Stronger Than Fiction 2022

More than a year in the making, these 16 films are the work of undergraduate students in the Documentary Journalism Program at the Jonathan B. Murray Center for Documentary Journalism at the Missouri School of Journalism.

The subject matter of each film below is the personal choice of its director, approved by a panel of documentary experts and guided by visiting artists, faculty and peers. The directors were given a great deal of editorial and creative control over their films, nudged in the right direction by those they trusted the most.

This year’s festival once again takes place in the historic Missouri Theatre, a 1920s movie palace ideal for watching the films on the big screen. The festival happens on Thursday, May 12 with films screening at 1 pm, 4 pm and 7 pm. The online festival runs for one week here on MethodMFilms.com, from May 13 to May 19.

This is the sixth annual Stronger Than Fiction Film Festival once again shows how directors can take their films in many different directions to define their own approaches to what makes a good documentary. The films represent the visions of sixteen talented people poised to begin some impressive careers. Enjoy catching them as they begin their professional climbs.

-Robert Greene, Filmmaker-in-Chief
-Stacey Woelfel, Director

Festival Jury

Chloe Gbai is an Emmy-nominated producer and creative exec on the Original Documentary Films team at Netflix. She joined Netflix from IF/Then Shorts at Field of Vision, a program that identifies and supports original, standalone short documentaries made by filmmakers working in and representing their communities. Previously, as the POV Shorts and Streaming Producer, she launched POV Shorts, which in its first season earned a documentary short Oscar nomination, two Emmy nominations, and an IDA Awards nomination for Best Short Form Series. She is a proud member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia, a 2020 Impact Partners Producing Fellow, a DOC NYC New Leader, and a member-in-residence of the Meerkat Media Collective.

Eric Hynes is a New York-based film critic and reporter, as well as Curator of Film at Museum of the Moving Image. He has written for the New York Times, Film Comment, Rolling Stone, IndieWire, Slate, the Village Voice, and Time Out New York. Since 2004 he has been a staff writer for the online film journal Reverse Shot, where he’s also the host and co-producer of the Reverse Shot Talkies video series.

RaMell Ross is a visual artist, filmmaker, writer, and liberated documentarian. His work has appeared in places like Aperture; Hammer Museum; Institute of Contemporary Arts, London; Museum of Modern Art; National Gallery of Art; and Walker Art Center. He has been awarded an Aaron Siskind Foundation Individual Photographer’s Fellowship and was a 2020 USA Artist Fellow. His feature experimental documentary Hale County This Morning, This Evening won a Special Jury Award for Creative Vision at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and 2020 Peabody Award. It was nominated for an Oscar at the 91st Academy Awards and an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Film. RaMell holds degrees in Sociology and English from Georgetown University and is an associate professor in Brown University’s Visual Art Department. He is currently a visiting professor at Princeton University. His work is in various public and private collections.

Films

Accept & Embrace

dir. Cameron Geeding

In a Central Florida retirement park, the residents of Buttonwood Bay navigate tropical storms and an ever-aging population as they act in defiance of what seems to always linger over them: death. Here lives Noreen and her sister Sharon as they spend the remainder of their idyllic lives in this tight-knit community of merriment. Accept & Embrace demonstrates the process of transitioning from an observational to reflexive style as the filmmaker is forced to confront his relation to the film’s central participant, his grandmother, and how the nature of his photography might intrude on this community of wisdom and embracement. 

Behind the Scenes

dir. Eric Gershilevich

Take a look through the lens of student filmmakers in Columbia, Missouri as they struggle to make their visions come to life, whether that be an exploration of their culture or a thriller about a serial killer roommate, all amidst limited resources and a limitless amount of heart.

The Best Part

dir. Kyndall Hubbard

An attempt to continue a project undertaken a decade in the past, this film illustrates the unique struggle within African American families to record and unearth their histories through the filmmaker’s own endeavors to learn more about her grandmother’s early life. A home video interview recorded more than 10 years ago serves as a starting point for the journey and provides a glimpse into a not-so distant past. The result is a tribute to stories lost to time that highlights the widespread failure to adequately preserve and acknowledge Black history in the U.S. - WINNER, BEST DIRECTOR (KYNDALL HUBBARD)

The Bus in the Woods

dir. Joel Feldmann

Tucked away in the Ozark Mountains, Branson, Missouri has become a tourism haven for the state of Missouri due to its entertainment theaters and other attractions. The filmmaker’s grandparents, Pete and Victoria Dunn, saw potential in this town and thought they could capitalize by buying a piece of property that could be enjoyed for summer vacations and eventually turn a profit. This is the journey the filmmaker takes to discover the history of Branson and what The Bus in the Woods means to his grandparents decades later.     

