True Life Fund

The True Life Fund was started in 2007 in order to offer tangible and meaningful assistance to the real-life subjects of a new film. The fund is an acknowledgment that documentary filmmakers and festivals thrive because of the stories given to us by people who are often of limited means. While at this point, we can't raise money for the subjects of every film, we can spotlight one movie each year and raise funds to support and honor those who appear in front of the camera. We do this by actively collaborating with filmmakers, whose intimate knowledge of their "characters" enables us to pinpoint needs and most effectively target our efforts.

In 2007, we worked closely with English director Paul Taylor and producer Teddy Leifer to help buy school supplies for the Children of Agape singing choir of South Africa. More than $8,500 was raised from audience members and from other contributors in our community.

In 2008, the True Life Fund returns for a second year to demonstrate that documentaries create change. We are proud to announce that the 2008 screening will be a sneak preview of Very Young Girls (dir. David Schisgall, 2007, 83 min.) about teenage girls in New York pressed into a life of prostitution. After each screening on Saturday, March 1, there will be a Q&A with director David Schisgall, GEMS (Girls Educational & Mentoring Services) founder Rachel Lloyd, and GEMS participant Carolina Cruz.

In partnership with Schisgall and Lloyd, T/F is raising awareness and support for these girls recovering from the trauma of sexual exploitation, after spending their teenage years being recruited and brainwashed by predatory pimps, bought and sold on the street, and sent to jail. GEMS, which operates on a shoestring budget, is the only survivor-led organization in New York that offers services to sexually exploited girls. Lloyd rescued herself from sexual exploitation, and she and her staff are unrelenting in their mission to help girls get their lives back on track.

Very Young Girls shows clearly that with the average age of entry into prostitution in the United States at thirteen, sexual exploitation is simply a commercial form of child sexual abuse, the effect of which can continue into adulthood. T/F hopes that Very Young Girls will inspire social change and provide hope and positive role models for vulnerable young women in our community by highlighting and raising support for the work of Rachel Lloyd and her colleagues at GEMS. To that end, the festival invites the general public to attend the viewings of the film as well as support the work of GEMS.

Thanks for helping us support Girls Educational & Mentoring Service, the second recipient of the True Life Fund.

"The True/False 2007 True Life Fund has been instrumental in helping us with our campaign, which generates funds to help provide access to education for orphans and disadvantaged children in South Africa. We have been operating an education program that has been supporting 39 children for over a year. All the money that we raise goes into our education trust fund and from this, each month, we directly pay the school fees for all the children whom live at the Agape orphanage. The money from the True Life Fund went straight into this pot.

"Our program enables the children to attend a much better school and also ensures that they receive a tutor to help provide the encouragement and support that they would normally have received from their parents. A tutor goes to the Agape orphanage for three hours every day and the children's grades have significantly improved since the program began. For many of the children, school was disrupted when their parents became sick and as a result they are in need of catching up. This holistic approach ensures that the children not only receive a full and thorough education, but are also instilled with personal ambition and a hope for the future.

"The True Life Fund raised over $8,000 for our charity and we were incredibly moved by the generosity of the people of Columbia. Not only is True/False a sensational film festival (and probably more fun than any other festival out there) but the True Life Fund demonstrates why it's years ahead of the game. We'd like to thank Paul Sturtz, David Wilson and the whole True/False team for their compassion, creativity and for their friendship towards the children of Agape."

Teddy Leifer