Photograph courtesy of truefalse.com

Wednesday, the organizers of the True/False Film Fest in Columbia revealed 38 feature films and 19 short films for this year’s festival. The film list includes titles from China, Israel, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Russia and Iran. True/False 2012 promises a variety of nonfiction topics including bullying in schools, fighting AIDS, folksingers and Comic-Con.

On this list, look for the 2012 True Vision Award honoree Victor Kossakovsky and the 2012 True Life Fund Film Bully directed by Lee Hirsch.

True/False co-conspirators chose from nearly 900 films submitted by independent filmmakers. They also went film-scouting to festivals in Toronto, Amsterdam and Utah to find documentaries for this year’s fest.

This year, the fest is expanding to MU. A limited number of discounted tickets to films showing in Jesse Auditorium are available at the Box Office in the MU Student Center. These tickets go on sale Monday, Feb. 20 for students, faculty and staff with a valid MU ID.

Visit truefalse.org for a full 2012 film schedule. For a complete trailer list, go to the True/False 2012 YouTube playlist.

2012 True/False films

• Bully – Directed by Lee Hirsch

Lee Hirsch shows that the most terrifying aspect of middle school is the persistent torment dished out by other students.

• ¡Vivan Las Antipodas! – Directed by Victor Kossakovsky

Director Victor Kossakovsky visits four anitpodal pairs, cities that lie directly opposite from one another if a line is drawn through the center of the Earth.

• 1/2 Revolution – Directed by Omar Shargawi and Karim El Hakim

Two filmmakers seek to capture the Egyptian revolution, but end up part of the process when they are arrested by the secret police.

• Abendland - Directed by Nikolaus Geyrhalter

The cities of Europe come alive after dark.

• Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry – Directed by Alison Klayman

China’s own international artist has been beat up, held in secret detention, had his studio bulldozed and blog shut down for his outspoken art. Klayman paints a detailed portrait of Ai Weiwei and his controversial artwork.

• The Ambassador – Directed by Mads Brügger

A tragic comedy about a white diplomat who goes to central Africa to start a factory that produces matches. He also has his eye on diamond reserves.

• Argentinian Lesson – Directed by Wojciech Staron

A sequel to Staron’s last film The Siberian Lesson follows children of Polish immigrants and focuses on Staron’s son Janek. Janek deals with a new language and makes a friend who helps him through.

• The Belovs – Directed by Victor Kossakovsky

Kossakovsky tells the story of a widow, her brother and the rest of their Russian farm family. It documents their fights, tears and joys in vintage black and white.

• Building Babel – Directed by David Osit

Sharif El-Gamal is the developer behind the New York City Ground Zero Mosque known as Park51. This film shows a year in the life: his struggle against opposition to the mosque as well as his battle with his own religion and identity.

• Canicula – Directed by José Alvarez

Canicula documents the crafts and rituals of the Totonac people in Veracruz’s Zapotal Santa Cruz community.

• Comic‐Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope – Directed by Morgan Spurlock

Spurlock, director of Super-Size Me and The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, takes audiences behind the scenes of San Diego’s annual comic book convention.

• The Connection – Directed by Shirley Clarke

Clarke, a former student at Stephens College, directs the newly restored 1962 film about a group of druggie jazz musicians. In the film, a documentary director sits with the musicians and begs them to be normal for the camera as they wait for their heroin hookup.

• Detropia – Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady

Ewing and Grady take audiences into the lives of the loyal citizens of Detroit and their hopes for their city. This film asks difficult questions about the future of the Motor City.

• Going Up the Stairs – Directed by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami

An illiterate Iranian artist proves you don’t need formal education to feel, understand and paint.

• Gypsy Davy – Directed by Rachel Leah Jones

David Serva Jones leaves behind his Alabama roots to become a flamenco superstar.

• Herman’s House - Directed by Angad Bhalla and Ed Barreveld

Black Panther Herman Wallace has spent more time in solitary confinement than any other inmate in the history of the American prison system. Art student Jackie Surmell asks Wallace what his dream house would look like if he ever left his 6-foot by 9-foot jail cell.

• How to Survive a Plague – Directed by David France

A group of males and females, a majority of whom are HIV-positive, changed the discussion surrounding AIDS with the group ACT UP.

