Vox Magazine

- Beth Carpenter, editing and photography; Mark Lewis, reporting; Missourian photographers and beat reporters contributing photos.

When the Exotic is Home

On Saturday morning at the Blue Note, the documentary-style Echoes of Home brought the exotic to Mid-Missouri in the form of Swiss yodeling and Tuvan throat singing. Two diverse singers, Stefan Schwietat and Erika Stucky combined the traditional sounds of their homeland with personal experiences and aesthetics. Though from the same area of the world, these Swiss artists approached the task quite differently. After battling an illness that affected his perceptive and language abilities, Schwietat turned to combining environmental sounds with traditional methods of yodeling to create a very personal interpretation of home, mixing past practices - when yodeling was both an intimate communicating with nature and the self as well as in dialogue with your neighbor – with a contemporary landscape, where the machine (in his case, a train) invades the garden. Schwietat relied not only on his native customs and modern-day landscapes, but the sounds of Tuvan nomads, whose country borders Mongolia, for the eerie aural quality of throat singing, in which performers literally sound two pitches, a fundamental tone and an overtone, simultaneously.

On the other hand, Stucky used her youth growing up on the California west coast to infuse her view of tradition with a certain brashness and lack of fear to create new, but no less heartfelt, versions of old practices. A third performer, Noldi Alder, brought the most authentic interpretation of tradition center stage, carrying on the profession of musician for which a family of singers paved the way. The Alder musicians made the Swiss equivalent of the von Trapp family image come to life, committed to carrying on folk music even if, as one musician stated, it means wearing the traditional costume all my life.

How does Switzerland (or any area of the world) sound? What are the sounds of home? Exotic to us perhaps, but a source of soothing familiarity for others. In Echoes of Home, the audience was forced to see beyond the exoticism of uncommon sounds and vocal techniques to the inner responses to a native landscape that makes us more the same than different.

— Judith Mabary, Ph.D.

The final day of the True/False Film festival is coming to a close, and it is the one day out of the week that I am not wearing a coat.

A sunny day in Columbia closed the festival. The streets were full of families walking together and a numerous amount of bike riders chained their bikes to any gate available. It was a great day to movie hop and hang out at the new Ragtag Theater and Uprise Bakery.

Many festival goers did not have tickets for the movies on Sunday, but were willing to wait outside for the chance to sneak a seat in any theater. As I was standing outside the Ragtag, taking pictures, an elderly man on a bike rolled up and stopped me. His large white beard and wild hair were a distraction. He asked me hastily if I knew where the "Q" cards were. I honestly told him I didn't know, but pointed in the direction where everyone was waiting. I thought at first that he was going to roll his bike right into the bakery, but he soon realized what he was doing. He was disappointed when he learned how many numbers were before him, but he just jumped back on his bike and headed to a different venue, still smiling.

The closing reception was set inside Jesse Hall's lobby. I walked in, being swept away by the amount of people. I weaved around the free alcohol, trying to find where the line to the Addison's food began. A woman turned to me and smiled. I think she could sense my confusions or hear my stomach growling. She pointed to the back where I was directed to stand. The line had weaved all the way back to where a mob of festival goers were waiting to see the last movie, Man on Wire. Beer was being spilled everywhere and with nothing but small Addison napkins to clean it up. The buffet consisted of crab rangoon filling, sweet potato chips, Thai chicken and some mixed berry desert. The chicken was an obvious favorite, being refilled at least 3 or 4 times in 30 minutes. People were piling on as much food as they could on the small plates only the size of my hand. Hunger was an obvious factor.

At True/False I doubt that there can be any true disappointments. Every film that I saw was different and affected me in different ways. Being able to meet the directors of the films was powerful and informative. I felt like I had the inside scoop to the movie and was better able to understand the film.

The other side of Columbia really came out with the festival. I have always heard about Columbia's great sense of "community" but until now, I don't think I really knew what that was. The way that Columbia has accepted these films and welcomed people from all over to enjoy the city and the sites was amazing.

The entire weekend was an experience that I will remember forever. To put into words what I have seen and witnessed is not something easily done. There were too many times where I wish I had a video camera in my glasses so that everyone could see the exact thing I was seeing. I had to shake my head every once in awhile to make sure I was still awake and that I had not imagined the "bear on the bicycle" or the dancers at Mojo's in full spandex body suits.

The festival has brought Columbia alive and will continue to do so; I hope for many years to come.

- Rachel Schroeder

- Mark Lewis

Even at 10 a.m. on Saturday, after very few hours of sleep and drinking too much the night before, I was captured by Stranded.

I'd heard the story of the Uruguayan rugby team before, but to watch the survivors speak about the incident, 30 years afterward, and to watch them struggle to keep their voices steady and their eyes dry, was extremely powerful. Unfortunately, I had to leave partway through the movie to go to work, but this is a film I'm going to hunt down at Ninth Street Video. The director has done his job because I can't wait to view the rest of the film.

My biggest complaint about Stranded is that I was unsure in the beginning whether the reenactments were supposed to be reenactments of if they were simply footage of other, modern-day young people getting on a plane and having a good time. After a half hour I figured it out, but it made for a confusing beginning to the film. I also think that having all the survivors speak in the film, or see them in a shot together instead of individually, would have strengthened the documentary.

