True/False Film Fest Unveils 2025 Lineup Including Eight Sundance Docus (EXCLUSIVE)
The 22nd edition of the True/False Film Fest, kicking off Feb. 27, will feature a lineup of 30 feature documentaries and 24 short docs. The Columbia, Missouri-based four-day doc film festival will showcase eight Sundance 2025 films, including U.S. documentary prize winner “Seeds,” “Predators,” and “The Dating Game.”
The fest’s lineup includes seven world premieres, one international premiere, and three North American premieres. Fourteen of the True/False feature docus were made by first-time feature directors.
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“This year’s films run the gamut when it comes to form, tone, and perspective, but the thing that unites them is their unwavering commitments to their artistic visions,” said True/False artistic direction of Chloe Trayner. “The lineup is a kaleidoscope of reflections on our modern world, embracing past, present, and future in beautiful, devastating, and hopeful ways. We can’t wait to share these films with our audience soon.”
Since launching in 2004, True/False has become one of the documentary community’s favorite film festivals. More of a showcase than a premiere festival, True/False is a community-based affair known for its enthusiastic, politically diverse audience and upbeat vibe. While the nonfiction event isn’t where many distribution deals are made, top doc filmmakers attend each year.
Sundance docus screening at True/False include: Violet Du Feng’s “The Dating Game,” about three men looking for love in contemporary China; Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine’s “Middletown,” about a high school teacher who transforms his classroom into an investigative journalism unit in pursuit of environmental justice; David Ositand’s “Predators” about the complicated legacy of the television program; “To Catch a Predator”; Brittany Shyne’s “Seeds,” a verité portrait of Black farmers in the South; Cristina Costantini’s “Sally” about American astronaut Sally Ride told from the perspective of her life partner, Tam O’Shaughnessey.
All four directors will be in Columbia for the screening of their respective films.
The six films making their world debut at True/False are: Angelo Madsen’s “A Body to Live In,” Eleanor Mortimer’s “How Deep is Your Love,” Tamar Lando’s “Land With No Rider,” Yehui Zhao’s “May the Soil Be Everywhere,” Sasha Wortzel’s “River of Grass,” Ryan Sidhoo’s “The Track,” and Ian Bell’s “WTO/99.”
Four feature-length films – Myrid Carten’s “A Want in Her,” Danial Shah’s “Make it Look Real, Francesca Scalisi’s “Valentina and the MUOSters,” and Macu Machín’s “The Undergrowth” – will hold their U.S. premieres at True/False.
Of the 67 filmmakers invited to screen their documentaries at the fest, 34 self-identify as women or nonbinary, and 31 self-identify as people of color.
This year’s festival was programmed by Trayner, Amber Love, and Amada Torruella.
TRUE/FALSE FILM FEST 2025 FEATURE FILMS
A Body to Live In | Dir. Angelo Madsen; 2025; USA; 98 min
An exploration into the life of Fakir Musafar, a monumental and controversial figure in the queer art of
body modification.
A Want in Her | Dir. Myrid Carten; 2024; Ireland; 81 min
A filmmaker turns the camera on her mother in this formally shapeshifting portrait of addiction and familial love pushed to their limits.
Abo Zaabal 89 | Dir. Bassam Mortada; 2024; Egypt, Germany; 83 min
A filmmaker excavates his family history to better understand the intergenerational wounds he has carried for years.
Blue | Dir. Derek Jarman, 1993; U.K.; 76 min
Against a static blue screen, a soundtrack of voices and music paints a portrait of the filmmaker’s
experiences with AIDS.
Deaf President Now! | Dirs. Nyle DiMarco & Davis Guggenheim; 2024; USA; 100 min
Over eight intense days in 1988, a student protest at the world’s only deaf university changed the course
of history.
Family Album | Dir. Laura Casabé; 2024; Argentina; 73 min
A fervent ode to Claudia Pía Baudracco told through community reflections and precious archives of
Argentina’s trans rights movement.
How Deep is Your Love | Dir. Eleanor Mortimer; 2025; U.K.; 100 min
Scientists explore the mysterious deep sea to collect and name undiscovered species in this whimsical
and mesmerizing oceanic odyssey.
How to Build a Library | Dirs. Maia Lekow & Christopher King; 2025; Kenya; 103 min
Two fearless women take on the colossal task of transforming and revitalizing a formerly colonial library in downtown Nairobi.
John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office | Dirs. Michael Almereyda & Courtney
Stephens; 2025; USA; 89 min
An archival recitation of John C. Lilly’s controversial scientific legacy tells a tale of animal
experimentation, counterculture, and human consciousness.
Kouté vwa (Listen to the Voices); Dir. Maxime Jean-Baptiste; 2024; Belgium, France, French Guiana; 77 min
A family attempts to reconcile its complex grief in this coming-of-age story exploring loss, friendship, and healing in community.
