SHOW ME TRUE/FALSE

TRUE VISION AWARD

2022 RECIPIENT: JUAN PABLO GONZÁLEZ

Juan Pablo González will receive this year’s True Vision Award in honor of his achievements in and contributions to the field of nonfiction filmmaking. His latest film, Dos Estaciones, will screen at the festival in addition to his feature debut, Caballerango, and one of his short films, "Las Nubes." As part of the award, González was invited to present a screening of a film that influenced his approach to filmmaking, and he chose Canoa: A Shameful Memory (Dir. Felipe Cazals). Juan Pablo González was born in Atotonilco el Alto, Jalisco, Mexico; and his home region has become the focus of his filmmaking practice, acting as the location for all of his work to date. As a filmmaker, he seeks to reclaim the medium to counter colonial narratives and center the voices of rural Mexico—building alternative histories to those who seek to frame its communities as being locked in stasis or as victims of circumstance. González’s work spans fiction and nonfiction, and he often collaborates with people from his life to reflect their own realities on screen. His films seek to explore community, grief, globalization, and the changing nature of Jalisco as a place. All of his work shares a beautifully cinematic aesthetic, and, with a patient lens and care for his subjects, González’s commitment to telling these stories is clear in every frame. His newest film, Dos Estaciones, saw him work with a cast of local nonprofessional actors to tell the story of a strong-willed owner of a tequila factory in the Jalisco Highlands fighting to save her business from encroaching foreign corporations. In Caballerango (T/F 2019), González crafts a quietly devastating portrait of grief in a rural Mexican town, and "Las Nubes" (T/F 2018) unfolds in a single take as a man recalls the memory of the last time he saw his daughter. The award is given with support from Dr. Timothy McGarity of Restoration Eye Care. The award is designed by local metal artist Michael Marcum.

PRESENTED BY

02

DOS ESTACIONES

A: THURSDAY, MAR 3 / 7PM / RHYNSBURGER // B: SATURDAY, MAR 5 / 7:15PM / MISSOURI THEATRE // C: SUNDAY, MAR 6 / 12PM / WILLY WILSON

Dir. Juan Pablo González; 2022; 99 min. Q&A with director Juan Pablo González

The Dos Estaciones tequila factory in Atotonilco el Alto is struggling to keep its doors open. Faced with a plague decimating the agave plant essential to the artisanal production process and with foreign competitors breathing down her neck, the factory’s owner, María García, refuses to go down without a fight. A stoic figure at the heart of the community, her pride precludes her from accepting any help until she meets a young woman, Rafaela. A slow-burning tension builds between the women as the extent of the factory’s trouble is slowly revealed. Sublimely composed static shots allow their interactions to unfold, and subtext is revealed through subtle gestures and loaded glances. Lead actress Teresa Sánchez is supported by a cast of non-actors from the region playing fictionalized versions of themselves to embody this story of globalization and the changing landscape of Jalisco. (CT)

SHOW ME TRUE/FALSE

2022 SELECTION: LET THE LITTLE LIGHT SHINE

The annual Show Me True/False screening creates a space at the Fest for communitywide conversation around a film that reflects both the challenges and dreams of our own community. This program serves to recognize the fact that True/False would not be what it is without the community that hosts it and is designed to honor local partners and offer Columbia residents who have never attended an opportunity to experience the joys of the Fest. Piloted with a sold-out screening of Summer of Soul followed by a Q&A with Dir. Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Show Me T/F is part of the year-round Show Me Series—a key part of Ragtag Film Society’s audience development and community engagement initiatives. At every screening in the program, the conversations take audiences beyond content to interrogate form and intention and weave historical contexts with the here and now. In this year’s selection, director Kevin Shaw chronicles a Chicago community’s fight to save its elementary school from gentrification. Let the Little Light Shine embodies the Show Me spirit in its powerful depiction of historically underrepresented communities taking collective action and advocating for the community’s needs. Following the Saturday screening of Let the Little Light Shine, there will be an extended Q&A with the filmmakers and subjects of the film. In an effort to remove barriers to entry and move our collective pendulum closer to equity, inclusion, and unity, single tickets for the Show Me T/F screening are offered at a discounted rate of $5 and can be purchased at the Box Office, online, or via the Q.

The Show Me Series is made possible by a partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council and with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as a grant from the Gannett Foundation, part of the USA TODAY Network.