This week, the True False Film Fest is back in Columbia for it’s 11th year. The documentary festival draws thousands of people each year, and brings in most of the year’s best films. The last two Oscar winners for documentary showed at True False the year they won, and four of the five nominees for the Oscar this year were at the festival last year. This year, one of the films is based in Missouri, and made by mid-Missouri natives. Rich Hill documents a year in the life of three teenagers from the town Rich Hill in West Central Missouri. Each has their own struggles, both internal and external, and the film shows us how the place that they live affects their everyday lives. Today on the show we’ll talk about that film, about what it’s like to produce a film in Missouri, and about the festival as a whole.

Panelists

David Wilson is the co-founder of the True False Film Festival.

Tracy Droz Tragos and Andrew Droz Palermo co-directed Rich Hill.

At a meeting tonight, members of Columbia’s City Council are expected to vote on a resolution offering preliminary support for a downtown TIF district. The idea, which would fund downtown infrastructure improvements, would freeze sales and property taxes for up to 23 years – money from any additional future revenue increases would then be diverted to a special fund for those improvements.

Local leaders and the community are divided over the idea. Today on Intersection, we’ll talk to the city manager about downtown development in Columbia. In the second half of the show, we’ll ask the city manager your questions, which we gathered throughout the week.

Panelists

Mike Matthes has been Columbia’s City Manager since 2011.

Brent Gardner is a realtor and chair of Columbia’s downtown leadership council.

On Sunday, MU football player Michael Sam publicly came out as gay in interviews with several media outlets. There has of course been a lot of reaction to the news, with many praising the defensive lineman’s decision and others questioning whether it’ll affect his prospects of being drafted into the NFL. Sam would be the first openly gay player in the NFL if he is drafted. Before his announcement, he was projected to be taken in the third or fourth round.

This week on Intersection, we’re breaking format just slightly to talk about this developing story. In the first part of the show, w'e'll talk about the significance of Michael Sam's announcement. Later in the show, we’ll talk about the implications of Missouri’s shortage of mental health professionals. 

Panelists:
MU football player Michael Sam comes out
Jim Buzinski is a cofounder of Outsports, a sports website which helped break the story.

Missouri's mental health professional shortage
Keith Schafer is the director of the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

Cindi Keele is the executive director of the state chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Brent McGinty is the president and CEO of the Missouri Coalition of Community Mental Health Centers.

Later this week, MU will host a panel discussion exploring the civil rights history of the university. The talk, which takes place this Thursday night at the Missouri Theater, is just one of a number of events scheduled across town to honor Black History Month.

Locally, much has improved since the days of Jim Crow, but some believe that more can be done to make Columbia a more inclusive community.

This week on Intersection, we’ll take a look back at some of the civil rights gains at MU and the town at large, and talk about the lessons that can be learned from them.

Panelists:

Michael Middleton is MU’s deputy chancellor. Prior to that, he was a professor in the university’s School of Law. He also was the first African American student to enroll and graduate from MU’s law school.

William Horner is a Professor of Political Science at MU, and the co-author of a book on Lloyd Gaines, who was an early civil rights pioneer who challenged the Law School’s ban on African American students.

Mary Ratliff is the president of the state chapter of the NAACP, and has lived in Columbia since 1959. (joining by phone)