Full Frame Film Festival begins in only a few weeks. Folks from all over the world will descend upon Durham, NC, to appreciate all that documentary films offer, accompanied by a side of Southern hospitality. Known for its cozy atmosphere, audience Q & As, and abundant opportunities to interact with filmmakers, Full Frame is an unbeatable experience that's right in my hometown. You never know who you will end up in line behind or seated next to. The first year I attended, I was seated next to a group of four ladies who have been making the annual trek from New York for years. A few hours later, I was chatting with Amanda Moss, the director of the opening night film that year. At Full Frame, you meet curious minds who want to be confronted with real stories that range from inspirational to enraging to the absurd.
The film festival takes place from April 16-19, 2026, at venues all in walking distance from the Durham Convention Center. This year's program includes 49 films, with some being eligible for prizes. Fifteen films chosen by filmmaker Robert Greene (PROCESSION, A BISBEE '17 SHORT FILM) comprise this year's thematic program: "Extremely Rich Theater: Staging, Performance, Elasticity in American Nonfiction Film." The theme explores staged experiences and how they can help viewers the find the truth. Filmmaker Dawn Porter is also being honored in the Full Frame Tribute program.
You can purchase passes or individual tickets at the website.
Without further ado, here’s ten films I’m hoping to see at Full Frame.
AMERICAN DOCTOR, directed by Poh Si Teng
Description from Full Frame: As bombs fall and hospitals become targets, three U.S. physicians volunteer to provide medical aid in Gaza. Each doctor brings a different background, temperament, and relationship to the conflict, yet all three are bound by the same moral imperative—to save as many lives as they can.Why I’m interested: I'm heartened by the concept of a film that shows people of different backgrounds - Palestinian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian - working together to save lives. The current cultural narrative wants us to believe that collaboration isn't possible across differences, but people like these doctors offer hope and a compelling alternative. Since Gaza bans foreign journalists from entering the city, the doctors are also uniquely positioned to offer eyewitness accounts that journalists cannot. I'm imagining this will be a grueling documentary to watch but worth the discomfort.
COOKIE QUEENS, directed by Alysa Nahmias
Description from Full Frame: In this engaging, lighthearted feature, Alysa Nahmias follows four young women, ages 5 to 12, on their quests to be a top-selling “Cookie Queen.” Families get in on the fierce competitive action as the girls track their numbers, devise novel marketing strategies, and push themselves to best their peers.Never too full for a Thin Mint: The competition documentary is a tried-and-true subgenre as we follow selected individuals through the process of trying to be the best at something. It's a stroke of genius for someone to bake such a story about Girl Scout cookies. I've never been a Girl Scout, but I've definitely eaten my share of Thin Mints or Tagalongs. I'm curious what strategies these young minds come up with to meet their goals and look forward to learning what really goes on behind the scenes.
THE COOL WORLD, directed by Shirley Clarke
Description from Full Frame: THE COOL WORLD centers on Duke Curtis, a member of the Harlem youth gang the Royal Pythons, who believes that finally owning a gun will help him achieve success. Directed by Shirley Clarke and produced by Frederick Wiseman in 1963, the film is from a screenplay by Clarke and Carl Lee, based on the novel by Warren Miller.Why I’m interested: Full Frame has selected a narrative feature that includes documentary techniques – untrained actors, unscripted scenes, naturalistic acting. I get the sense that THE COOL WORLD is an early cinematic example of urban fiction, where the city is a character, the story is secondary to the setting, and Black characters have their say, unencumbered by the white gaze. This film is part of Robert Greene's Extremely Rich Theater program.
A FOX UNDER A PINK MOON, directed by Merhdad Oskouei and Soraya Akhlaghi
Description from Full Frame: A FOX UNDER A PINK MOON follows 16-year-old Soraya, an Afghan woman living in Iran, and her repeated attempts to escape the country. The documentary is culled from hours of her own cell phone footage and video conversations with filmmaker Mehrdad Oskouei. Their collaboration sparks confessional moments where Soraya describes abuse at the hands of her husband, longing for her mother in Europe, and the dangers of relying on smugglers to cross borders.Why I’m interested: This is another example where cellphone cameras offer a viable mode for the oppressed to tell their story. Soraya is hoping to escape to Europe, where her mother awaits. As she waits for the right opportunity, she channels her pain and frustration into creating fantastical artwork. The documentary includes animated sequences based on these visions. To see a young woman like Soraya who is refusing to give up and find creative modes of expression will be a joy.
JOYBUBBLES, directed by Rachael J. Morrison
Description from Full Frame: JOYBUBBLES resurrects the singular legacy of Joe Engressia, history’s most unlikely hacker. Born blind and negotiating a lonely, transient childhood, Joe discovered the telephone wasn’t just a household device—it was a lifeline to a world that otherwise felt unwelcoming and inaccessible. By mastering the art of whistling a precise frequency, he bypassed analog networks and subverted the corporate phone monopoly to score free calls, finding purpose, community, and notoriety in the process.Super Phreak: Some people create their own fate. Joe Engressia, known as Joybubbles, was such a person. Dismissed by society for his differences, he used his unique perfect pitch to crack the analog code and make free phone calls. Once the smoke cleared from his arrest (yikes), he then used his talents to reach out and form connections with others – to be for others what was never offered to him. What a remarkable person. We should all be finding what the world lacks and trying to fill in those gaps.
