The Full Frame Film Festival, a whirlwind four-day fest in Raleigh-Durham, NC, is widely considered one of the best fests for documentary film. This year, Charlotte is a juror for the Full Frame Inspiration Award and watched a whopping 19 films in competition. I’m here for the premiere of The Universal Language, which I produced with Sam Green.

People often wonder what film festivals are all about. Among other things, they are an incredible distribution platform for great work about some of the most inspiring, pressing, and touching stories out there. Today, in the space of little more than 4 hours, I watched a If A Tree Falls, a verité tale of the Environmental Liberation Front, told through one former member’s point of view; The Grove, a provocative film about the national AIDS memorial in Golden Gate Park and the conflicts that arise over the question of what the memorial should be–an idyllic, peaceful garden or a landscape that evokes devastation and renewal; and Where Soldiers Come From, an intimate view into a small rural town where young men looking for a brighter future enlist in the national guard only to find their struggles amplified when they return from a 9-month tour in Afghanistan.

I love storytelling in all its forms, but films provide a multi-sensory, nuanced, and complex experience, that if done right, stay with the viewer for a lifetime.