True/False Films

CLOSING NIGHT FILM: Man on Wire

In person: director James Marsh.

The French acrobat Philippe Petit thrilled the world in 1974 when, after months of spying and planning, he snuck to the top of the World Trade Center, strung a high wire from the corner of one of the Twin Towers to the other, and performed the world's greatest high wire walk. For the serious-minded, acrobatics might seem a frivolous pursuit. But raise the stakes to 1,300 feet above New York City's cold, hard pavement, and circus stunts become a matter of life — as in the kind that's lived to its fullest — and death. In revisiting Petit's story, director James Marsh (Wisconsin Death Trip, The King) has constructed a gorgeous, innovative, nail-biting and operatic celebration of free spirits. Man on Wire combines home movies, interviews, snippets of heist films and an editing rhythm that echoes Petit's own sense of wonder and adventure. This uplifting documentary was the deserving winner of Sundance's Grand Jury and Audience Awards. (JS)

Man on Wire, our closing night film, is this year's main event, and it's in Columbia's colossus of theaters, Jesse Auditorium, on the MU campus. The pre-show starts at 6pm with appetizers cooked up by Addison's, washed down with Schlafly beer and Domaine Chandon wine. Then after the film and a Q&A with director James Marsh, we invite you to the Buskers' Last Stand, a T/F tradition which brings together many of our visiting musicians for one last join-hands finale in the lobby of Jesse, again accompanied by drinks. After that we'll head up Ninth Street to catch They Might Be Giants at the Blue Note and bring the fest to a rocking close.