It’s no secret that conflict drives the media we consume. Whether it’s beloved characters arguing, political candidates debating or wars fueled by fighting, conflict is central to storytelling. No one understands this better than documentarians, who carefully compose their depictions of reality to tell an audience a story. Often, documentarians provide a perspective into massive conflicts by viewing them through a smaller, slice-of-life lens. The 2024 True/False Film Fest, which has been a pride of Columbia for over two decades, has a selection of films that masters this technique. 

The festival brings artists from around the world to celebrate their works in a small college town, a perfect setting to permeate borders between viewers and issues they might never experience. The True/False mission statement reads, “We recognize that to create an inclusive and intellectually vibrant community, we must understand and value both our individual differences and our collective similarities.” With a catalog of over 30 films this year, the fest represents this idea clearly through 12 in particular. 

Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano

Directed by Cyril Aris

Showtimes: 1 p.m. Friday, March 1 at Ragtag Cinema

8:15 p.m. Saturday, March 2 at Ragtag Cinema

Released in 2023, “Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano” is not only director Cyril Aris’ first feature film, but also his first work that focuses on his home country of Lebanon. The film was originally a documentary about the making of the film “Costa Brava, Lebanon.” But after catastrophic unseen circumstances, it ended up chronicling the aftermath of the explosion in Beirut on Aug. 4. 

The title references the way we try to find normalcy in times of absolute chaos. You won’t want to miss this movie, described by critic Robert Daniels as “an invaluable supplement … to the difficult task of dream making when all that surrounds you appears to be a nightmare.” 

K-Family Affairs

Directed by Arum Nam

Showtimes:  6 p.m. Saturday, March 2 at The Globe (situated in First Presbyterian Church)

1 p.m. Sunday, March 3 at Ragtag Cinema

Released in September 2023, “K-Family Affairs” uses the focus of director Arum Nam’s family to examine the history of democratization in South Korea. With her civil servant father and activist mother — and as a journalist herself — it isn’t hard to see how Arum could use family anecdotes to paint a vivid political picture that simultaneously serves as a personal portrait. 

Nofinofy

Directed by Michaël Andrianaly

Showtimes: 10:45 p.m. Saturday, March 2 at Ragtag Cinema

Released in 2019 and shown at the 2020 True/False Film Fest, “Nofinofy” has come back to our screens to show us life in the small corners of Madagascar. After protagonist Roméo’s hair salon is torn down by the municipality, he searches high and low for a new place to set up shop. This simultaneously occurs during a massive transitional period for Madagascar’s government. Vox Magazine called it “therapy for a director who experienced firsthand the violence that corruption breeds.” There’s no wonder it’s been called back to the True/False Fest for one night only. 

There Was, There Was Not 

Directed by Emily Mkrtichian

Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29 at Ragtag Cinema

10:45 a.m. Friday, March 1 at The Globe

3 p.m. Sunday, March 3 at Ragtag Cinema

Premiering worldwide and at True/False, “There Was, There Was Not” is an exploration of Artsakh through the day-to-day lives of four women. Artsakh has been the subject of a territorial dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and this conflict sits at the root of the film. It begins in 2018 when there was peace in the region and brings us along as the conflict comes back in full force. “There Was, There Was Not” stands to enlighten us about a land fighting against erasure, both from history and from the map.  

1489 

Directed by Shoghakat Vardanyan

Showtimes: 7:15 p.m. Friday, March 1 at Ragtag Cinema

3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 2 at The Globe

Another feature on Artsakh, “1489” was the number assigned to 21-year-old student and musician Soghomon Vardanyan. He was only months away from completing his mandatory military service before his home country, Armenia, and Azerbaijan began conflict over Artsakh in September 2020. Seven days into the war, Soghomon goes missing. His sister, director Shoghakat Vardanyan, began filming her family’s search and emotional process.  

This film has won two different awards: the International Federation of Film Critics’ FIPRESCI prize and the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam award for Best Feature-Length Documentary. The IDFA jury members said the film was “a timely cinematic expression of the universal need to be recognized in our full humanity.”

