Shot in Missouri, 'Girls State' is this year's Show Me True/False film

A first, significant piece of this year's True/False Film Fest lineup is in place.

"Girls State," from directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, will serve as this year's Show Me True/False title when the homegrown, internationally-acclaimed nonfiction festival returns Feb. 29-March 3.

The documentary follows on the heels of the duo's "Boys State," which played True/False 2020. Both films look into the longstanding initiatives which gather high-schoolers to form mock governments and learn about the civic process inside-out.

"Girls State" was filmed in Missouri, adding a degree of familiarity and relevance to the story.

"For the first time in history, Boys State and Girls State take place simultaneously on the same campus, causing the girls to start noticing some of the discrepancies in experience," True/False noted in an email description last Wednesday.

"As the days unfold and the Boys program looms on their periphery, rumblings of discontent emerge over the disparities in the treatment of the cohorts, and with rumors of Roe v. Wade being overturned in the real world, the stakes feel higher than ever for these ambitious and dedicated young women."

This is the fourth year of the Show Me True/False program, in which the festival selects a film based on its capacity to provoke necessary community conversations.

A year-round series of the same name takes place at Ragtag Cinema, as Ragtag Film Society — which operates both the festival and the moviehouse — teams with local partners to show films relevant to their concerns.

McBaine and Moss are far from strangers to Columbia: not only did "Boys State" play True/False, but 2014's "The Overnighters," directed by Moss and co-produced by McBaine, remains a high water mark for festival programming.

The full festival lineup is set to arrive Feb. 7. For more on this year's True/False, visit https://truefalse.org/.

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. He's on Twitter/X @aarikdanielsen.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: 'Girls State,' shot in Missouri, this year's Show Me True/False pick