• The Imposter - Directed by Bart Layton

A young Frenchman tries to convince a Texas family he is their son who went missing 3 years ago in this thriller.

• The Island President – Directed by Jon Shenk

Mohamed Nasheed, president of the Maldives, travels the world to try to keep his country from sinking into the ocean due to global warming.

• Low & Clear – Directed by Kahlil Hudson and Tyler Hughen

This visually stunning film tells the story of two fisherman who have completely different views on the sport who decide to take a week-long trip to British Columbia.

• Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present – Directed by Matthew Akers

An art-world icon prepares for a retrospective showing at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

• Me @ The Zoo – Directed by Chris Moukarbel and Valerie Veatch

Chris Crocker rocketed to YouTube fame when he uploaded a video entitled “Leave Britney Alone!” Now, Crocker works in partnership with the company to lead the way of how individuals can interact in online social media.

• Only the Young – Directed by Elizabeth Mims and Jason Tippet

Two male best friends feel their relationship change when one discovers the opposite sex.

• The Queen of Versailles – Directed by Lauren Greenfield

A richy rich Florida family builds a home based on the Palace of Versailles.

• Searching for Sugar Man - Directed by Malik Bendjelloul

The search for singer Sixto Diaz Rodriguez whose music rivaled the Beatles in popularity in 1970s South Africa.

• Secret Screening BLUE

A subculture lurks below one of the biggest industries in America.

• Secret Screening GOLD

An artist deals with a fall from the top.

• Secret Screening GREEN

A metanarrative that tells the story of a pop culture institution from the inside.

• Secret Screening LAVENDER

A community is divided over a harsh and unfair law.

• Secret Screening ORANGE

A small town struggles to survive after the only local industry closes its doors.

• Secret Screening PURPLE

The characters and attractions of a distinct American city.

• Secret Screening RED

The forgotten cities and farms of one of the largest countries in the world.

• Summer of Giacomo – Directed by Alessandro Comodin

An Italian film on the eternal summer.

• These Birds Walk : WIP – Directed by Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq

The story of an orphan home in Pakistan.

• Undefeated - Directed by Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin

In a city where students are as likely to go to jail as college, football coach Bill Courtney hopes to inspire his players to desire more in this Oscar-nominated film.

• V/H/S – Directed by Adam Wingard, Glenn McQuaid, Radio Silence, David Bruckner, Joe Swanberg and Ti West

A group of thieves are hired to steal rare footage, but are met with a pile of VHS tapes, each more horrifying than the next in this fictional thriller.

• The Vanishing Spring Light – Directed by Xun “Fish” Yu

For generations, the residents of the West Street of the World Cultural Heritage Site in Dujiangyan, China have lived the authentic Chinese way of life. Now, the families are being forcibly removed in the name of tourism.

• The Waiting Room – Directed by Peter Nicks

People passing through California hospital waiting rooms tell the story of health care reform and struggling to gain treatment during the economic downturn.

19 Short Films

• Grandpa Looked Like William Powell – Directed by David B. Levy
• Old Man and the Lady – Directed by Markku Heikkinen
• 1989 (When I was 5 Years Old) – Directed by Thor Ochner
• Aaron Burr, Pt. 2 or Aaron Burr, Part 2 – Directed by Dana O’Keefe
• Goodbye, Mandima – Directed by Robert‐Jan Lacombe
• Claes – Directed by Martina Carlstedt
• Where is My Mind? – Directed by Martin Ginestie
• Heart – Directed by Jeremy Zagar
• Four Cubic Feet of Space – Directed by Tony Gault
• Back to Land – Directed by Tijana Petrovic
• The Lion Wearers – Directed by Narges Abyar
• Full‐Time Ministry – Directed by Helen Scheer
• Sunshine – Directed by Doug Nichol
• Family Nightmare – Directed by Dustin Guy Defa
• Into The Middle of Nowhere – Directed by Anna Frances Ewert
• Paraíso – Directed by Nadav Kurtz
• Meaning of Robots – Directed by Matt Lenski
• Love Competition – Directed by Brent Hoff
• Pluto Declaration – Directed by Travis Wilkerson