I liked the director's approach of having the survivors sort of walk the audience through their experiences, day by day, and pausing at certain moments to reiterate the importance and size of what was happening. For example, the most heart-wrenching part for me was to listen to them speak about their thoughts of cannibalism and how they discussed it and reached the point. They knew it was taboo but they all thought about it individually before discussing it as a group. And it was interesting to see their different reactions when they finally did make the decision; some thought of it as a very spiritual, Communion-like experience, and others mentioned that it was the point where they lost contact with their humanity. The director did these reenactments very tastefully; I was afraid it would become grotesque, but he focused more on the survivors' descriptions than acted scenes. And it was so amazing and moving to watch the survivors transform throughout the film. In the beginning, when they spoke, they seemed more or less composed. But by the cannibalism point, many of the men had tears in their eyes while recounting this event that happened over 30 years ago. It's evident to see that the plane crash is something that has shaped their entire lives, and rightfully so.

Stranded is worth seeing, but audiences should know the story of the Uruguayan rugby team beforehand and prepare themselves for a sad, raw film.

- Hannah Martine

Life. Support. Music. was incredibly powerful an such an inspirational, strong story. I only had read a few intros of the documentary before going to see it, so I was not exactly sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. I have some critical comments regarding editing, narration and a few directorial decisions, but the material itself is so powerful that such minor things were easily overlooked.

The title, Life. Support. Music., is introduced 10-15 minutes into the film. The narration at this point is very cheesy ("He started to build a life") and the director speaks with a soft, airy tone that didn't seem to match the tone of the interviewees. So, my first thoughts about the title was that the director was trying to hard to be artsy and abstract, and the message would be weighed down by a weak title. Turns out I was very wrong.

Throughout the film, and it wasn't apparent to me until the credits rolled, there were three constant themes of Life, Support and Music. These were the three important factors that the documentary revolved around.

Life: Jason almost died because of a type of rare brain hemorrhage. He had two years of setbacks, falling in and out of consciousness, therapy, infections and more where he struggled to stay alive. In addition, his first child was born.

Support: Jason's family were critical to his recovery. The story revolves around their recounts of the ordeal, and his sister takes the largest role in the film and the actual process of recovery. Without this support, doctors say, Jason would not have pulled through. The Lower East Side music community was also extremely supportive of Jason and cared deeply about his return to normalcy and return to music.

Music: Music is the way that Jason expressed himself. It was his passion. The music community rallied around him and threw benefits. The film ends with Jason able to play a show on stage again and finish the album that was shelved when he fell sick. His guitar was a form of therapy for him, physically and mentally; he was severely depressed until he was able to pick up a guitar and start playing again.

After watching the film and watching the three elements unfold and intertwine, I can't think of a better title than the director's choice of Life. Support. Music. I had tears in my eyes countless times while watching the film, but the real kicker was when Jason, his sister and his father joined the director on stage after the film to answer questions. Seeing him in person and listening to him speak solidified the elements of the film and showed that hope and faith really does produce miracles. As dramatic as it sounds, I walked out of Windsor Auditorium feeling like I was a better person for having heard Jason's story.

- Hannah Martine

What started off with MC’s Steddy P blowing the crowd’s mind with clearly spit lyrics and cliché lines like, “When I say hip-hop you say don’t stop,” people held their beers high and participated. Oh, and he didn’t stop. A local at the bar said that he thinks Steddy P is Columbia’s best rapper.

As the hours grew later, Mojo’s grew weirder. I should have figured that it was foreshadowing when I walked up the deck and saw a man clad in fur pants in the corner meditating topless. After Steddy P, Thesis, and Bustrip left the stage, the smoke machines rolled and a pink ambiance filled the stage. The main act of the night, Ssion, was something that can only be described as a melding of Cleopatra, Rick James, and Madonna, gone so wrong that it was almost right. The male lead was bookended by two men in skintight body suits. After one song, they underwent a switch from NASCAR checkers to smiley faces with the smile tactfully placed over their lower regions.

It’s a good thing that they were performing, because if they were wearing those outfits for the fun of it, I would have been concerned. Regardless, it fit in perfectly with the anything goes feel of the festival, and never left an opportunity for the word ‘boring’ to be used.

-Natalie Durkovich

On any given day, the Artisan is filled with students plugging away at their laptops and bottomless cups (of joe), but tonight it was a different crowd. The hummus was still served, and alma mater seekers were still the meat of the audience, but rather than the isolation of headphones, cell phones, and laptops – the music of Homegrown Hullaballoo held the undivided attention of the packed (as usual) Cherry Street Artisan.

I’m not sure what ‘homegrown hullabaloo’ means besides a whole lot of something, but I do know that acts like Timbawolf were original, hilarious, and had the perfect combination of skill and self-deprecation for to laugh and give him musical props. Dressed in full on giddy-up cowboy gear I couldn’t tell whether his pre-song banter of ‘This one’s for freedom’ were poking fun at the Country Western American culture or just his off the cuff personality. My favorite of all though, would have to be his lyric, “I had a dream. That I was taking a bath, with Dracula.” Regardless of his lyrics that came out of left field, the group was still able to sing along. The group of fans turned out to be friends from his hometown of De Soto, MO.

