The 2022 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham, North Carolina, kicks off April 7 with 37 titles from 18 countries and celebrating a solid 25th lineup. Deciding to remain virtual-only this year amongst the pandemic, the festival can be seen online from your couch.
The festival highlights include the U.S. Premiere of Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes directed by James Jones and produced by Serhiy Solodko and Sasha Odynova. With Ukraine on the minds of most of the world right now, the documentary about what happened in Chernobyl remains present with footage filmed at the nuclear plant about the disaster and new audio interviews from survivors.
World premiering is Freedom Hill by Resita Cox about the first town incorporated by freed Africans in America and how today it is being eroded. Also world premiering is Move Me by Kelsey Peterson and Daniel Klein. Focused on the film’s co-director, Kelsey Peterson, the story of the former dancer who became paralyzed shines a light on clinical trials and the hope that is kept alive by it.
Reid Davenport’s I Didn’t See You There, produced by Todd Chandler premiered at Sundance and also focuses on disability representation and the “freak show” concept that a tent in his neighborhood symbolizes. .With a few disability representation films at the forefront of Full Frame, the U.S. premiere of Expiration by Joris Cottin follows a man who has ALS and decides to call for assistance to die during the Covid-19 pandemic. Short film Chilly & Milly directed by William D. Caballero and produced by Caballero and Elaine Del Valle earlier played at Sundance and is a beautiful animated doc about a chronic illness, devoted caretaker and power of love.
Another highlight is Aftershock which recently played at South by Southwest. Directed by Paula Eiselt, Tonya Lewis Lee who also produced, the film follows loss during childbirth and the activism grown from the U.S. maternal health crisis.
But not everything is about intense subjects. With the U.S. Premiere of Gabor, directed by Joannie Lafrenière and produced by Line Sander Egede, we dive into a feel-good portrait of a 94-year-old Canadian photographer. Also diving into the creative world is the North American premiere of Soldat Ahmet by director Jannis Lenz and produced by David Bohun and Lixi Frank.Ahmet, a champion boxer in the Austrian army, decided to take acting lessons. With We Met in Virtual Reality, filmmaker Joe Hunting explores the world of VR chat and even how people connect in our newly isolated world.
“The range of experiences humbles what is revealed on screen—the palpable tenderness, violence, pain, strength, vulnerability, and resolve witnessed in these works. And I am equally moved by the commitment and artistry displayed by the filmmakers, who have realized these stories in truly remarkable ways,” interim festival director and artistic director Sadie Tillery said in a press release.
While some films are available worldwide, most of the lineup is the U.S. only. Passes are on sale now at store.fullframefest.org. Single tickets to individual movies will be available on Tuesday, March 29, at 11 a.m. (ET).
– Melanie Addington (@MelAddington)
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