Search Menu
dedicated to the theatrical exhibition of nonfiction cinema

See These Animated Films at Full Frame

Animation of a kite crossing the sky

    Animation is a vital tool in documentary filmmaking, opening up space for memory, imagination, and the unseeable. It allows filmmakers to move beyond the limits of the camera to render interior worlds, reconstruct the past, and give visual form to stories that may resist traditional documentation. At this year’s Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, a selection of films employ animation in striking and varied ways, expanding the language of nonfiction and inviting audiences to experience these stories from new vantage points.

    Fine blue fabric covers the face of a young woman with closed eyesA Fox Under a Pink Moon / Iran, Denmark, France (Directors: Mehrdad Oskouei, Soraya Akhlaghi; Producer: Mehrdad Oskouei)
    A subtly textured self-portrait of Soraya—an Afghan free-spirited 16-year-old artist in Iran who has been trying for five years to make her way to Europe—who chillingly captures everything on her phone while pouring all her fears and worries into extraordinary works of art.  US Premiere
    Saturday, April 18 — 10:00 am

     

     

     

    Animated image of a man in a cap and vest under a stagelight, singing into ta micI Was Born This Way / United States (Directors: Sam Pollard, Daniel Junge; Producers: Wellington Love, Daniel Junge, Jed Alan)
    When Archbishop Carl Bean sang the 1977 disco hit and gay anthem “I Was Born This Way,” it was just the start of his mission to create positive change in the world. He went on to found the Minority AIDS Project and the world’s first LGBTQ+ church for people of color. Free Closing Night Film
    Sunday, April 19 — 5:30 pm

     

     

     

    Animated image of the path of a kite across a gradiated skyKITE / Greece (Director: Thanos Psichogios; Producer: Thanos Psichogios)
    Panos, now grown, returns to a childhood ritual—flying a kite with his father, a tradition marking the start of Lent in Greece. But memories are never simple. Sounds and images, fragments of the past, weave together to reconstruct their bond. A documentary about the fragile father-son relationship and the restless power of memory.  North American Premiere
    Friday, April 17 — 1:00 pm

     

     

     

    Three men in folding director's chairs face the cameraWhen A Witness Recants / (Director: Dawn Porter)
    In 1983, author Ta-Nehisi Coates learned that a 14-year-old boy was murdered in his Baltimore middle school. Upon revisiting the case, he uncovers the truth: three innocent teenagers were wrongfully convicted and spent 36 years in prison—creating a lasting impact on the accused, the witnesses, and their community.
    Saturday, April 18 — 8:00 pm

    Passes are on sale now to the 28th annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Pass holders have the opportunity to select film tickets ahead of the general public. Single tickets go on sale April 9.

    March 24, 2026