Full Frame Announces Additional Programming for 2016

Durham, N.C. – March 17, 2016 – The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival has announced the Opening Night Film and additional programming for the 2016 festival: four Center Frame programs, three free screenings, and the presentation of this year’s Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant recipients.

Weiner, following disgraced congressman Anthony Weiner’s 2013 campaign for mayor of New York City, will be the festival’s Opening Night Film, screening on Thursday, April 7, at the Carolina Theatre’s Fletcher Hall. The film’s directors, Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg, will be in attendance for an extended conversation after the screening.

Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You, directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, will screen as the free Closing Night Film on Sunday, April 10, at the Carolina Theatre’s Fletcher Hall.

Four films previously announced in the Invited Program will exhibit as Center Frame screenings in Fletcher Hall of the Carolina Theatre: Unlocking the Cage by Chris Hegedus and DA Pennebaker, Two Trains Runnin’ by Sam Pollard, Raising Bertie by Margaret Byrne, and Presenting Princess Shaw by Ido Haar.

Filmmakers and subjects from the films will participate in extended conversations after the Center Frame screenings. Special guests include Steven Wise from Unlocking the Cage;David Dennis, co-director of Mississippi Freedom Summer, from Two Trains Runnin’;Reginald Askew, Davonte Harrell, David Perry, and Vivian Saunders from Raising Bertie;and Samantha Montgomery from Presenting Princess Shaw.

Full Frame 2016 will feature two free outdoor screenings in addition to the Closing Night Film, continuing its tradition of showing free films Friday and Saturday nights. (Dis)Honesty – The Truth About Lies and Iris will screen outdoors at Durham Central Park. Food truck roundups will precede the showings. These free screenings and the Closing Night Film are presented by PNC.

The 2016 Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant, now in its tenth year, has been awarded to Jonathan Olshefski for Quest: The Fury and the Sound and to Matt Yoka for Whirlybird. Grant organizers will join the filmmakers in presenting short excerpts from their works-in-progress prior to a screening of The Peacemaker by 2014 grant recipient James Demo. The grant is awarded in honor of filmmaker Garrett Scott, who made a distinctive mark in the documentary genre during his brief career. It recognizes first-time filmmakers who, like Scott, bring a unique vision to the content and style of their documentary films.

Opening Night Film at Carolina Theatre’s Fletcher Hall

OPENING NIGHT FILM – Thursday, April 7, at 7:40pm
Weiner       Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg
With unparalleled access to the candidate, Weiner follows disgraced congressman Anthony Weiner’s 2013 campaign for mayor of New York City and intensely navigates new political scandal as it unfolds.

Center Frame Screenings at Carolina Theatre’s Fletcher Hall

CENTER FRAME – Friday, April 8, at 1:30pm
Unlocking the Cage       Directors: Chris Hegedus, DA Pennebaker
Having devoted his career to fighting for greater legal rights for nonhuman animals, attorney Steven Wise and his colleagues at the Nonhuman Rights Project launch a history-making lawsuit arguing for captive chimpanzees’ right to personhood.

CENTER FRAME – Friday, April 8, at 8:00pm
Two Trains Runnin’       Director: Sam Pollard
Featuring artful animation and performances by Gary Clark Jr. and Lucinda Williams, this story of the search for two forgotten blues singers takes us to Mississippi during the height of the civil rights movement.  World Premiere

CENTER FRAME – Saturday, April 9, at 4:30pm
Raising Bertie       Director: Margaret Byrne
In this intimate portrait of coming of age, three young men in rural Bertie County, North Carolina, persevere against poverty, discrimination, and unemployment.  World Premiere

CENTER FRAME – Saturday, April 9, at 8:00 pm
Presenting Princess Shaw       Director: Ido Haar
Video blogger and aspiring singer Samantha Montgomery is unaware she has a follower and fan in the form of an enigmatic Israeli composer, whose unforgettable YouTube mashups might just help Samantha achieve her dreams.

Free Screenings Presented by PNC

FREE CLOSING NIGHT FILM
Sunday, April 10, at 8:00pm – Carolina Theatre’s Fletcher Hall (Ticket Required)
Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You       Directors: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady
The legendary, influential king of 1970s sitcoms reflects on his life, his work, and the profound shift in national consciousness fomented by his groundbreaking television shows.

FREE OUTDOOR SCREENING
Friday, April 8, at 8:30pm – Durham Central Park
(Dis)Honesty – The Truth About Lies       Yael Melamede
Personal stories of dishonesty are interwoven with insights by behavioral economics expert Dan Ariely in this enlightening study of the human tendency to lie.

FREE OUTDOOR SCREENING
Saturday, April 9, at 8:30pm – Durham Central Park
Iris       Albert Maysles
The late, legendary Albert Maysles documents 93-year-old fashion icon Iris Apfel in this charming celebration of style, wit, and individuality.

Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant

Saturday, April 9, at 4:20pm – Cinema 3
Quest: The Fury and the Sound       Jonathan Olshefski
A longitudinal portrait of an African American family who, despite being victimized by gun violence, continue to embrace their community.

Whirlybird       Matt Yoka
Bob Tur revolutionized the news industry from the Los Angeles sky and defined our recorded memory of the city.

NEW DOCS, Invited, Tribute, and Thematic Program lineups were previously announced. The complete schedule of films is now available online. Individual tickets go on sale April 1, and can be purchased online at http://www.fullframefest.org.