Betsy West and Julie Cohen‘s Ruth Bader Ginsburg doc, RBG, selected as the opening night film, with the first two parts of Steve James‘ America To Me as the closing film.
Take a look at the full release below, the 2018 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival runs from April 5 – 8. Click here to view the previously announced lineup and for more information head over to the official website at fullframefest.org.
Durham, N.C. – March 15, 2018 – The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, one of the world’s premier showcases of nonfiction cinema, today announced its schedule for the 2018 festival including Opening Night Film, Closing Night Film, and the recipients of the prestigious Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant. The 21st annual festival will take place April 5 – 8, 2018, in Durham, North Carolina. Festival passes and ticket packages are available for purchase until March 16.
RBG, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen, will open the festival on Thursday, April 5, at the Carolina Theatre’s Fletcher Hall. This triumphant look at the life and career of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg revisits landmark cases and decisions, but also reveals the woman behind the robe and the personal experiences that continue to shape her legacy. West and Cohen will be present for a moderated conversation following the film.
The first two episodes of Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Steve James’s (Hoop Dreams, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail) powerful 10-part docuseries, America to Me, will screen as the free Closing Night Film on Sunday, April 8, at Fletcher Hall. A year-long immersion into one of Chicago’s most progressive and diverse public schools, located in suburban Oak Park, America to Me is both intimate and epic. This series explores America’s charged state of race, culture and education today with unprecedented depth and scope. James will be in attendance for a conversation after the screening.
On Saturday afternoon, the festival will showcase work by the recipients of the 2018 Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant, presented annually in honor of filmmaker Garrett Scott, and recognizing first-time filmmakers who bring a unique vision and style to their documentary films. The 2018 grant has been awarded to Lucas Habte for Shadow of His Wings and Débora Souza Silva for Black Mothers. Habte and Silva will present excerpts of their works-in-progress prior to a screening of 2017 grant recipient Bing Liu’s Minding the Gap, which recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking.
Announcements about free screenings and events—including the popular A&E IndieFilms Speakeasy Conversations, outdoor screenings at Durham Central Park, and free community parties—will be made before the festival. The complete schedule of films is now available online. Passes and ticket packages can be purchased online until March 16.OPENING NIGHT FILM
Thursday, April 5 – 7:30 pm at Fletcher Hall, Carolina Theatre
RBG (Directors: Betsy West, Julie Cohen)
This triumphant look at the life and career of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg revisits landmark cases and decisions, but also reveals the woman behind the robe and the personal experiences that continue to shape her legacy.
Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant
Saturday, April 7 – 4:20 pm at Cinema 3, Durham Convention Center
Shadow of His Wings (Director: Lucas Habte)
An Ethiopian-American filmmaker’s coming-of-age story, told through his relationships with his father and lover in Ethiopia, France, and the United States.
Black Mothers (Director: Débora Souza Silva)
Violence. Outrage. Impunity. Repeat. Through their grief, Black mothers are fighting to break the cycle of racial injustice––and winning.
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
Sunday, April 8 – 7:30 pm at Fletcher Hall, Carolina Theatre (free ticket required)
America to Me (Director: Steve James)
A year-long immersion into one of Chicago’s most progressive and diverse public schools, located in suburban Oak Park, America to Me is both intimate and epic. This series explores America’s charged state of race, culture and education today with unprecedented depth and scope.
