about full frame

A Festival like this offers a sustained, concentrated exposure to the sheer emotional power of documentary filmmaking, its ability to communicate the drama embedded in human experience. In Durham last weekend, you could walk into the stately dark of the Carolina Theatre and lose yourself in real life.

—A.O. Scott of The New York Times

Founded in 1998, the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival celebrates the power and artistry of documentary film. Its mission is to provide documentary filmmakers with opportunities to showcase their work theatrically, stimulating conversation and community between filmmakers, industry executives and the general public. Full Frame is recognized as the premier documentary film festival in the United States by both The New York Times and indieWIRE and is well-known for its southern hospitality, relaxed atmosphere and walkable venue layout. During the past decade Full Frame has welcomed both first time and celebrated filmmakers including Martin Scorsese, Abbas Kiarostami, Michael Moore, Syndey Pollack, Errol Morris, Barbara Kopple, Ken Burns, Ric Burns, Charles Burnett, Mira Nair and Jonathan Demme.

The Festival

Every spring Full Frame welcomes filmmakers and film lovers from around the world to the historic Carolina Theatre in downtown Durham, North Carolina, for a four-day, morning-to-midnight smorgasbord of:

  • More than 100 films (both curated and submitted for competition)
  • Panel discussions
  • Seminars
  • Q&A sessions
  • And southern hospitality!

The festival is produced by Doc Arts, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and enjoys support from private and corporate sponsors whose generosity provides the foundation that makes the event possible. These sponsors include The New York Times, Duke University, A&E, and HBO, among many others.

Year-Round Programming

We also promote the festival year-round by showcasing documentary work and partnering with organizations like The Hague Appeal for Peace, the Center for Public Intellectuals in Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art and The New York Times.

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