, you.