Ross McElwee by Florent Michel. Stanley Nelson by Chester Higgins, Jr.
The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival has announced its 2012 Thematic Program and Tribute. The Thematic Program, supported by a $20,000 grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, will focus on family, with a series of films curated by Ross McElwee. The North Carolina native will also present his most recent film, Photographic Memory, which contemplates the filmmaker’s strained relationship with his young adult son, Adrian. Click here to view the trailer.
“Exploring one’s family seems deeply entwined with the desire to document and record one’s surrounding world,” said director of programming Sadie Tillery. “We consider many personal stories each year, and we wanted to bring a selection of that work to the forefront and view it as a collective.”
McElwee has made nine feature-length documentaries, including Sherman’s March, Time Indefinite, and Bright Leaves, as well as several shorter films. He received the Festival’s Career Award in 2007. McElwee has been teaching filmmaking at Harvard University since 1986.
The Festival will also honor filmmaker Stanley Nelson with the annual Full Frame Tribute. Nelson’s work includes the critically acclaimed films Freedom Riders, Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, Wounded Knee, and The Murder of Emmett Till, among many others. An Emmy-winning MacArthur Fellow, Nelson is cofounder and Executive Director of Firelight Media, which provides technical education and professional support to emerging documentarians, and cofounder of the documentary production company, Firelight Films.
“Stanley Nelson is an incredible filmmaker, and it’s been a privilege to showcase his films over the years,” said Tillery. “We not only look forward to screening a selection of his work during the Festival, but also spotlighting the significant ways in which he supports and encourages up-and-coming filmmakers through Firelight Media. We’re excited that he will be joining us in Durham.”
Specific titles for the Thematic Program and Full Frame Tribute, along with attending guests, will be announced in March.
The 15th Annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will be held April 12-15, 2012, in Durham, North Carolina. Festival passes can be purchased online at fullframefest.org.