Land with No Rider | Dir. Tamar Lando; 2025; USA; 76 min
A verité portrait of cattle ranchers in southwestern New Mexico as they ruminate on what might be the
end of a generation.
Light Memories | Dir. Misha Vallejo Prut; 2024; Ecuador, Germany; 80 min
A tribute to the art of photography, this carefully crafted family portrait illustrates the importance of
preserving the archive.
Make it Look Real | Dir. Danial Shah; 2024; Pakistan, Belgium, Netherlands; 68 min
A photographer in Pakistan sells two-dimensional fantasies to his clients and allows his own dreams to
develop in his studio.
May the Soil Be Everywhere | Dir. Yehui Zhao; 2024; USA, China; 96 min
A filmmaker journeys to her family’s remote Chinese village to unearth the multigenerational story of its
relationship to the land.
Middletown | Dirs. Jesse Moss & Amanda McBaine; 2025; USA; 111 min
In the ’90s, a high school teacher transforms his classroom into an investigative journalism unit in pursuit
of environmental justice.
Mountain Village | Dir. Hu Sanshou; 2013; China; 70 min
An intimate portrait of the filmmaker’s ancestral village interwoven with the community’s testimony about
its memories of the Great Famine.
Predators | Dir. David Osit; 2025; USA; 96 min
A provocative deep dive into the complicated legacy of To Catch a Predator and the world of vigilante
justice.
Requiem for a Tribe | Dir. Marjan Khosravi; 2024; Iran, Spain, Qatar; 70 min
A 55-year-old family matriarch from the nomadic Bakhtiari tribe in Iran is forced to abandon her home andbegin anew.
Resurrection | Dir. Hu Sanshou; 2024; China; 113 min
A filmmaker returns to his hometown, where villagers honor the deceased by excavating and transporting the bodies to their new resting grounds.
River of Grass | Dir. Sasha Wortzel; 2024; USA; 83 min
A lyrical journey traversing the Florida Everglades through the stories of those who live to protect the
delicate ecosystem.
Sally | Dir. Cristina Costantini; 2025; USA; 103 min
An immersive portrait of American astronaut Sally Ride told from the perspective of her life partner, Tam
O’Shaughnessey.
Seeds | Dir. Brittany Shyne; 2025; USA; 122 min
With stunning black-and-white cinematography, Seeds is a tender verité portrait of Black farmers in the
U.S. South.
The Dating Game | Dir. Violet Du Feng; 2025; USA, U.K., Norway; 90 min
Three men look for love in contemporary China, where, in the aftermath of the One Child Policy, men far
outnumber women.
The Silence of My Hands | Dir. Manuel Acu?a; 2024; Mexico; 80 min
Rosa and Sai are committed to one another despite distance separating them in this sensory journey spoken entirely in sign language.
The Track | Dir. Ryan Sidhoo; 2025; Canada, Bosnia; 91 min
A coming-of-age story of three teen boys chasing their Olympic dreams, set against the backdrop of
postwar Sarajevo.
The Undergrowth | Dir. Macu Machín; 2024; Spain; 72 min
Three sisters reunite to divide up their family’s inheritance in this poetic and tender portrait set in the
Canary Islands.
The Wolves Always Come at Night | Dir. Gabrielle Brady; 2024; Mongolia, Australia, Germany;
96 min
A poetic docufiction portrait of a family cast out of the Mongolian grasslands it calls home.
Valentina and the MUOSters | Dir. Francesca Scalisi; 2024; Switzerland, Italy; 80 min
A young woman in rural Italy yearns for a different future amidst imposing military satellites and familial
pressures.
Wishing on a Star | Dir. Peter Kerekes; 2024; Italy, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Croatia; 99
min
An astrologer dispatches clients on birthday trips to be reborn under a different star sign and to change
their fate.
Writing Hawa | Dirs. Najiba Noori & Rasul Noori; 2024; France, Netherlands, Qatar, Afghanistan; 85
min
A story of three generations of women in an Afghan family as the U.S. withdraws from the country and
their hopes for the future are overshadowed by politics.
WTO/99 | Dir. Ian Bell; 2025; USA; 100 min
A chronicle of the Seattle World Trade Organization protests in 1999, told entirely through firsthand
archival video.
Zodiac Killer Project | Dir. Charlie Shackleton; 2025; USA, U.K.; 92 min
A speculative essay about an abandoned Zodiac Killer film that unravels into an exploration of our culture obsession with true crime.
TRUE/FALSE FILM FEST 2025 SHORT FILMS
Animal Eye | Dir. Carlo Nasisse; 2024; USA, Costa Rica; 13 min
Scientists and philosophers work to understand animal vision in this multi textured rumination exploring
our relationship to the nonhuman world.
