I’m typing this from Columbia, MO, where the True/False Film Festival is just getting underway. Shortly before I flew in yesterday, I found out that Christopher Bell’s surprisingly strong Sundance entry Bigger, Stronger, Faster had been added to the True/False program. Shortly after arriving, I found out that the film has been acquired by Magnolia, for theatrical distribution followed by broadcast on HDNet.
Bigger, which I saw at Sundance and reviewed here, has a real shot at Super Size Me-style success, although marketing is going to be key. Bell puts himself at the center as a character, but the film doesn’t feel self-indulgent at all––for a first-time filmmaker, he shows remarkable skill both as an interviewer and as a polemicist. In selling the film to audiences, I think it’s going to be key to showcase Bell as a personality, without undermining the fact that this a convincingly and seriously researched film.
I’ll have more from True/False later today.