Another artist on the venue was high-pitched honey, Penny Marvel. With a voice ranging somewhere between the likes of Regina Spektor on her highest notes and the airiness of Imogen Heap, the accompaniment of her ukulele made for perfect back-up. It would have been better to hear in a completely silent setting, but she stuck to her guns and carried on with her pianissimo performance waiting for the crowd to stop their conversations and tune in.

One local was enjoying the open-to-the-public festivities because he waited to long to buy any movie tickets, and didn’t want to pay the money for passes.

The combination of different flavors of the musical set list was what one could expect from True/False: unique talent that you probably haven’t seen before.

-Natalie Durkovich

Cat Withrow, filmmakers' liaison, greets friends at the new Ragtag on 10th Street. Withrow says all the filmmakers are "just amazing."

Joao Gilberto, left, and Giovanna Accurso, right, take a break on the new patio at Ragtag Theater.

Technical difficulties delayed entry into Macklanburg Theater for 40 minutes. However, once inside it became clear to the audience why. A crane-mounted camera sat just to the right of the elaborately decorated set.

David Wilson greeted the audience and explained that this year’s Gimme Truth! contest was going to be filmed for a television pilot they were trying to pitch. Acting as a TV audience required fake commercial breaks during which an off stage cast would run on to adjust microphones and cameras. All the action was a bonus for the audience who was more than happy to play along and clap as the show “returned from break” and the game show host rolled off another one liner.

The pilot being filmed gave an extra show within the show for the audience to watch, however, the contest videos themselves were still the stars. After showing each filmmaker/contestant’s two-minute documentary the three judges each had an opportunity to ask one question before guessing whether the story was true or false.

Judges and audience were routinely fooled and amused by the documentaries that came from amateur filmmakers across Missouri. Some of the memorable entries included the story of a squirrel enthusiast who collects squirrel paraphernalia, the college student who bought Orson Welles’s favorite chair and the girl who won the 2007 “Ugliest Person Award” in the Midwest division (which she maintains is the hardest division to win.) All in all, the show was worth the wait.

- Ricky O'Bannon

The “Q” line stretched down the alley next to the Blue Note as I (and a few hundred of my closest friends) waited for a chance at an extra ticket to see Gonzo. The film documents the life and career of Hunter S. Thompson, a man Paul Sturtz, co-founder of the True/False, would say “could well be the patron saint of this festival.”

The show started with director Alex Gibney being presented with the True Vision award. Sturtz told Gibney that the festival was thrilled to be his first stop after winning an Academy Award for his other film Taxi to the Dark Side. Gibney responded by saying that True/False wasn’t his first stop. Rather “that event in Hollywood was just a warm up for this festival.”

Gibney was able to get remarkable interviews with figures who knew Thompson personally such as Pat Buchanan, Jimmy Carter, George McGovern, Ralph Steadman and members of Thompson’s family. Even subjects like Buchanan, who said "Thompson once described me as a half-crazed Davy Crockett," shared a respect for the rock star writer's immutable personality.

One of the most crowd-pleasing segments of the film chronicled Thompson’s run for sheriff of Aspen, CO where he received the endorsement of his neighbor and landlord who told cameras “Hunter is the man who never paid his rent, broke up my marriage and taught my children to smoke dope… but better him than Whitmire.”

During the film’s focus on Thompson’s work as a political correspondent, Gibney used a series of stock images to strike a parallelism between the landscape of Vietnam and Iraq era politics. 1972 Democratic candidate for president and subject of Thompson’s political support, George McGovern’s words on Vietnam and war in general drew applause from the audience three times.

Gibney paints Thompson as a tragic figure who flirted with madness and his own mortality on a daily basis, but who was nevertheless a patriot, idealist and “moralist disguised as an immoralist.” The latter stages of the documentary show Thompson trapped by his own fame and expectations. Thompson confesses in a stock interview that when he is invited to speak at colleges he is unsure if they want Thompson or Raul Duke, his strung out unpredictable alternate personality.

In the question and answer after the film, Gibney stated that Thompson is imitated but he believes the message of Thompson’s life is in the way he found his authentic voice to express himself and that is something he hoped people would take away from the documentary.

-Ricky O'Bannon

I raced over to the showing of Son of a Gun in order to make it to the six o'clock showing. I literally had to run down the road to make it on time. Luckily, they were still seating when I reached the entrance. I didn't even get a chance to realize that a man in a powder blue suit and a fake mustache was trying to ask me what movie I was going to. I later pieced together that he had been a part of the parade on Friday. I rushed into the theater with a few minutes to spare.

The show was on its second screening and the directors looked timid and nervous. With a brief word from both of them, the movie started rolling. I was so intrigued with the movie that I felt like I was there. The crowd reacted to the small details of the film, and I could feel a strong connection with each of the characters: 3 schizophrenic men and their 69 year-old "Dad" who live together as a non-traditional family.

There was a certain point in the film that made some audience members cringe. The "Dad", Larry, had recently been beaten up and was home from the hospital. His mouth kept bleeding and there was no censorship of the reality of what happened to him. I heard a few groans and most audience members later admitted they had just shut their eyes. I was so focused on not being sick that I almost failed to realize the man behind me saying, "Josh, Josh. Are you alright?" at more than just a whisper. The man next to me was the first to turn around. After I heard the voice again, curiosity made me turn in my seat.