Another Rapid Event | Dir. Daniel Murphy; 2024; USA; 8 min
Radiant energy beams down from the sun, enabling telegraph operators to communicate warbling,
earthly messages etched in tree rings.
Biir | Dirs. Bentley Brown & Tahir Ben Mahamat Zene; 2025; Chad; 6 min
Severe drought in Chad is the context for this exploration of climate emergency told through immersive
sound and visceral thirst.
Chimera | Dirs. Martin Andre & Gael Jara; 2024; Chile; 11 min
A journey through Chile’s bureaucracy. A filmmaker seeks to obtain the country’s first nonbinary identity
card in this distinctive animated film.
Correct Me If I’m Wrong | Dir. Hao Zhou; 2025; Germany, USA, 23 min
A filmmaker undergoes a series of home remedies and spiritual interventions as their family attempts to
purge their gender-fluid identity.
Daily Worker | Dir. Ting Su; 2024; USA; 10 min
Digitizing union newspapers in the quiet of a dark room, a filmmaker reflects on their relationship to labor.
David (for now) | Dir. Humberto Flores Jáuregui; 2024; Mexico; 15 min
Amidst games of soccer and roving bike rides, a young boy writes a letter of goodbye to his friends.
Entre le Feu et le Clair de Lune | Dir. Dominic Yarabe; 2024; C?te d’Ivoire, USA; 18 min
A father and daughter preserve the family archive when they collaborate on finishing a book that was
started over a decade ago.
Expression of Illness | Dir. Bryn Silverman; 2024; USA; 21 min
After receiving a thyroid cancer diagnosis, a woman becomes a relentless advocate for her health and
body.
Hold Me Close | Dirs. Aurora Brachman & LaTajh Simmons-Weaver; 2025; USA; 19 min
Corinne and Tiana have built a sacred home together. Welcomed into their day to day, we delicately enter
their loving universe.
Hope Chest | Dir. Lily Franck; 2024; USA; 4 min
A mother’s hope chest becomes a catalyst for her daughter’s reconsideration of traditional gender roles in this charming stop-motion animation.
How the West Was Fun | Dirs. Sarah Garrahan & Sue Ding; 2025; USA; 14 min
At a photography studio in a Wild West theme park, visitors masquerade as modern visions of the
American West.
Lanawaru | Dir. Angello Faccini Rueda; 2024; Colombia, Mexico, USA; 15 min
A sensory collective documentation of rituals that take place following the disappearance of a community member.
My Exploding House | Dir. Liberty Smith; 2024; U.K.; 17 min
A trip down memory lane for a filmmaker and her mother in search of the truth behind a memory from
three decades ago.
No se ve desde acá (You Can’t See It From Here) | Dir. Enrique Pedráza-Botero; 2024; USA,
Colombia; 19 min
Using archive and spatial exploration of Miami as a point of departure, this film confronts us with
contrasting experiences of migration.
Pi?ata Prayers | Dir. Daniel Larios; 2025; USA, El Salvador; 24 min
Breaking down the colonial tradition of pi?atas, this personal film probes into a loss of faith while retracing a family history.
Psychedelic in the Sky | Dir. Matthew Salton; 2024; USA; 11 min
A filmmaker explores the nature of belief and his childhood fascinations in the context of a man’s personal UFO experience.
Razeh-del | Dir. Maryam Tafakory; 2024; U.K., Iran, Italy; 28 min
This filmic collage unearths Iran’s first women’s newspaper and reveals a rich, colorful archive of stories
and community correspondence.
Sunset and the Mockingbird | Dir. Jyllian Gunther; 2025; USA; 29 min
The love story of Gloria Clayborne and jazz pianist Junior Mance as they face Junior’s diagnosis of
dementia.
Te Amo Tanto, Pero Eres Tan Difícil (I Love You So Much, But You Are So Difficult) |Dir. Berenicé Brino; 2024; USA, Dominican Republic; 14 min
Through a collaborative art performance and open dialogue, a daughter and mother explore their tense and nuanced relationship.
Tessitura | Dirs. Lydia Cornett & Brit Fryer; 2024; USA; 18 min
Three trans opera singers refine their unique vocal talents and contemporize the history of gender-fluid
performances in the art form.
The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing | Dir. Theo Panagopoulos; 2024; Scotland, U.K.; 17 min
In an act of reclamation, a filmmaker reinterprets an unearthed archive of wildflower fields in Palestine.
Trapstarz | Dir. Gon?alo Loureiro; 2024; Portugal; 23 min
On the precipice of adulthood, three aspiring trap stars see their big dreams falter when faced with a
harsh reality check.
Your Harvest May Be Delayed | Dir. Ahmad Al-Zu’bi; 2024; Jordan; 15 min
A gift of childhood archives sends the filmmaker on a quest to understand what was saved and what was
lost.
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