16th annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

Each spring Full Frame welcomes filmmakers and film lovers from around the world to historic downtown Durham, North Carolina for a four-day, morning to midnight array of over 100 films as well as discussions, panels, and southern hospitality.

Full Frame encompasses a number of downtown Durham locations for its annual event. In past years, our venues have included the historic Carolina Theatre, the Durham Arts Council, as well as the Durham Armory, Durham Convention Center, and Durham Central Park. Set within a four-block radius, our intimate festival landscape fosters community and conversation between filmmakers, film professionals and the public.

The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is an annual international event dedicated to the theatrical exhibition of non-fiction cinema. Each spring Full Frame welcomes filmmakers and film lovers from around the world to historic downtown Durham, North Carolina for a four-day, morning to midnight array of over 100 films as well as discussions, panels, and southern hospitality. Set within a four-block radius, the intimate festival landscape fosters community and conversation between filmmakers, film professionals and the public.

The festival is a program of the Center for Documentary Studies (a non-profit, 501 c 3), and receives support from corporate sponsors, private foundations and individual donors whose generosity provides the foundation that makes the event possible. The Presenting Sponsor of the Festival is Duke University.

The Mission

Full Frame serves the documentary form and its community by showcasing the contemporary work of established and emerging filmmakers. The festival provides a space that nurtures conversation between artists, students, and the Full Frame audience. Full Frame is committed to enhancing public understanding and appreciation of the art form and its significance, while making films more accessible to a wider audience.

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