THE LADY BIRD DIARIES, directed by Dawn Porter
Description from Full Frame: For THE LADY BIRD DIARIES, director Dawn Porter drew from 123 hours of surprisingly intimate audio recorded by Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Johnson during her years as first lady. The diaries begin as her husband, Lyndon B. Johnson, becomes president in the harrowing hours following JFK’s assassination in November 1963 and end on the family’s final day in the White House in 1969. Told from her point of view, the film reveals Lady Bird to be a more formidable presence than previously credited.Why I’m interested: For every President who has served in the White House, there's a First Lady that's working just as hard and usually with double the poise of her counterpart. For Lady Bird Johnson, I'm sure taking on this role couldn't have been easy. Not only did her husband take the office in the shadow of probably one of the most beloved presidents ever, but her every move was probably equally measured against the iconic Jackie Kennedy. It will be insightful to hear her first hand accounts, edited by Dawn Porter, Full Frame's tribute director for this year.
NOT A PRETTY PICTURE, directed by Martha Coolidge
Description from Full Frame: As a high school student, Martha Coolidge was raped by a classmate while they were on a date with friends in New York City. Years later, to understand what happened to her, Coolidge collaborates with actors to stage the events leading up to, during, and after the assault. Formally inventive, NOT A PRETTY PICTURE deftly shifts between scripted scenes, interviews, and spontaneous discussions to examine the roles of survivor, perpetrator, and bystander and to reckon with the lasting effects of trauma.Why I'm interested: For the past six months or so, I've been working to curate a Top 25 women-directed films list, and Coolidge's REAL GENIUS is one of the nominees. Coolidge is best know for her 80s films, but her first film was this documentary where she reenacts her own sexual assault. She didn't view this as therapeutic for herself; rather, she wanted to spread awareness as to how things can progress from a fun date to unnecessary use of force. This film is part of Robert Greene's Extremely Rich Theater. Interestingly, Greene is best known for the film PROCESSION, where he helps victims of sexual abuse work through their trauma by recreating the scenes where they experienced abuse. These are films which aren't the same but run parallel. I want to honor that a female director did something so innovative in the documentary genre.
PUNISHMENT PARK, directed by Peter Watkins
Description from Full Frame: Set during the Nixon administration, PUNISHMENT PARK depicts a dystopian parallel reality in which detained political dissidents face an obscene decision. After being convicted of their “crimes” in a sham court proceeding, they are offered the choice between life in prison or three days in “Punishment Park,” a desert landscape where armed guards pursue them on foot as they race toward an American flag miles away on the dusty horizon.Why I'm interested: All of Greene's Extremely Rich Theater selections blend fiction and documentary in some fashion. For this film, it's a fake documentary, like a mockumentary but not done for comedic satire. In a setup similar to THE HUNGER GAMES, convicted criminals are given the opportunity to survive for three days in a barren wasteland where people are actively trying to kill them. It looks like an easy exit, but the odds are stacked against them. In the trailer, seeing uniformed officers physically threaten unarmed people seem disturbingly normal in a present where ICE routinely shows up in domestic neighborhoods or restaurants to shove people into cars. I'm sure the discussion will be rich for this one.
SHIFTING BASELINES, directed by Julien Elie and Xi Feng
Description from Full Frame: The South Texas desert town of Starbase, formerly known as Boca Chica, is home to a futuristic colony not unlike Robert Oppenheimer’s Los Alamos atomic enclave. Unlike the Manhattan Project, however, Starbase is also home to transient launch-lovers, space-race pilgrims, and techno-tailgaters, all eager to catch a glimpse of (or a ride on) the next rocket to the stars.Atomic energy: As a lover of all things midcentury, I absolutely need to indulge in seeing a film about a futuristic colony and people dream about that. However, based on the full description, this won't stick with nostalgia and Jetson references. The focus on the future will be interrupted with an examination of how hyper focus on future worlds could be negatively impacting our care for life here on Earth.
WHEN A WITNESS RECANTS, directed by Dawn Porter
Description from Full Frame: In 1983, a 14-year-old boy was shot in the hallway of Harlem Park Junior High in Baltimore. Three 16-yearolds were convicted of the murder, despite limited and problematic evidence, because of the coerced testimony of eyewitnesses, all of them minors. The moment was formative for Ta-Nehisi Coates, who grew up in Baltimore and never forgot how the conviction changed his community. His memories spark Dawn Porter’s powerful examination of the case and the way it impacted the lives of these men who, ultimately exonerated, spent 36 years in prison for a crime they did not commit.Why I'm interested: This is the second Dawn Porter film I'm hoping to see, and it sounds achingly similar to the TV series WHEN THEY SEE US. I'm sure I will end up feeling a similar amount of rage, but these stories need to be told. The amount of injustices the Black community has had to suffer is too large for them to bear alone. We owe it to them to listen to their stories, no matter how difficult. On the Reconciliation Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama, it reads "Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." (Amos 5:24). Justice can't exist in a world where people are wrongfully convicted and locked away in prison 36 years for a crime they didn't commit. We take a tiny step towards reconciliation when we face instances of wrongdoing head on and stop denying or nation's culpability.
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