At the first glance I thought the man, "Josh", was on the phone. With a second turn I realized that he had passed out. The man to my left offered his phone, but "Josh's" friend had already bolted out of the theater to find some help. "Josh" was left with a young woman who tried to wake him up. Her eyes were wide open and I was waiting for her to panic. Finally, the young man opened his eyes and grumbled a few words. He got up and made it out of the theater, stumbling up the stairs with the woman behind him. There were a few glances in his direction, but the audience seemed to be caught up in Larry's life.

The film ended and the directors stepped on the stage to take the spotlight. They had humorous side stories about living with this "family" for nine months. The updates on the group was just as entertaining as the film itself. The directors have created a strong bond with their subjects and still contact them.

This is the one thing that I have noticed throughout the film festival. Most, if not all, the producers create an everlasting bond with the subjects that they film. Relationships are formed and lives are changed, all through a small lens.

- Rachel Schroeder

- Mark Lewis

Ericka Evans waits for her number to be called in the Q line at Ragtag for The Mosquito Problem. (Beth Carpenter)

I view Chris Bell’s Bigger, Stronger, Faster* much the way I view Super Size Me: an unusually entertaining bit of muckraking on a subject that really shouldn’t require it. It’s informative and there’s not a dull moment to be found, but everything it says makes so much sense it makes one wonder why a movie was even necessary.

There’s some unnecessarily precious narration in the early-goings — apparently, being enrolled in a class with special kids didn’t make one of Chris’ brother’s “feel special” at all — but the film comes together produces both a broad and personal look at steroid use. At the film’s forefront are Bell’s two brothers, Mark and Mike, both of whom used and continue to use steroids to pack on the muscle.

Bell deals with the subject from all sides. Addressing the medical, he provides the amusing tidbit that anabolic steroids directly follow multivitamins on the list of substances that cause emergency room visits and reveals that the preconception of steroids having long-term effects on health come from anecdotal rather than experimental evidence. Addressing allegations that steroid use is cheating, Bell shows how the Olympics have fudged records of U.S. athletes who engaged in illicit substance use under the guise of “inadvertent use” while cracking down on others.

This history of double standards certainly stands in contrast to Congress’ recent crackdown on baseball: Eight days of a 151-day Congress session were spent on the subject of steroids in the major leagues — more time than was spent discussing health care, troop funding or Hurricane Katrina, Bell says.

“Why spend so much time on such an apparently insignificant topic?” pales only to “What causes the competitive environment that makes steroid use so rampant?” as the question at hand. Bell deals with body issues — using lighting techniques and Photoshop, Bell hilarious transforms himself into a hunk for his new brand of diet pills — but mostly attributes our culture’s implicit encouragement to abuse steroids to a “side effect of being American.”

“In my mind, there’s no excuse for not being as strong you can possibly be,” Mark says. If only Bell had searched more thoroughly there, Bigger, Faster, Stronger* could have been a great piece of cultural criticism rather than just an entertaining piece of muckraking.

- Kyle Puetz

I woke up this morning after a late night at the "Lover's Leap Party". I am just glad that I was up in time to see Echoes of Home. The crowd outside was surprisingly large before the show time of 10:30 a.m. I received my tickets on a whim after picking them up from the Journalism School for free.

The ground floor of the Blue Note was almost full, so I decided to make my way to the balcony for better luck.

I ended up sitting at a side table leaning against the metal rods. It wasn't a perfect view, but it served me well. Once the movie started I was drawn into the scenery of Switzerland and the unique voices. I was surprised at the contemporary spin on yodeling and how beautiful it sounds. I was blown away with the harmonies and deep sound that trapped the audience. Bottom line: It made me want to yodel.

The director was not available to talk about the show afterwards, which was a disappointment. Instead I found myself humming the songs that were in the film and the need to bang on random things to make music.

- Rachel Schroeder

The title American Teen implies a common teenage experience. So does the film — despite pigeonholing its four main characters into the stereotypes of athlete, outcast, nerd and prep, the movie suggests the experiences of and conflicts facing each of the characters are one and the same. Loneliness, an indeterminate future, shockingly questionable parental guidance, the social hierarchy… In raising conflicts as banal as some of these to the level of Greek tragedy, the film reaffirms the teenage ego: If the controversy surrounding a choice of prom theme is of enough importance to film, then of course the drama it creates off-camera is justified, too. (And that’s before the almost exclusively ugly animated fantasies.)

The film operates as an ode to teenage self-centeredness and short-sightedness. While Colin (the athlete), Jacob (the nerd) and Hannah (the outcast) easily offset these characteristically teenage traits with an abundance of charm, Megan (the prep) reveals herself to be wholly despicable. Beyond laughing at the instances of naivete and pettiness that result, what’s the point?

The most remarkable thing about the movie, really, is how technology is both used and ignored within it. Not only do text messages serve as the beginning and end of relationships but some teenagers commit some fairly atrocious acts with the cameras rolling only to take offense when confronted about them. I’m not sure whether to chalk this up to these youths being unaware or callous about the ramifications of their actions or whether we’re witnessing a generation completely desensitized by these converging media, but it’s absolutely bizarre to watch. As acts of infidelity and vandalism are caught on film, I couldn’t help but think of Baudrillard. Can we really no longer tell the difference between fantasy and reality? If so, American Teen marks the appearance of the hyperreal generation.

