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Full Frame Documentary Film Festival facts for kids

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The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is a super cool yearly event! It happens in Durham, NC. This festival is all about showing amazing documentary films. Documentaries are true stories about real people and events. Think of them as movies that teach you about the world!

The festival started in 1998. Back then, only a few hundred people came. But it grew super fast! Now, it's one of the most important documentary film festivals in the United States. It was created by Nancy Buirski. She's a talented photo editor and filmmaker.

The Full Frame festival is part of the Center for Documentary Studies. This group is at Duke University. Many companies and people help support the festival. This support makes it possible for everyone to enjoy the films. The main supporter is Duke University. Other helpers include A&E IndieFilms and the National Endowment for the Arts. Even the City of Durham helps out!

This festival is so important that films shown here can qualify for big awards. For example, films can be considered for the Producers Guild of America (PGA) Award. They can also qualify for the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). That's a huge honor!

The festival also shows documentaries in other places. They work with groups like the American Tobacco Historic District and Duke University. Many famous people have attended the festival. These include filmmakers like Michael Moore and Martin Scorsese. Even actors like Danny DeVito and Joan Allen have been there!

Cool Film Series

Each year, the festival asks a special filmmaker to pick a group of movies. This is called a "curated series." These films all focus on a certain topic. It's a great way to see different ideas and stories!

Some past series topics have been:

  • 1998: Tolerance
  • 2000: Outside Looking In: Coming of Age Stories
  • 2002: Score!
  • 2005: Why War?
  • 2006: Class in America
  • 2009: This Sporting Life
  • 2010: Work and Labor
  • 2012: Family Affairs
  • 2015: The Moral Compass
  • 2018: Crime and Punishment

Honoring Filmmakers

The festival loves to celebrate amazing filmmakers! From 1998 to 2011, they gave out the Full Frame Career Award. In 2012, this award changed to the Full Frame Tribute. It's a special way to honor people who have made a big impact on documentary filmmaking.

Some of the talented people who have received this honor include:

Special Industry Award

Sometimes, the festival also gives an award to people who work behind the scenes. These are people who help make documentaries happen. This is called the Full Frame Industry Award. It celebrates their important contributions to the world of film.

Past winners include:

Festival Awards

The Full Frame festival gives out many cool prizes each year. These awards celebrate the best films and filmmakers!

Here are some of the awards given at the 2016 festival:

  • The Reva and David Logan Grand Jury Award: This is for the very best long documentary film.
  • The Full Frame Jury Award for Best Short: This award goes to the best short film (40 minutes or less).
  • The Full Frame Audience Award: The audience gets to vote for their favorite short and long films!
  • The Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) Filmmaker Award: This is for a film that is super creative and shows real-life issues.
  • The Charles E. Guggenheim Emerging Artist Award: This award is for the best first-time documentary filmmaker.
  • The Full Frame President's Award: This is for the best student film.
  • The Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights: This award is for a film that talks about important human rights issues.

Some past winners of the Grand Jury Award include:

  • 2004: Control Room
  • 2005: Murderball
  • 2008: Trouble the Water
  • 2009: Burma VJ
  • 2013: American Promise
  • 2016: Starless Dreams
  • 2019: One Child Nation
  • 2020: Mayor
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