Note: This article was originally published in Technician on April 19, 2007.
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Full Frame turns 10
The 10th annual Full Frame documentary film festival took place in Durham, N. C., last weekend and attracted filmmakers, press and visitors from all over the country. Approximately 120 films were screened, with around 80 being in competition for various awards.
The festival officially kicked off with a screening of Castells, a film by German director Gereon Wetzel that followed a human pyramid team in Catalonia, Spain. The film had viewers on the edge of their seats with its depiction of towers rising dozens of feet in the air, composed solely of human beings.
To honor the 10th anniversary of the event, 10 curators were invited to each present a film they felt was a particularly meaningful and relevant representation of the genre. The special guests included, but were not limited to: playwright Ariel Dorfman, author Walter Moseley, documentary filmmakers St. Claire Bourne and Michael Moore, and feature film director Mira Nair. Martin Scorsese also submitted a film, though he was unable to attend the festival in person.
Julia Reichert, director of A Lion in the House, presented Michael Moore's first film, Roger and Me, as her choice. She felt the film marked a turning point in documentary filmmaking, as it proved that documentaries could be humorous and entertaining, as well as reach mainstream audiences. In a conversation after the screening, Moore revealed that this was exactly what he was intending to do.