- Kyle Puetz

Dan Thompson plays in the sunlight as Windsor Theater empties after "Shake the Devil Off."

The sun's out, Mucca Pazza danced all over Broadway yesterday, and the Lover's Leap party with its costumes last night... all of it, every bit of it, almost feels like a March Mardi Gras here in Columbia.

It was fitting that Shake the Devil Off! was part of it. Glen David Andrews came on stage somewhat late - "I hope y'all understand, I had to run get a different mouthpiece" - and his trombone was delivered on stage a few minutes in, but even with these setbacks, it only took a few minutes for the Lazy Six band to get 300+ Columbians on their feet in Windsor Theater, clapping their hands and calling out responses to Glen.

Then the film itself was a rebellious celebration of New Orleans' Terme neighborhood, rich with strong personalities - the vegan parish priest, Mama D speaking passionately to the city council, and a neighborhood that exploded in a Mardi Gras celebration that almost made you forget that half of the church's parishioners weren't there anymore.

"I've never made a film with a happy ending," director Peter Entell said as the lights came back on.

- Beth Carpenter

I took a back alley to Tonic hoping to experience True/False in a different light. Films were finishing up that night and most of the filmmakers and film goers were ready to party. The top level of Tonic had a projection of animation on the wall. I could never tell what was actually being shown, but it definitely added a spark to the atmosphere. There was a large red sheet that draped down from the stairs. It was supposed to look like blood and a topographic map. I think they came pretty close to their vision.

The man rocking the visuals was Mike Pagano. I bumped into him while I was waiting for the Mucca Pazza band to start their concert. I was intrigued by his structured red boa and red head gear. He later pointed out that he was also wearing fur pants: which I found to be appropriate for the type of party I was attending.

Mike and his friend Rob Van Dillen had seen Bigger. Stronger. Faster earlier that day and were making references to the movie, describing the party as "Columbia on steroids." (The movie was all about steroid use.) They were both impressed with the festival and recognized the amount of community that Columbia holds.

After my conversation with them and being offered to feel Mike's fur pants. I pushed my way downstairs to the open bar and dress up area. The decorations had been decked out in red banners, pillows, and structured art. Around the corner of the stairs I realized that people were stepping out of the designated area in the reddest of red outfits. I was not sure if everyone just had these exuberant outfits lying around their houses or who was supplying these party people with decorations. There was an area that was like a small dressing room. There were hats, boas, and head pieces for anyone to throw on. There were even volunteers standing near to suit you up in red gear as soon as you stood in front of them. Gradually the outfits became bigger and redder.

The Mucca Pazza band was hanging out in one of the side rooms while they waited for the party to expand. At 10:30 p.m. there was still walking room. I could have busted out in a dance move and not touched anyone. By 11 p.m and Mucca Pazza's horns and drums taking over, the crowd had tripled in size. There were a few comments from some drunk people on their need to get up on the stage and dance with the band. The band did not want to bothered, so straight after their performance I found them standing in front of the Blue Fugue taking a smoke break.

I left the party at around midnight and people were still arriving. The party was said to go until 1:30 a.m.

- Rachel Schroeder

The sound system at the Forrest Theater in The Tiger hotel was a constant nuisance for composers T. Griffin and Ionic Furjanic (try saying that one five times) at the Instant Soundtrack! Panel discussion. However despite the technical difficulties that made their music come through fuzzy, the duo kept their cool and were able to make their musical philosophy and process come through clearly.

Although Griffin and Furjanic met the night before and had never seen each other’s work, they complimented each other well in the discussion. Griffin showed his current work in progress, New Orleans, Mon Amour. The drama by Michael Almereyda pays homage to the 1950’s film Hiroshima, Mon Amour and sets a tumultuous love story against a post-Katrina backdrop.

Griffin explained that Almereyda wanted to stay away from Dixieland brass bands that the director felt were played out. Griffin felt that if a soundtrack was going to say New Orleans, it had to deal with the musical baggage of the city, which to him, was horns. Griffin said he tried to make the music “horny” but fresh by combining distorted brass with a musical representation of the wind in New Orleans to create a pallet of colors he called a “horn cloud.”

Griffin explained that he felt it was important to create an atmosphere of musical expectations so an audience can be shaped by the music without being manipulated by a sudden change in musical style. “When I think music is really working, I feel like it
Is emanating from the scenes on film and not just sitting on top,” said Griffin.

Furjanic showed his current work on a documentary called Arusi. The film follows a young Iranian man who is engaged to an American woman and as a way to humanize the relationship between Iran and the US. Furjanic showed a sequence chronicling the events that lead up to the 1979 hostage crisis and showed how he came up with the music he eventually settled on using. Furjanic played a sample of Iranian folk music that he then set over an aggressive hip-hop beat to reflect the anger and tension represented on screen.

-Ricky O'Bannon

Somehow, someway, Nanette Burstein's incredible American Teen tells a story of what we thought we knew when we were in high school and makes it art.

Burstein spent about a year following high school students of Warsaw, Ind., a town where you can't escape your caste. If you are a nerd, you're a nerd. If you're a jock, you're stuck that way. There is no room for reinvention, and cliques are the law of the land.

The director slings the camera on her shoulder and tells the story of a four high school seniors, each of whom can easily be placed in a grouping — band nerd, basketball jock, popular princess and rebel artsy girl. Although the audience initially places them into that grouping, they learn that once you peel back those layers, the kids are not alright. They have families that mistreat them or have too high of expectations or have skeletons in the basement that should never see light.

