I’ve live in Columbia Missouri, off and on, since 2003.  In my nearly seven years here I have managed to miss True/False 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009!  That’s pretty despicable if you ask me.  This year, with the help of Laura (@BigRed77) I vowed to make it to at least one film.

True/False started out for me with a wine tasting at Top Ten Wines (@TopTenWines) with Laura.  The wines were delicious, a selection from Latin America, a wine region too often overlooked in a country seemingly obsessed with Australian, New Zealand and South African wines.

I feel I must confess that this picture isn’t exactly from the wine tasting but from a few days earlier.  I just wanted to feature Laura’s husband (@EricCox) in a post, it’s been way too long since we’ve gotten to hang out!

Just before our tasting began, the True/False Film Festival parade broke out.  It’s one of the most unique parades I’ve ever experienced, reminded me a lot of the Houston Art Car Parade. Crazy costumes, grandmas dancing, marching bands marching and artists just doing their art.  So much fun and love and happiness.  Oh, and a side of just weird!

I bumped into my friend Paul shooting as a volunteer for True/False, something else I always forget to do.  Apparently, volunteering not only gets you into the fun after-parties but also a sweet hoodie and access to the films!

Laura and I saw Colony together which investigates the vanishing bees all across America.  The film started out really strong, mixing comedy with the serious ramifications of a bee shortage but began to fall apart towards the end.  Still, a definite recommendation if you can find it for rent somewhere.

After the movie, and a little more time at Top Ten Wines, we caught a late dinner at Sycamore followed by a short stint at The Blue Fugue for some live music.  It was a great evening and a wonderful start of my very first True/False Film Festival.

The next day I wandered around town, shot some photos with my new Nikon 85mm f1.8 lens and just generally enjoyed the wonderful weather gifted to us for the weekend.

I managed to snag tickets to the closing ceremony and film on the last night of the festival.  The film was Last Train Home, a film about the annual migration of Chinese workers back home for Chinese New Year.  It’s the largest migration of people in the world and it happens once a year, every year.  The film was pretty great and will be shown again at SXSW.

However, perhaps the best part of the finale was getting to see a short recap video that the company I work for created.  As a bonus, it turns out a great friend of mine did a large portion of the video!  I was so impressed and pleased to see that they put it on Vimeo so I can share it with you guys right here.  If you’ve never been to Columbia Missouri, here’s a wonderful look at our amazing city.

True/False 2010 Closing Night Video from Boxcar Films on Vimeo.