The It's All True – International Documentary Film Festival (), also known as É Tudo Verdade, is an international

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...

held annually in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

and

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Launched in 1996 by

film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: Academic criticism by film scholars, who study the composition of film theory and publish their findin ...

Amir Labaki, is one of the main events in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

dedicated exclusively to nonfiction productions. Held annually in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, some of its editions was subsequently taken to other Brazilians cities, as

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

and

Campinas Campinas (, ''Plains'' or ''Meadows'') is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in São Paulo (state), São Paulo State, part of the country's Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region. According to the 2020 estimate, the city's popul ...

. The festival presents several titles in competitive programs for Brazilian and international short,

medium Medium may refer to: Aircraft *Medium bomber, a class of warplane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Medium'' (1921 film), a German silent film * ''The Medium'' (1951 film), a film vers ...

or feature-length documentaries, the Latin American Focus, the informative section State of Things, Retrospectives, and Special Screenings. In 2015, it became the first Latin American festival to automatically qualify the winners of the Short Film Competitions (both Brazilian and International) to compete for the

Oscars The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence i ...

for Best Documentary (Short Subject).

History and background

In 1995, the Brazilian

Amir Labaki had the idea of creating a film festival in

dedicated exclusively to nonfiction narratives, until then a type of event that did not exist in the country. To immediately establish itself as part of the Brazilian cultural scene, the event organization decided to hold the festival simultaneously in

and

, the most important cities in the country. The festival name was inspired in the unfinished

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

''" It's All True"''. In the following year, in April 1996, the first edition was organized with 29 short and

feature length A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film ( motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation ...

documentaries screened over 10 days. In Rio, it started on April 12 and in São Paulo began at April 16. This first edition was non-competitive, including 12 Brazilian and 10 international productions launched between 1994 and 1996, as well as a retrospective with 7 films directed by the

cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n filmmaker Santiago Álvarez. Some of the international entries for the festival were ''"Jaime de Nevares, último viaje"'', by Marcelo Céspedes and Carmen Guarini, and opening screening in Rio; ''" Carl Th. Dreyer: My Metier"'', by Torben Skjødt Jensen, and opening screening in São Paulo; ''"The Typewriter, the Rifle & the Movie Camera"'', by Adam Simon; ''"The House on Arbat Street"'', by

Marina Goldovskaya Marina Yevseyevna Goldovskaya (; July 15, 1941 – March 20, 2022) was a Russian-American documentary filmmaker known for her candid portrayal of people. Early life and education Her father worked with Eisenstein in starting the VGIK. Career Go ...

; ''"Lumière et compagnie"'', by Sarah Moon; ''"Po zwycięstwie "'', by Marcel Łoziński; and ''"The Murmuring"'', by

Byun Young-joo Byun Young-joo (; born December 20, 1966) is a South Korean film and television director. Her films explore issues of women's rights and human rights. Career Byun Young-joo graduated with a law degree from Ewha Womans University and did her grad ...

. Among the Brazilian documentary films shown during the festival were ''" Carmen Miranda: Bananas is My Business"'', by

Helena Solberg Helena Solberg (born June 17, 1938, in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian-born documentarist who, since 1971, has made her career in the United States. She is recognized as the only woman to participate in "Cinema Novo" movement in Brazil. In 1983, S ...

; ''"Two Billion Hearts"'', by Murillo Salles; and ''"Yndio do Brasil"'', by Sylvio Back. From the second edition in April 1997, It's All True became a competitive film festival. In the early years several well-known international guests such as

Marcel Ophuls Marcel Ophuls (; 1 November 1927 – 24 May 2025) was a German-French and American documentary filmmaker and actor, renowned for his notable works such as '' The Sorrow and the Pity'' (1969) and '' Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Ba ...

, Kevin Macdonald,

Johan van der Keuken Johan van der Keuken (; 4 April 1938 – 7 January 2001) was a Dutch documentary filmmaker, author, and photographer. In a career that spanned 42 years, Van der Keuken produced 55 documentary films, six of which won eight awards. He also wrot ...

, and

Trinh T. Minh-ha Trinh T. Minh-ha (born 1952 in Hanoi; Vietnamese: Trịnh Thị Minh Hà) is a Vietnamese filmmaker, writer, literary theorist, composer, and professor. She has been making films since the 1980s and is best known for her films Reassemblage (film ...

attended the event. Since 2015, the winners of both Brazilian and International Short Film Competitions are automatically qualified to be considered by the

Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

to compete for the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

for Best Documentary (Short Subject), the first and sole Latin American festival to be granted this status. In the 25th edition in 2020, it was presented for the first time an online festival of non-fictional productions, with about 50 hours of Brazilian and International programming, in 30 different titles of feature films, shorts and series, streaming in partnership with the

Itaú Cultural Instituto Itaú Cultural is a Brazilian not-for-profit cultural institute owned by Itaú Unibanco Banco Itaú Unibanco S.A. is a Brazilian financial services company headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil. Itaú Unibanco was formed through the ...

website, Spcine Play and Canal Brasil Play.

Awards

The festival became competitive from the 2nd edition in 1997, with the International Competition and the Brazilian Competition for medium/feature-length documentaries. Currently, the awards given by the jury at the International Competition are: Best Feature or Medium-Length Documentary, Special Jury Award for a Feature or Medium-Length Film, Honorable Mention for a Feature or Medium-Length Documentary, Best Documentary Short-Film, and Honorable Mention for a Short-Film. There are also a Latin-American Competition (Best Documentary Feature Film and Honorable Mention), and plus exclusive awards for Brazilian films (Best Feature or Medium-Length Documentary, Honorable Mention for a Feature or Medium-Length Documentary and Best Documentary Short-Film).

International Competition Best Feature Documentary

* * Denotes first win * ** Two winners at the same festival

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:It's All True - International Documentary Film Festival Documentary film festivals in South America Film festivals established in 1996 Tourist attractions in São Paulo Annual events in Brazil Film markets Festivals in São Paulo Film festivals in Brazil