An emphasis on the South

In honor of its North Carolinian roots, Full Frame will feature five films with Southern themes. Three of these films are included in the Southern Sidebar, a Full Frame tradition of revisiting documentaries set in the South or directed by Southerners. This year's sidebar will discuss southern politics through the century. Ken Burns' 1985 film Huey Long tells the story of a corrupt but fascinating politician who gained near-dictatorial power by championing the poor in the poverty-stricken state of Louisiana. Paul Stekler's The Last Man Standing follows two hotly contested 2002 elections in the home state of George W. Bush. Rounding out the Southern theme, David Grubin's LBJ chronicles the fascinating political career of a true Southerner turned American president. 

Two other films with Southern themes happen to be set in North Carolina. Tobacco Money Feeds My Family, a film in competition, tells the story of three farmers battling a changing industry and uncooperative landscape. Beyond simply being set in the South, this film addresses the unique challenges facing Southerners in the face of a newly globalized and modernized industry.  

An invited film, Where Do You Stand? Stories from an American Mill, shows the same struggle from a different perspective: that of workers battling unfair conditions in a notoriously anti-union area of the country. Stand is set in Kannapolis, N.C., against the backdrop of the faltering textile industry. The unionization of Canon mills came after twenty-five years of struggle and represented the largest union victory in a non-public Southern industry. Filmmaker Alexandra Lescaze described her film as an effort to show that "the right to unionize exists on paper, but in practice it's very different." Mill chronicles the struggle of pro-union workers as they are threatened and abused by a company where loyalty, although touted as the number one value, is frequently one-sided.