Considering only one week separated the beginning of True/False and the end of the Berlin International Film Festival, I can’t help but compare the two. There are of course the superficial differences: Berlin is a major city; the theaters are resplendent gigantic movie houses; the attendees are more generally from across the globe. True/False has a cozy, downhome feel; the theaters are practical (though the 1200-seat Missouri Theatre is a beautiful movie house in its own right) and oh so comfy; the crowds are a potent mix of older attendees and young college students. But their biggest difference this year may lie in their respective response to Gaza: While Berlinale mostly tried to sidestep the issue, until a series of post-festival gaffes and misjudged statements called into question their tepid support for the outspoken embattled filmmakers like the Israeli-Palestinian collective behind “No Other Land,” True/False, on other hand, made its position known early on: It released a statement supporting a Cease Fire.
Because of this festival’s distinct approach, unlike the Berlinale’s tenuous reliance on films about displacement—a theme that felt out of step with its public messaging—True/False’s similar interest in works about displacement felt like an organic extension of its political ethos, especially as many filmmakers, from the director of “There Was, There Was Not” to the creative behind “Flying Lessons,” offered pro-Palestinian statements before their respective films premiered. The same could be said about the imperative pro-Palestinian march that occurred at the festival too.
That isn’t to say the festival was a somber affair; an event this vital and vibrant, where many volunteers dress in elaborate costumes and where live performances from musical artists precede every screening, could never be a subdued party.
Before diving into the films, however, I must give a quick shoutout to Hitt Records. Attached to the tasty Uprise Bakery and nestled around the Ragtag Cinema’s two intimate theaters—you can grab a couple records, go get a quick bite to eat, and then sit down for a movie. So basically, for me, a perfect day. The selection at Hitt Records, a space with vinyl stacked in every corner, from hard-to-find bluegrass to classic rock, was so good I had to stop myself from murdering my bank account (I did end up picking up 1970s repressings of the Kinks’ “Face to Face” and “Something Else By the Kinks,” along with a copy of “Roulette,” a Bruce Springsteen bootleg).