What True/False Film Fest does

True/False Film Fest is a non-profit annual documentary film festival operated by Ragtag Film Society, a charitable arts organization based in Columbia, Missouri. Founded circa 2003-2004, the festival reached its 23rd edition in 2026, screening curated documentary features and shorts selected from approximately 1,500 global submissions each year. The 2026 edition (March 5-8) featured 62 films including 21 world premieres, 3 U.S. premieres, and 4 North American premieres, with programming integrating live music performances, art installations, and educational events into the four-day format. The festival extends beyond its annual dates through the parent organization's year-round Ragtag Cinema, an arthouse cinema in Columbia providing continuous film programming between festivals. No proprietary technology stack is used; operations rely on third-party tools including Agileticketing.net for ticketing and Shopify for merchandise.

The organization operates a portfolio of branded sub-programs addressing different facets of the documentary ecosystem. Educational and filmmaker development offerings include Camp True/False (youth film education), Rough Cut Retreat (post-production support for documentary filmmakers), Confluence Fellowship (emerging filmmaker fellowship), and True Vision Award (annual recognition). Additional programs include True Life Fund, Gimme Truth! (short film competition), and Show Me True/False (regional showcase). Distribution channels comprise a Super Passholder premium membership program, walk-up box office during festival dates, and online ticketing. Merchandise is sold through a Shopify online store. Revenue derives from four streams: ticket and pass sales, multi-tier corporate sponsorships (including Simmons Bank and Sager-Reeves Gallery), charitable donations through the nonprofit structure, and merchandise sales. Institutional funding support comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, Missouri Arts Council, and the University of Missouri's Murray Center for Documentary Journalism. The True/False name and logo are registered trademarks.

Leadership was restructured in 2024 with two principal appointments: Andrea Luque Káram as Executive Director of Ragtag Film Society and Farihah Zaman as Artistic Director of True/False. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Yance Ford served as Visiting Artistic Director for the 2026 edition. The organization is actively hiring a Marketing and Communications Director, signaling organizational scaling. Online presence spans Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, and Vimeo, with email subscriptions managed through Wordfly. Headcount is in the 11-50 band and the organization is privately held as a nonprofit with no parent company.

Name

True/False Film Fest

Legal name

Ragtag Film Society

Website

https://truefalse.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

True/False Film Fest is a non-profit annual documentary film festival operated by Ragtag Film Society in Columbia, Missouri. Founded circa 2003-2004, its 23rd edition (2026) screens curated documentaries alongside music and art programming, supported by year-round Ragtag Cinema and multi-stage filmmaker development programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Documentary Film Festival Events

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Exhibition (51213)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture Theaters (7830)

akta.pro primary industry

Film Festivals & Festival Organizers (MPADAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Special Event Screenings & Pop-up Cinemas (MPADAKAE)

Keywords

• Documentary film festival
• Film festival events
• Arthouse cinema programming
• Filmmaker fellowship programs
• Arts education initiatives

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ticket and Pass Sales: Festival passes and individual tickets for film screenings, music performances, and art events
2. Sponsorships: Corporate sponsorship program with multiple sponsorship tiers
3. Donations: Charitable donations through Ragtag Film Society nonprofit structure
4. Merchandise: Online merchandise store (T-shirts and other items)

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

True/False Film Fest is an annual documentary film festival held each March in Columbia, Missouri, curating world, U.S., and North American premieres from roughly 1,500 global submissions alongside live music performances, art installations, and educational programs such as Rough Cut Retreat and Confluence Fellowship. It is presented by the nonprofit Ragtag Film Society, which also operates Ragtag Cinema, a year-round arthouse cinema, and runs supporting initiatives including filmmaker fellowships, an education camp, and a merchandise store.

Product overview

True/False Film Fest is a single annual documentary film festival, not a platform-plus-modules product. The core offering is the annual festival itself, presented by parent nonprofit Ragtag Film Society, which also operates the year-round Ragtag Cinema. The festival portfolio includes the main multi-day film festival event featuring screenings of submitted and curated documentaries across various premiere categories, complemented by supporting programs including educational initiatives (Camp True/False), filmmaker support (Rough Cut Retreat, Confluence Fellowship), award programs (True Vision Award), special screenings (True Life Fund, Gimme Truth!, Show Me True/False), and ticket/pass offerings. Additionally, merchandise is available through an online store.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ragtag Cinema: Columbia's Year-Round Arthouse Cinema, a project of Ragtag Film Society
• Camp True/False
• Rough Cut Retreat
• Confluence Fellowship
• True Life Fund
• True Vision Award
• Show Me True/False