Three Promises 

Directed by Yousef Srouji

Showtimes: 4:15 p.m. Friday, March 1 at The Blue Note

12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 2 at the Missouri Theatre

5 p.m. Sunday, March 3 at The Globe

Released in April 2023, “Three Promises” travels through time to explore the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the eyes of the director’s family. Half of the film’s time is spent in 2020 in lockdown where the family faces the difficult decision of whether to stay or go. The other half of the film spends its time in the 2000s, when Yousef finds his mother Suha’s home videos from when he was a child, which also grapple with how to live life in a warzone.

Yintah

Directed and produced by Michael Toledano, Jennifer Wickham and Brenda Michell

Showtimes: 7 p.m. Friday, March 1 at the Missouri Theatre

9:30 a.m. Saturday, March 2 at The Globe

12 p.m. Sunday, March 3 at Jesse Auditorium

Released this year, “Yintah” follows the Wet’suwet’en Nation through the struggles their leader Freda Huson faces as she tries to protect their territory from gas and oil pipelines. This is the debut film for directors and producers Michael Toledano, Jennifer Wickham and Brenda Michell. 

Alien Island

Directed by Cristóbal Valenzuela Berríos

Showtimes: 10:15 p.m. Friday, March 1 at The Globe

12:45 p.m. Saturday, March 2 at The Globe

This 2023 documentary follows 1980s Chilean radio enthusiasts as they communicate with mysterious beings claiming to live on “Friendship Island.” The film sets itself against the backdrop of the Pinochet dictatorship, painting the whimsy of the UFO sightings in stark contrast to the news against fascism. 

Allo La France

Directed by Floriane Devigne

Showtimes: 10:30 a.m. Friday, March 1 at Ragtag Cinema

2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 3 at The Globe 

Taking a road trip movie approach, “Allo La France” follows phone booth enthusiast Floriane Devigne around provincial France. The film uses her large collection of photographs as a threading piece to reflect on the role of communication and the disappearance of public utilities. Topics of globalization and internal conversations about public goods drive this film. 

As the Tide Comes In

Directed by Juan Palacios and Sofie Husum Johannesen

Showtimes: 10:15 p.m. Friday, March 1 at the Missouri Theatre

8:45 p.m. Saturday, March 2 at The Globe

3:30 p.m. Sunday, March 3 at Jesse Auditorium 

Climate change has spurred many international legislative pieces as it brings abrupt developments in weather patterns. It’s one of the top reasons the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday Clock has been set at “90 seconds to midnight” after 2023 was the hottest recorded year. “As the Tide Comes In” follows a Danish island community of 27 individuals confronting their existence as sea levels rise. The film specifically highlights the lives of three residents: a farmer, a bird watcher and the eldest living member of the community.   

Background

Directed by Khaled Abdulwahed

Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 1 at The Globe

10 p.m. Saturday, March 2 at Ragtag Cinema

Director Khaled Abdulwahed is a Syrian refugee living in Germany while his father remains in Syria. His film, “Background,” attempts to bridge the gap between the two. Exploring the cruelty of borders, Abdulwahed sees cinema as a way to grow closer. The film pulls in fuzzy phone calls between the two and goes on to look through archives for photographs and evidence. All of this results in Khaled retracing his father’s footsteps and documenting their journey. 

Behind Closed Doors

Directed by João Pedro Bim

Showtimes: 10 p.m. Friday, March 1 at Ragtag Cinema

5:45 p.m. Saturday, March 2 at Ragtag Cinema

“Behind Closed Doors” provides a glimpse into the election of 1968 in Brazil. It’s made up of archival footage from a presidential cabinet debate on the country’s new constitution, which was put in place due to criticisms of the regime. The discussions between the regime’s politicians remained concealed for decades. While the documentary focuses on Brazil’s government, it has a global approach, tying in propaganda from that time to American political advertisements.

True/False “strives to celebrate the best of international nonfiction,” with a vast catalog showcasing work hailing from dozens of different countries including Armenia, Chile, Denmark, France, Brazil, Germany, Lebanon, Canada, Australia and the U.S. The festival continues to make a splash in Columbia, bringing together documentarians from around the world and inviting the Midwest to come enjoy. On the True/False website, patrons can purchase $15 individual tickets per movie, or a Classic Pass for $135 for admission to all films. 

Edited by Alex Goldstein | agoldstein@themaneater.com

Copy Edited by Audrey Dae Bush and Briana Iordan | biordan@themaneater.com

Edited by Scout Hudson | shudson@themaneater.com