2010 Full Frame Film Festival pics by Camden Watts

I’m still recovering. Still processing everything. And still overjoyed with having spent so much time with filmmakers, fans of documentary films, and champions of top-notch story telling. One thing is certain: I’m definitely in Full Frame withdrawal.

Life after Full Frame is a challenge. I’m exhausted and brain-dead but I simultaneously feel so inspired and alive. I’m incredibly eager to make my next film. And I feel a lot lessΒ alone in the process. It’s tough to explain.

Community is key, I think. I crave it. I long for it.

I adore my local filmmaking community and I know we have something truly amazing here in the Triangle. But each year at Full Frame I feel like we’re a part of a larger, international filmmaking community. It’s something you have to experience firsthand.

People fly in from all over the world to spend a few days in Durham, N.C., to talk about documentary filmmaking, share their work, and discuss what’s happening in the industry. It makes me feel like we’re part of the bigger picture and that absolutely feeds my soul. I feel connected to the history of filmmaking. And I feel like I can be part of its future. It’s so meta.

I absolutely love Full Frame and all of the folks who work so hard throughout the year to put it together. I’m deeply grateful to all of the filmmakers for sharing their films and taking the time to have a conversation with the audience afterwards. I’m also deeply humbled by the opportunity just to sit next to the folks that had a hand in shaping my love for filmmaking. It’s incredible.

My filmmaking career is just beginning. I’ve finished one documentary and am presently starting another. I know I have lots of work ahead of me. But I absolutely love every minute of this filmmaking journey — all of the challenges, struggles, mental break downs, awkwardness, breath-taking moments, and victories.

Full Frame has a special place in my heart, for sure.