What to See (Virtually and Virtually for Free) at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

After canceling last year’s festival Full Frame is back in virtual form this June (2-6) for its 24th edition. And because the Durham-based fest is probably as famous for its Southern hospitality and intimate atmosphere (that naturally leads to a wealth of networking opportunities) as it is for its stellar cinematic selections, I had to wonder if capturing the fest’s spirit online would even be remotely (no pun intended) possible. But then I realized “intimacy” also implies exclusivity. And Full Frame has always been on a parallel mission to expand access to documentary filmmaking and its tools to all. To that end, this year’s Full Frame will feature not only 21 features and 15 shorts (19 available to US-based viewers only, unfortunately) but also quite a number of free online events. All the panels and filmmaker Q&As (with 30-plus teams) can be accessed simply by registering for a free Q&A Pass. Likewise gratis is "The Creative Power of BIPOC Editors," the official launch of the BIPOC Documentary Editors Database. On June 3rd veteran editors such as Sam Pollard, Jean Tsien and Lillian Benson will be speaking on this crucial effort to upend a doc industry paradigm that has resulted in, according to one recent study, their 87%-white profession. (WTF?) As for those stellar selections, a handful of films stand out simply because, after being overloaded with so many festivals and so little time over the past few months (plea to doc fest directors: Can you please coordinate your dates next year?), these five not only cut through the nonfiction noise but have continued to stay with me, right through the multi-fest pileup.

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