March 22, 2006

True/West Visionary Award Winner Announced: 
Filmmaking team, Doug Hawes-Davis & Drury Gunn Carr to receive first annual award

True/False West is pleased to announce that Doug Hawes-Davis and Drury Gunn Carr will receive its first annual True/West Visionary award, given to a filmmaker(s) that has placed an indelible mark on the world of documentary filmmaking. Doug Hawes-Davis and Drury Gunn Carr founded High Plains Films in 1992, and have produced and distributed their own non-fiction films for more than a decade. They have co-directed or co-produced, and edited more than twenty films, including features such as VARMINTS (1998), THIS IS NOWHERE (2002), and LIBBY, MONTANA (2004).

Their documentaries, which have been screened around the world and have won more than 40 awards, are intended to increase viewers' understanding of the relationship between human society and the natural world. In addition, Hawes-Davis founded the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
<http://highplainsfilms.org/festival/index.htm > in 2003. He is also a faculty affiliate with the University of Montana.

“It's not easy to be award-winning filmmakers, run a distribution company, and in Doug's case, program a respected documentary film festival,” True/False West Festival Director Falter stated. “As a western based festival, we wanted to give this award to filmmakers who have added a significant voice to issues that are of particular relevance west of the Mississippi. We could not be more pleased to honor the work of Doug and Dru.”

Doug Hawes-Davis will appear throughout the True/False West Film Festival, presenting a selection of their films, including their most recent feature, LIBBY, MONTANA.

For more information on Doug Hawes-Davis and Drury Gunn Carr: http://www.highplainsfilms.org/

For more information and announcements on True/False West: http://www.truefalsewest.org/tfw/

The True/False West Film Festival premieres in Bellingham, WA, April 21-23, 2006. This three-day documentary film festival is the first international film festival to be held in Bellingham, featuring 25 films and their filmmakers from around the world, including the United States, Cameroon, China, and more.

The True/False West Film Festival features films that challenge the traditional documentary format, exploring fact and fiction, blurring the line between reality and fantasy, documentary and narrative, propaganda and journalism.

True/False West Film Fest is produced by Whatcom Film Association in conjunction with True/False Film Festival in Columbia, Missouri. Passes are available for purchase beginning March 31 at The Pickford Cinema box office or online at: http://www.truefalsewest.org/tfw/

CONTACT:
Michael Falter, Festival Director
True/False West Film Festival
3903 York Street
Bellingham, Wash. 98229
(p) 360-306-5713 (e) michael@truefalse.org

Press: 
For more information on specific films as they are announced, go to http://www.truefalsewest.org/tfw/

EVENT BRIEF - Arts calendar information:
Who: True/False West Film Festival
What: 3-day documentary film festival
Where: Bellingham, Wash. [Mount Baker Theater complex, Nightlight Lounge, Pickford Cinema, DreamSpace,]
When: April 21-23, 2006
Why: To provide a Northwest venue for US and international feature documentaries and their filmmakers.

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