Products and services

• True/False Film Fest Annual multi-day documentary film festival held in Columbia, Missouri, featuring world premieres, U.S. premieres, and North American premieres among selected features and shorts submitted by global documentary filmmakers. Includes film screenings, music performances, art installations, and special events for culturally engaged audiences.
• Ragtag Cinema Year-round arthouse cinema in Columbia, Missouri, operated by Ragtag Film Society, providing continuous curated film programming outside the annual True/False festival dates for culturally engaged audiences.
• Rough Cut Retreat Filmmaker support program providing dedicated resources and time for documentary filmmakers to develop and complete their rough-cut projects, supporting independent documentary creation.
• Confluence Fellowship Fellowship program supporting emerging documentary filmmakers, providing resources and mentorship as part of the festival's filmmaker development ecosystem.
• Camp True/False Educational program for young people associated with the festival, providing film education and hands-on filmmaking experience for youth attendees.
• Festival Passes Tiered pass offerings including Super Passholder status, providing access to screenings, events, and programming throughout the festival for individual attendees and dedicated supporters.
• Merchandise Store Official online merchandise store selling True/False Film Fest branded items including t-shirts and other festival-related goods through the Shopify e-commerce platform.
• Corporate Sponsorship Program Multi-tier corporate sponsorship program enabling businesses and arts funders to financially support the festival in exchange for brand visibility and association with the culturally prestigious event.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2026 festival featured 62 features and shorts from approximately 1,500 global submissions

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Ragtag Film SocietycoreOthersNonprofit organization that operates both Ragtag Cinema (year-round arthouse cinema) and True/False Film Fest. The festival is presented by Ragtag Film Society.
• Missouri Arts CouncilsupportingOthersArts funding organization listed as a supporter of True/False Film Fest
• National Endowment for the ArtssupportingOthersFederal arts funding agency listed as a supporter of True/False Film Fest
• University of MissourisupportingOthersUniversity of Missouri Murray Center for Documentary Journalism listed as supporter

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DOC NYC: America's largest documentary festival held annually in New York City. Direct peer in documentary focus and industry programming, though it operates in a major media market with broader geographic draw.
• Camden International Film Festival (Points North Institute): A small-scale documentary festival in Camden, Maine, with a strong filmmaker fellowship program. Highly comparable to True/False in size, documentary-only mission, and emphasis on filmmaker development initiatives.
• Sheffield DocFest: UK-based documentary and nonfiction festival with industry market and talent development programs. Direct peer in documentary genre, though based in a different geography and operating at larger scale.
• Full Frame Documentary Film Festival: A long-running annual documentary film festival held in Durham, North Carolina, focused exclusively on nonfiction cinema. Direct peer to True/False: similarly sized, documentary-only mission, with comparable educational and filmmaker-development programming.
• Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival: North America's largest documentary-focused festival, held annually in Toronto. Direct peer in genre (documentary-only) with industry programs, though significantly larger in scale and budget than True/False.

Broad incumbents

• Tribeca Festival: A major New York-based film festival with documentary programming and music/art components. Comparable multi-disciplinary format, but operating at a much larger scale with stronger brand recognition.
• Sundance Film Festival: The most recognized US film festival, with a prominent documentary section and filmmaker lab programs. Comparable in curating and launching documentaries, but vastly larger and operating in a destination media market.
• IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam): The world's leading documentary festival, operating a major industry market and talent programs. Comparable in documentary focus and industry-development orientation, but vastly larger in scope, budget, and international reach.

Others

• Ragtag Cinema (sister venue): The year-round arthouse cinema operated by the same parent nonprofit (Ragtag Film Society) that presents True/False. While operationally integrated rather than a competitor, it represents the year-round programming model comparable to other nonprofit art-house cinema operators.

Regional players

• Independent Film Society of Boston (Independent Film Festival Boston): A mid-sized US independent film festival with educational and filmmaker support programming. Comparable in regional, education-anchored model to True/False, though broader than documentary-only and serving a different region.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/truefalse
• YouTubevimeo.com/user1991225
• Facebookfacebook.com/truefalsefilmfest
• Instagraminstagram.com/truefalsefilmfest
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/true-false-documentary-film-festival

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about True/False Film Fest