One of the cultural legacies bequeathed by the now defunct Bush era is the involuntary stimulus toward the renewal of the documentary with a cause. Perhaps since the heyday of the Cold War (1945-1989) in the 1960’s, never has kino-fist cinema mobilized so many hearts and minds.

A new era begins in 2009, alternating between crisis and hope that characterizes the new times. Contemporary documentary filmmaking is also hailing a new era, as attested by the outstanding array of Brazilian and international films screened at the 14th edition of It´s All True.

A greater diversity of themes and styles can now be seen and even militant documentaries are moving beyond the polarization created by the “War on Terror”. The broadening of the documentary boundaries finds its most vivid translation in the works – at once political, confessional and performatic – of the Israeli filmmaker Avi Mograbi, who will be attending the festival for the first time to unveil his latest film, “Z32”.

Mograbi is also a special guest to the 9th edition of the International Documentary Film Conference, which is organized in partnership with Cinusp and Sesc-SP. It is only natural that the Conference’s main theme addresses the new challenges for engaged documentary film.

Driven by the winds of change, this year the Festival introduces a new formula and becomes a twice yearly event as a means to expand both the public’s access to the Festival and the nonfictional film agenda in Brazil.

All this is possible thanks yet again to the engagement and support of our sponsors, even in a year marked by atypical difficulties; and above all to the renewed trust of producers and filmmakers who have chosen It´s All True as a prime window for their works. Our gratitude is infinite.

I wish all of you, on behalf of our outstanding team, an unforgettable journey through the best of documentary filmmaking today!


Amir Labaki
Founder and Director
It´s All True
International Documentary Film Festival