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Full Frame Is for Film Lovers

Growth in the arts at Duke brings campus closer to documentary film festival

A clip from "In My Mind," a documentary film made by a Duke faculty member scheduled for the Full Frame Film Festival

For the next four days there's a different feeling to downtown Durham. There's more people, more conversation and even a greater intensity to the discussion. It's all about documentary film.

Since its start more than a decade ago, the four-day Full Frame Film Festival has grown in international stature, making Durham a mecca for fans of documentary film.

Tom Rankin, director of Duke's Center for Documentary Studies and a member of the festival's board, says the buzz this year is stronger than ever.

"What's exciting this year is partially what's exciting all the time [at the festival]," Rankin said. "The festival is a key moment annually in the documentary world, and the great thing is it's right here in Durham. We've become one of the key centers for documentary creativity in this country. It's exciting to see the ongoing evolution and getting more and more local involvement. People are moving here because of the festival, and Durham now has more documentary people working here. With the festival, we have this moment where it all comes together."

Rankin says there's another reason for the Duke community to be excited: The growing ties between the festival and the university as a direct consequence of Duke's strategic plan to develop the role of the arts at the university.

For the past two years, Duke has been the sole presenting sponsor of the festival. The financial ties strengthen a long-time relationship between the festival and Duke's Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University Library and other units.

"The university has made a bigger commitment, not just in money, but in recognition of documentary arts on campus and the role of Full Frame in the local arts culture, " Rankin said. "Because of this, we're seeing a much stronger festival. The number of students who now attend is much greater compared to a decade ago."

Rankin added that the commitment to Full Frame has had other positive effects for the arts at Duke. "Ideas of documentary arts are moving through parts of campus beyond what they were 10 years ago. A range of departments are involved."

Full Frame's presence is also felt in the classroom, said Scott Lindroth, vice provost for the arts at Duke. He pointed to a spring semester class on documentary film co-taught by Rankin and art historian Stanley Abe that this year attracted more than 100 students. The class culminates with students attending films at Full Frame.

In addition, the winning film selections at the festival are archived at Duke University Libraries, an agreement that ensures preservation and promotion of these films beyond the festival.

As a further sign of the growing connections, Lindroth pointed to two films at this year's festival that were made by Duke faculty and recent students: "Pelada" and "In My Mind."

Pelada
In 'Pelada' the young filmmakers found soccer players all around the world.

In "Pelada," former Duke soccer players Rebekah Fergusson and Gwendolyn Oxenham, along with Duke graduate Ryan White and former Notre Dame soccer player Luke Boughen, film their pick-up games with young soccer players around the world.

"In My Mind," Gary Hawkins of the Center for Documentary Studies films composer Jason Moran as he sifts through the photos of Duke's Jazz Loft Project as a way of revisiting bebop pianist Thelonious Monk's historic 1959 Town Hall big band concert in New York.

"Full Frame has become a Durham institution, and the excitement it brings to Durham is wonderful," Lindroth said. "With the growing interest on campus in experimental and documentary arts, there are more and more reasons to deepen our partnership with Full Frame."

As usual, the festival showcases both established directors such as Steven Soderbergh as well as newcomers. The films will be shown over four days in six different screens across the city with most at the Carolina Theatre, the Durham Convention Center and the Durham Arts Council. (For schedule, click here.)

The schedule includes 18 films from around the world built on the theme of work and labor.

Rankin said he can't wait for the films to start, adding that wonderful things happen when students get interested in documentary films.

"Only three or four years ago the students who made ‘Pelada' were here on campus getting interested in film. Now they have this film of their own that was shown at [Austin's] South by Southwest festival and got great reviews," he said. "And one of the interesting things is it has its origins both in Duke's arts and athletics' departments. How often does this happen? I think it says a lot about Duke and about these students."

For more information about the Full Frame Documentary Festival, visit fullframefest.org.