But, in the midst of failures and successes, we get to see a portrait of what youth in Midwestern America have become. The film's documentation turns high school into a universal experience of growing pains, exaggerated emotions and missed opportunities that almost anyone can relate to. It feels real.

There's no doubt the director's role in the lives of the subjects likely changed the outcome of what the audience sees at the end. But even so, this is the best way to experience what it is like to grow up in the age of text message break-ups and e-mail bullying. And it is the best way to feel like a teen in America once more.

- Sean Ludwig

A crowd gathered at Lala Raney Wood Hall after the parade to wait their turn to enter the "Reality Bites" event open to only Silver or Lux pass holders. The doors remained closed until six, while Glen David Andrews and the Lazy 6 wowed the crowd with their interactive music. No one seemed anxious or impatient, but instead stood around talking about the parade or the upcoming events.

Entering into the hall, I was astounded by the number of tables and the variety of food that each of them held. The room was dimly lit with the large white pillars wrapped in colorful cloth. The mood was set with "Tough Cats" set in a central stage directly under a large papier-mache bird. The stage was surrounded by a soft red glow. Standing in front of the band, I was struck by the drummer's facial expressions. He was a good source of entertainment, musically and visually. Every beat that he pounded out caused every muscle in his face to express his involvement in the music. A small audience gathered in front of the stage, but most of the crowd stood at tall tables draped in black cloth. Conversations were buzzing about the food, free beer and wine, and what life is like back home.

A group of women with full plates talked strategy for buying tickets for tomorrow's films. They sped through their game plan and then dispersed for more food and drink. The food ranged from reindeer meat to Jamaican beef jerky. Two large tables were set up with free wine and beer. One of the volunteers working at the event made a comment that the one surprising thing she had seen was one woman chugging a glass of wine. Empty Schlafly cups were cleared off of tables, only to be filled with more in minutes.

Gradually the room began to clear out while festivalgoers made their way home or to the first movie of the evening.

It is eclectic, fun, entertaining and makes me want to give my wardrobe a second thought. The "March into March" parade contains no central theme and no requirements. After viewing belly dancers standing next to a girl in a tutu and frizzy wig, nothing else surprised me.

I almost felt under-dressed being surrounded by all the costumes and makeup. A group of bicycle riders had devoted their entire faces to being a canvas for the True/False logo. I tried standing next to another girl who was taking some photos, just to blend in. Then I realized that she had the truest and bluest hair I had ever seen. It is hard to blend in with a crowd whose main goal is to stand out.

The "pre-parade" show was just as entertaining as the actual marching down Broadway. The march was short and sweet while providing the most unique entertainment I have ever experienced in Columbia. Gorillas and bears on bicycles traveled right behind a crowd favorite, the Mucca Pazza band. Based in the Chicago area, the band had their stage presence down and kept their energy high. Each individual band member had a different vintage-like marching band uniform on. Some of the jackets looked like they were straight out of the 50s. Not only were their uniforms entertaining, but their music had everyone dancing through the streets. While most marching bands stick to uniformity and structure, their movements can only be described as "different".

The added accordion player and electric guitar player set it apart from anything considered "normal". The head gear was another thing I could not keep my eyes off of. All the electric instruments were hooked up to a megaphone or electric sound projector on top of the musicians' hard hat helmets. Now why hasn't anyone else thought of that?

Broadway came alive before the crowd's eyes as the entire parade, no matter how short it was, traveled quickly downtown in about a 15-minute walk. Shop owners down Broadway gathered close to their glass windows to catch a peak at this once a year parade. Cars were at a standstill while drivers were glancing wildly around, wondering how they got caught in such an event. It would be quite a shock if you had no idea what was going on.

Holding his home-made True/False sign high, this boy was waiting to start the parade.

A saxophone player from Mucca Pazza took a quick breather during their pre-parade warm up.

Large red cloth was a staple in the belly dancers wardrobe.

The large bear was not the only one on wheels.

- Rachel Schroeder

The organizers of the True/False Film Festival described the March into March on their website as “the craziest parade Columbia has ever seen” and the scene that took over downtown Broadway lived up to its billing.

A half hour prior to the parade’s start, Eighth St. just north of Broadway was blocked off as roller-bladers, sword-balancing gypsy belly dancers and a self-described “circus punk” marching band fell into line. Glen David Andrews and the Lazy Six, an authentic New Orleans brass band, entertained a growing crowd of onlookers. After enthusiastic but restrained applause from spectators, Andrews, a charismatic front man, beckoned for the audience to step off the sidewalk and get close before he started conducting them in a chorus of “You are my Sunshine.” The crowd’s singing was shortly swallowed up by the sound of Andrews’s raucous trombone playing and the Lazy Six’s distinctive New Orleans sound that reverberated off the downtown shops.

Glen David Andrews and the Lazy Six lead the crowd in chanting as the parade starts. (Rachel Schroeder)

By the time the parade started, the handful of curious onlookers had grown into a sizeable throng. Swarms of cameras did their best to capture the spectacle of the procession but in an event where a man in a bear suit riding on the back of a bicycle built for two was overlookable, the crowd started to follow the parade down Broadway to get a second look.

