_Filmmakers and film fans are preparing to crowd the streets of downtown Columbia this week with start of the True/False Film Fest. In advance of the festivities, our guests explain what it's like to make a movie here in Missouri. We also talk about the rising importance of film within Columbia's cultural landscape and find out how likely it may be that Columbia could become a birthplace for important cinematic works. In the final segment of the program, True/False co-director David Wilson talks about some of the noteworthy films chosen for inclusion in this year's festival.

_Panelists:
Polina Malikin, filmmaker and education/outreach coordinator for the True/False Film Fest
David Wilson, True/False co-founder

_With the fourth installment of the "Twilight" film series currently in theaters, we take another critical look at the teen vampire phenomenon. Does this latest film deliberately promote a socially conservative agenda, as some critics argue? Or, are the story line and fan frenzy simply the lifeblood of a Gothic literary tradition that will not die after hundreds of years?

_Panelists:
Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz, assistant professor of communication at the University of Missouri and one of three co-editors of the book “Bitten by Twilight: Youth Culture, Media and the Vampire Franchise.”
Elizabeth Chang, associate professor of English at the University of Missouri

What does war look like through the eyes of an artist like Thomas Hart Benton? An exhibit at the National Churchill Museum in Fulton showcases work Benton did for the Navy during World War II. With that exhibit open -- and with America currently involved in two wars overseas -- we take a look at the symbolism and imagery of art during wartime. We'll also learn more about the life and work of one of Missouri's most important artists.

Panelists:
Liz Murphy, archivist-curator at the National Churchill Museum
Joan Stack, curator of art collections at the State Historical Society of Missouri

In the early 1950s, cancerous cells were taken from a tumor that killed a young black woman and became the first human cells to be successfully kept alive and replicated outside the human body. That cell line, known as HeLa, went on to become one of the most important ingredients in medical research, leading to several important breakthroughs -- and generating large profits for biomedical companies. But the woman and her descendants had no idea any of this was happening.
The details of this true story are chronicled in this year's One Read book, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks." Our discussion focuses on the medical issues raised in the story, in particular how race, medicine, civil rights history and bioethics all come together in the book and in our world today.
For more information about this year's One Read events, click here.

Panelists:
Doyne McKenzie, collections manager, Daniel Boone Regional Library
Traci Wilson-Kleekamp, director of diversity and outreach initiatives, MU School of Medicine