April 2-5 I attended Full Frame in Durham with a pass for the third year in a row and my second year as a volunteer on the Artist Hospitality team. Full Frame is considered to be the top documentary film festival in North America, and each year some of the top filmmakers in the world travel to Durham to show their work. This year there were 59 new films in competition, 7 films as part of the Career Award series presented this year to St. Clair Bourne, 20 films in the non-competition Special Programming category, and 9 films in a sports movies series curated by Hoop Dreams director Steve James. Below I have listed what I was able to attend, along with a brief synopsis from the festival guide. You can look most of them up on IMDB or just Google them.

My Favorites:

Burma VJ - Reporting From A Closed Country- This riveting film shows how activists in Myanmar use camcorders to document the brutality of the military regime, smuggling the footage out of the country in the hopes of an international outcry. 85 minutes, directed by Anders Ostergaard. In competition - WINNER, Grand Jury Award, WINNER, Center for Documentary Studies Award, WINNER, Full Frame/Working Films Award.

Supermen of Malegaon- Documenting a localized remake of Superman in economically depressed Malegaon, India, this film captures a very particular example of the primal fun of movies around the world. 52 minutes, directed by Faiza Ahmad Khan. In competition.

Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech- A compelling story about the First Amendment's past and future shown with several gripping case studies about the limits of free speech in today's America. 74 minutes, directed by Liz Garbus. In competition - WINNER, Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights.

Utopia, Part 3: The World's Largest Shopping Mall- A monument to consumerism, the South China Mall is missing two important pieces: stores and shoppers. 13 minutes, directed by Sam Green and Carrie Lozano. In competition.

Other Things I Saw:

Voices From El-Sayed- The Israeli village of El-Sayed is home to the largest population of deaf people in the world, but how will a community in which deafness is only natural respond when one young boy receives a cochlear implant? 75 minutes, directed by Oded Adomi Leshem. In competition - WINNER, Charles E. Guggenheim Emerging Artist Award.

Art & Copy- Where's the Beef? Got Milk? Just Do It. Here are the creative people behind our most iconic ads. 86 minutes, directed by Doug Pray. In competition.

Camp Diaries- A chilling reminder of what fear can do to democracy, this film juxtaposes World War II-era US propaganda films with Dorothea Lange's subtly subversive photographs of the puzzled and demoralized inmates of the Japanese internment camps. 15 minutes, directed by William Noland. In competition.

California Company Town- Combining contemporary and archival footage, this haunting film unfolds as a series of portraits of abandoned company towns, where the mishmash of kitsch, cultural detritus, and natural majesty reveals the lost promise of the United States' frontier. 77 minutes, directed by Lee Anne Schmitt. In competition - HONORABLE MENTION, HBO Emerging Filmmaker Award

Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait- Part experimental film, part subversive biography, part installation piece, and part sporting event, this film transports the viewer into the mythical zone that elite athletes at the top of their game inhabit. 90 minutes, directed by Philippe Parreno and Douglas Gordon (2006). Part of the "This Sporting Life" sports films series.

I Bring What I Love: Youssou Ndour- An enthralling representation of the Senegalese singer Youssou Ndour and the many facets of faith and culture that continue to influence his cherished voice. 102 minutes, directed by Chai Vasarhelyi. In competition.

Garrett Scott Grant- The Garret Scott Grant is given to two first time filmmakers to help with their film and allow them to attend the festival. Ten minute excerpts from each of the two works in progress were shown and followed up with a Q&A session.

Slap Shot- Paul Newman has the time of his life playing an aging hockey player-coach concocting outrageous schemes to save his team from the economic collapse afflicting their hometown. Fictional narrative (1977), 123 minutes, directed by George Roy Hill. Part of the "This Sporting Life" sports film series.