Balancing a sword on her head while swaying with beat of the drum. (Rachel Schroeder)

Mucca Pazza, featuring traditional marching band instruments, a cheerleader and marching accordion and electric guitar players with speakers strapped to their helmets, were the center of attention.

The line between spectator and marcher was blurred as Mucca Pazza’s trumpet and trombone players darted in and out of the audience to climb on top of whatever they could find. The procession came to a halt and the crowd was surrounded as three of the band’s brass players stood atop the steps of Stephen’s College and played a fanfare while three more stood on a bench across the street belted a response.

The extraordinary parade and audience marched together down Broadway before finally coming to a stop at Wallis Avenue. Once there, spectators enjoyed fire blowers and spinners while both Mucca Plaza and Glen David Andrews and the Lazy Six continued to play to entertain the audience who followed them.

-Ricky O'Bannon

- Mark Lewis

Mucca Pazza, a self-defined "circus punk" band, has the crowd clapping along as they cavort on Broadway.

In his stunning Audience of One, Michael Jacobs transplants the Icarus myth to a Pentecostal congregation in San Francisco and depicts one man’s plummet to Earth for his presumptuousness in getting too close to God. As pastor Richard Gazowsky attempts to create a divinely inspired science fiction epic that he labels a cross between Star Wars and The Ten Commandments, Jacobs acts as a fly on the wall. The resulting footage tells a tale alternately hilarious and poignant, tragic and horrifying.

The whole exercise feels like a real-life Waiting For Guffman — a collection of people who never quite realize their vision remains handily outside the reach of their talents. That isn’t to say Jacobs exploits his subjects; even in the project’s most futile moments, its grand ambition evokes a sense of marvel and admiration. Unlike Guffman’s pitiable, sometimes contemptible caricatures, Audience of One’s subjects never feel anything less than earnest. At times they even manage to capture a certain nobility.

At the heart of the whole twisted tale is Gazowsky, who ultimately reveals himself to be a tangle of contradictions. During the film, he manages to alienate his mother, his crew and his investors but, drawing on some magnetic appeal, never the stalwart defenders of the faith. Toward the end, he retreats further into his paranoia and delusions, eventually predicts his congregation will be responsible for the first space colony and without an ounce of self-consciousness confides in the camera, “Either it’s God [delivering my vision] or I’m crazy.”

The true miracle of the film its that — despite Gazowsky's obvious manipulations, despite his lies, despite his actions that no matter how earnest always seem just on the verge of con artistry — the last image, a close-up on the pastor in the midst of a prayer that turns into an uncontrollable fit of sobbing, elicits a feeling of empathy greater than the man probably deserves.

— Kyle Puetz

In Mike Jacobs' debut feature Audience of One, a pentecostal preacher hears from God that he is to make a $100 million sci-fi epic. It's a task that sounds impossible on paper, but after seeing a few minutes on screen with the charismatic, focused and manipulative Brother Richard Gazowsky, you begin to wonder if he could actually pull it off.

The filmmaker, who spent one and a half years filming Gazowsky and his ragtag crew, finds complicated and flawed humans in his subjects. Sometimes the techniques are bit overlong, such as extremely long shots of the pentecostal church celebrating. The point could have been made using the half the time and hit the audience just as hard.

Still, Jacobs could have easily made this an epic comedy about a goofy Christian crew who is destined to fail at their ambitions. Instead, it's a character study of a pastor who will do anything for faith and the family — biological and spiritual — that follows him.

P.S. Also worth noting is that Audience of One had a much larger crowd than one. The Windsor was packed.

- Sean Ludwig

- Mark Lewis

You can tell just by the harried waitress and the full tables at Bangkok Gardens that there's a few extra guests in town and a little more excitement in the air.

We're capturing those guests over the weekend on video, in photos, and reviewing their films here at voxmagazine.com. Keep an eye on us all weekend between screenings.

Opening night video will be posted shortly.

In the meantime, check out this preview article in the Kansas City Star.

- Beth Carpenter

Wednesday night represented the first public exhibition of Owen Lowery’s film An Alternative to Slitting Your Wrist. The movie follows Lowery as he tries to completed a to-do list he created shortly after a suicide attempt. On the list: marriage, getting tasered, and something that can only be adequately described as squirrel fishing. Lowery displays good humor and admirable courage in the making of the film (and in the Q&A that followed), but ultimately those characteristics alone do not a compelling movie make.

Throughout the film, Lowery finds the most superficial ways possible to visualize his inner turmoil. He bangs his head against the wall. Alone in the frame, he contorts his face as a disembodied voice drones on about depression. He submerges himself in the bathtub, closes his eyes and contemplates drowning (like Benjamin Braddock before him). The problem isn’t that these obviously manufactured scenes don’t feel real. It’s that the sentiment doesn’t seem sincere, as though the filmmakers got together and said, “Okay, we need to shoot some sad footage today.”

I suspect the movie would have been better — that is, less self-indulgent — if somebody else had edited the final project. Removing the journal entries, which have all the substance of a moody teenager’s poetry, would not only keep the visual element in the forefront but would also avoid reducing Lowery’s experiences to wordy platitudes. Lowery sabotages himself by literalizing everything when he should have more faith in the power of his imagery.

