"Thank you" is a bit of a cliché, don't you think? What we shared last weekend was extraordinary, and so just saying thanks seems a little flat for the richness of what we're feeling. The True/False Film Festival didn't spring from a vacuum — or our little office in T/F Towers — it emerged from hundreds and thousands of people who have given of themselves to make our town a better, more attractive, friendlier place. T/F shared this collective desire to make downtown Columbia more of a destination and to spotlight our shared bounty as a community.

But this last weekend far transcended all of our imaginings — what came together was a rich expression of many of our shared ideals and good feelings for each other. It was magic. Filmmakers came from Copenhagen and Cameroon, from Stockholm and Beijing, from London, Rome, Seattle (and so many other places) and said, "Wow! What an amazing festival, what an amazing town." They were not talking about our airport, our ever-growing collection of Super Wal-Marts, our subdivisions stretching to the river.

What they were picking up on was the spirit in our downtown, 15 years after it bottomed out in the late '80s. Fifteen years of concerted efforts have made much headway to making this a distinctive, people-oriented place, and one which national chains can't destroy any time soon. Columbia is truly a gem, and one that we need to defend. True/False expresses our fierce localism — what we have here is sufficient — and intense globalism — we are better because we are exposed to ideas from around the world. T/F 2006 was a meaningful and fun party that came off without a hitch (Ok, with very few hitches) and it was due to so many people and businesses that we hesitate to start a list. But here goes:

1. The almost 200 volunteers who donated their time to make things run smoothly
2. The more than 50 sponsors who gave money and other resources to allow us to make this a world-class event.
3. Our unpaid (or barely paid) staff who managed to translate the blithering details into something that made sense.
4. The many venues — including the Missouri Theatre, the Blue Note, the Ragtag Cinema, the Cherry St. Artisan, and the Tiger Hotel — that opened their doors wide.
5. The many downtown restaurants of downtown, headlined by Sycamore, which prepared a beautiful feast for filmmakers and patrons on Saturday night.
6. The 50+ filmmakers who put their busy schedules on hold to be with us.
7. The 30+ musicians who played in theaters, alleys, lobbies, buses, and livestock barns

We could go on, but there'd be no time to prepare for next time. See you next February!

Paul and David, T/F HQ

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