Carrie in Control

dir. Barb Kuensting

Faced with unaccepting parents and the trauma from a tumultuous childhood in the Catholic Church, 22-year-old Carrie is at an identity crossroads. When her exotic dancing days end abruptly, she’s forced to reckon with her reality and question the chains she’s worn her entire life. Her only consistency, animals, are a symbol of hope – but even they are struggling at the hands of those above them. Will she find the strength to stand up for herself and those she loves, or will the comfort of the pain lure her in longer? - WINNER, STACEY WOELFEL AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE JOURNALISM

The Fifty-Five Million Dollar Junkyard

dir. Wesley Ward

It cost $55 million to protect the town of Valley Park, Missouri from seasonal flooding, but some would question what in that town is worth protecting. One man recounts his fourteen years as a resident and two years as a member of its government. - WINNER, BEST FILM

Fonteece

dir. Ray Jude Tubbs

Fonteece follows the life and times of the Peter Fonteece, an incredibly prolific video maker that nobody has ever heard of. Over the course of twelve years, Fonteece has uploaded more than 7,000 short videos across countless sharing platforms. During this time, he's crafted a bizarre aesthetic that remains compelling despite its amateur style and dubiously-sourced content. Fonteece has persisted in this endeavor regardless of the fact that nobody seems to pay his art any mind - until now.

I’ve Never Been in a Fight

dir. Andrew Moore

Have you ever been in a fight? Even thrown a punch? Because Andrew never has. His mom raised him as a pacifist, and she would like to keep it that way. But deep down, Andrew has a question: how much can he know about himself if he’s never been punched in the face? More importantly: how much can he know about his mom, the woman that has sacrificed so much for him, if he’s never fought for anything?

Man at Work

dir. Cleo Norman

Man at Work follows a day in the life of the filmmaker’s father. Ebby Norman has owned and operated his bike shop, Pro-Velo, for almost 20 years. And he has no plans of stopping. At the bike shop, he is surrounded by conversation in the barber shop-like environment that has been created there. But as old memories and breaking news swirl around him, he stays focused on his craft. Man at Work relishes in Ebby’s humble memories, recalling all the reasons that he has found himself in this special place. In the cluttered spaces, Ebby finds moments of reflection and accountability, and reminds us that we are all constantly at work on our craft and the relationships that make up our daily life, while also constantly at work on ourselves.

Mavericks

dir. Mark Powers

Mavericks brings the audience to Volcanoes Stadium in Salem, Oregon to meet a quirky cast of characters who inhabit the ballpark during the Mavericks League’s inaugural season. Each group of characters reveals a different side of the community that gathers on the weekend to celebrate America’s pastime. The film revels in the unique moments in time created by the interactions of normal people with a rolling camera that expects nothing from them. In a society of individualism, these Americans find community in their shared love for baseball. 

Me and Eric on a Road Trip

dir. Nathan Gregg

Road trips can put a strain on any relationship. What happens when you take a road trip with someone you haven’t spoken to in ten years? Eric was a childhood best friend to the filmmaker. They spent every summer, weekend, and recess together. While relationships like this shape who we become, they often fade with time. Are they meant to? Me & Eric on a Road Trip is a nonfiction buddy comedy that tries to answer this question.

More than Dance

dir. Jaclyn Berry

After 40 years of business, a small dance studio led by a mother-daughter duo fosters more than a love for dance. In a post-pandemic world, the pair must fight to keep the music on.

On Board

dir. Taylor Gion

In a boy-dominated sport, members of an all-girl skate crew carve their names into hometown history. Lauridsen Skate Park, located in Des Moines, Iowa, is the largest skate park in the nation and home to the Subsect Kids Skate Crew. On Board follows Luca, Mina, and Azra as they navigate adolescence while learning to skate. This lighthearted portrait of childhood invites viewers to reminisce as they view this lively world through the eyes of three girls.

Temporarily Closed

dir. Joe Cross

As teenagers, three best friends went to a filmmaking camp at a dying mall in Dallas where they learned how to make lo-fi short films that were often incomprehensible to anyone but them. The final year they attended, the mall owners had commissioned a commercial from the campers in a rebranding effort. Years later, the mall has closed and one of them isn’t sure if they want to make movies anymore. Temporarily Closed asks if these things are related while examining what happens when the creative process suddenly grinds to a halt.

Werm

dir. Ethan Heinz

In the shadows of the looming Chicago skyline, a man crept through the night, turning train cars, brick walls, and bridges into his own personal art gallery. From an early age, Werm became addicted to the thrill of his midnight missions, turning blank walls into colorful canvases for other artists or an occasional pedestrian to enjoy. Considered a vandal, considered an artist, Werm is a story of triumph and tribulation. A man who has risen up through adversities to create an empire, starting from the bottom and rising to the top.

Meet the Class of 2022