There’s enough interesting footage for a movie here without resorting to talking heads for an ill-fated attempt to universalize an obviously singular experience. The movie is not about the identity crisis of a generation, as it pretends to be in the early running, but one man’s attempt to overcome his basic tendencies and his realization that plans don’t always go the way you hope. And the moment Lowery realizes that, unsurprisingly, is the one facet of the film that succeeds unconditionally.

Despite rumors to the contrary, True/False isn't totally sold out. Yes, the festival is out of passes, but there are still tickets available to individual films. Here's an e-mail organizer Paul Sturtz sent early this morning.

----------
Don't believe the hype -- Rumors of True/False being SOLD OUT have been greatly exaggerated (apologies to the great T/F icon and proto-gonzo journalist Mark Twain).

Here are the facts: roughly 4,200 hard tickets remain. You can buy tickets at the Cherry St. Artisan box office starting noon on Thursday, Feb. 28. If you can't get a ticket for the film you want, don't despair. We invented the "Q" system just for you.

After discovering that passholders who've pre-reserved tickets don't always show up to claim their seats, we came up with the Q system which allows you to get a ticket at the "last minute." Just arrive 30 minutes before a film starts at its venue. Claim a Q and then reappear 10 minutes before showtime. No guarantees, but especially at the larger venues like the Blue Note, Windsor and Macklanburg, you should have a decent if not good chance of getting in the door.

Here are the films with tickets remaining as of 11:59am Thursday, Feb. 28:

*Bigger, Stronger, Faster* Forrest Theater Fri 2/29, 5:00PM (JUST ADDED!)
1 Man on Wire (formerly 1. TBA) Jesse Hall Sun 3/2, 7:00PM
2b Gonzo Windsor Cinema Fri 2/29, 10:00PM
3 Taxi to the Dark Side Blue Note Sun 3/2, 10:30AM
5a Shake the Devil Off Windsor Cinema Thu 2/28, 6:00PM
5c Shake the Devil Off Windsor Cinema Sat 3/1, 12:30PM
7a Sons of a Gun Forrest Theater Thu 2/28, 6:30PM
7b Sons of a Gun Windsor Cinema Sat 3/1, 6:00PM
10a Song Sung Blue Forrest Theater Thu 2/28, 9:00PM
10c Song Sung Blue Windsor Cinema Sun 3/2, 10:30AM
11a Audience of One Windsor Cinema Thu 2/28, 9:00PM
12a Forbidden Lies Big Ragtag Thu 2/28, 9:30PM
12d Forbidden Lies The Den Sat 3/1, 8:30PM
14c Stranded Macklanburg Cinema Sat 3/1, 10:00AM
16a The Man Who Ate Badgers Macklanburg Cinema Fri 2/29, 10:00PM
19c Carny Little Ragtag Sat 3/1, 10:00PM
20a The Greening of Southie Windsor Cinema Sat 3/1, 10:00AM
20b The Greening of Southie Windsor Cinema Sun 3/2, 3:30PM
22c Oscar Shorts Big Ragtag Fri 2/29, 10:00PM
23a Echoes of Home Blue Note Sat 3/1, 10:30AM
23b Echoes of Home Big Ragtag Sun 3/2, 10:00AM
24a Life. Support. Music. Forrest Theater Sat 3/1, 12:30PM
24b Life. Support. Music. Windsor Cinema Sun 3/2, 1:00PM
26a Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go Macklanburg Cinema Sat 3/1, 1:00PM
26b Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go Macklanburg Cinema Sun 3/2, 10:00AM
27a Very Young Girls Blue Note Sat 3/1, 1:00PM
27b Very Young Girls Macklanburg Cinema Sat 3/1, 3:45PM
30a Secret Screening Blue Windsor Cinema Sat 3/1, 3:30PM
30b Secret Screening Blue Macklanburg Cinema Sun 3/2, 1:00PM
31a The Order of Myths Blue Note Sat 3/1, 3:45PM
31b The Order of Myths Blue Note Sun 3/2, 1:30PM
34b American Teen (formerly 39. TBA) Blue Note Fri 2/29, 7:30PM
38a Cat Dancers Blue Note Sat 3/1, 9:30PM
38b Cat Dancers Blue Note Sun 3/2, 4:00PM

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True/False 2008

Reviews, news and information from True/False 2008.

Vox does video: Wrapping it all up

When the Exotic is Home

Breaking it all down

Vox does video: Last day, last thoughts

Stranded

Life. Support. Music.

Mojo's-a-go-go

Homegrown Hullaballoo

March 2, last day of True/False, and it's seventy degrees outside.

Gimme Truth!

Gonzo : The Rise and Fall of Hunter S. Thompson

"Son of a Gun": An experience

Vox does video: 37 movies in 14 hours

Q'ing up

Bigger, Stronger, Faster*

"Echoes of Home" made me want to Yodel

American Teen

Violinist

"Shake the Devil Off!" epitomizes this True/False spirit

Columbia on Steroids

Instant Soundtrack!

American Teen uses stereotypes to tell a new story

"Reality Bites" chows down

No Dress Code Required

March into March Parade Entertains Spectators

Vox does video: Annual parade marches down Broadway

Performing down Broadway

One way to announce who's in town...

An Audience of One

Audience of One attracts much more than that

Vox does video: Opening night

Jumping into True/False 2008

An Alternative to Slitting Your Wrist

Tickets still available

About VOX

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