A nice surprise: director Stefan Schweitert says he can make his way to the festival after all to answer questions after the fabulous “Echoes of Home.” We thought we’d have to test our technical abilities by setting up an Ichat with Berlin, so this will make it much easier, and homier. Get one, lose one category: Michael Cleverly, the author of a book on Hunter S. Thompson, will not appear on Friday with “Gonzo,” as promised in the program. However, new Oscar winner Alex Gibney will appear with “Gonzo” on Saturday as well as “Taxi to the Dark Side” on Sunday.

In just a little bit, the T/F box office at the Cherry St. Artisan (9th & Cherry) throws open its doors for the non-passholder world. For the first time, we’ll be talking to those who’d like to dip their foot in the T/F waters– rather than get dunked wholesale. And to passholders who want to add to their bundles. Box office hours are: noon to 10pm on Thursday, 9am to 10pm on Friday and Saturday, and 10am to 5pm on Sunday. Expect pandemonium at the lunch hour today, but it should lighten up after a while. Our hotline 573-442-TRUE is also going, but please note that early in the day, our staff will be going a little batty.

Don’t believe the hype — Rumors of True/False being SOLD OUT have been greatly exaggerated (apologies to the great T/F icon and proto-gonzo journalist Mark Twain).

Here are the facts: roughly 4,200 hard tickets remain. You can buy tickets at the Cherry St. Artisan box office starting noon on Thursday, Feb. 28. If you can’t get a ticket for the film you want, don’t despair. We invented the “Q” system just for you.

After discovering that passholders who’ve pre-reserved tickets don’t always show up to claim their seats, we came up with the Q system which allows you to get a ticket at the “last minute.” Just arrive 30 minutes before a film starts at its venue. Claim a Q and then reappear 10 minutes before showtime. No guarantees, but especially at the larger venues like the Blue Note, Windsor and Macklanburg, you should have a decent if not good chance of getting in the door.

Here are the films with tickets remaining as of 11:59am Thursday, Feb. 28:

* Bigger, Stronger, Faster* Forrest Theater Fri 2/29, 5:00PM (JUST ADDED!)

1 Man on Wire (formerly 1. TBA) Jesse Hall Sun 3/2, 7:00PM

2b Gonzo Windsor Cinema Fri 2/29, 10:00PM

3 Taxi to the Dark Side Blue Note Sun 3/2, 10:30AM

5a Shake the Devil Off Windsor Cinema Thu 2/28, 6:00PM

5c Shake the Devil Off Windsor Cinema Sat 3/1, 12:30PM

7a Sons of a Gun Forrest Theater Thu 2/28, 6:30PM

7b Sons of a Gun Windsor Cinema Sat 3/1, 6:00PM

10a Song Sung Blue Forrest Theater Thu 2/28, 9:00PM

10c Song Sung Blue Windsor Cinema Sun 3/2, 10:30AM

11a Audience of One Windsor Cinema Thu 2/28, 9:00PM

12a Forbidden Lies Big Ragtag Thu 2/28, 9:30PM

12d Forbidden Lies The Den Sat 3/1, 8:30PM
14c Stranded Macklanburg Cinema Sat 3/1, 10:00AM
16a The Man Who Ate Badgers Macklanburg Cinema Fri 2/29, 10:00PM
19c Carny Little Ragtag Sat 3/1, 10:00PM

20a The Greening of Southie Windsor Cinema Sat 3/1, 10:00AM

20b The Greening of Southie Windsor Cinema Sun 3/2, 3:30PM

22c Oscar Shorts Big Ragtag Fri 2/29, 10:00PM

23a Echoes of Home Blue Note Sat 3/1, 10:30AM23b Echoes of Home Big Ragtag Sun 3/2, 10:00AM

24a Life. Support. Music. Forrest Theater Sat 3/1, 12:30PM

24b Life. Support. Music. Windsor Cinema Sun 3/2, 1:00PM

26a Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go Macklanburg Cinema Sat 3/1, 1:00PM

26b Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go Macklanburg Cinema Sun 3/2, 10:00AM
27a Very Young Girls Blue Note Sat 3/1, 1:00PM

27b Very Young Girls Macklanburg Cinema Sat 3/1, 3:45PM
30a Secret Screening Blue Windsor Cinema Sat 3/1, 3:30PM

30b Secret Screening Blue Macklanburg Cinema Sun 3/2, 1:00PM

31a The Order of Myths Blue Note Sat 3/1, 3:45PM

31b The Order of Myths Blue Note Sun 3/2, 1:30PM
34b American Teen (formerly 39. TBA) Blue Note Fri 2/29, 7:30PM
38a Cat Dancers Blue Note Sat 3/1, 9:30PM

38b Cat Dancers Blue Note Sun 3/2, 4:00PM

Lux and Silver Circle passholders, remember when we said we’d give you guidance on this show? Ok, now is the time. To claim your tickets, go up to the Blue Note box office, on 9th just north of Broadway, and flash your pass. Their hours are: Wednesday until 9pm, noon to 5pm on Thursday, and noon to 9 on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. If you’re wondering if you can go to “Man on Wire” and then make it to the TMBG show on time, you’re in luck. Rumor has it the band won’t be on stage until 9:30pm or so on Sunday.

The True/False crew is hundreds strong now, and has been working marathon shifts, so that means that some of the senior staff can actually read the newspaper on Sunday morning. Unprecedented. Here’s some good stuff we dug up at one of the newspapers in town: http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/TrueFalse/index.asp

We wanted a nice little fest, real boutique-like, but then it became clear you wanted to wear out your eyes watching movies, so we had no choice. We added shows.

The big ticket item: “Man on Wire” is now the Closing Night Film. Check it out. A nail-biter of an adventure, plus it’s one of the most deeply emotional films of the last few years. This will have you on the edge of your chair, as they say.

We’ve also added these shows: “Please Vote For Me” on Sunday at 5:15pm; Gonzo on Friday at 10pm; “Oscar Shorts” on Friday at 10pm; “Carny” on Saturday at 10pm.

By popular demand, we moved “The Man Who Ate Badgers” to a larger venue, Macklanburg, on Friday at 10.

And now because you’ve been so patient, we can announce the titles of the TBAs. Most prominently, our Friday night opener 7:30pm at the Blue Note is “American Teen.” This is the second and final screening of this Sundance favorite, so if you want to see it, this is your chance. “How I Am” gets its third screening on Sunday at 1pm. “Lucio” plays Sunday at 3:30PM; “Working Title” is now Sunday at 6pm. “I Think We’re Alone Now” is the final TBA Sunday at 8:15.

Wish we could say, “Come and get it,” but you’ll need to wait til we open our box office on Thursday to claim or purchase these tickets. Can’t wait to share this line-up with all of you.

Very excited to let you know that we have secured the centerpiece film for the fest, and it will play at 7pm on Sunday night, March 2. (This is currently listed as TBA 1) It’s fair to say that it’s brand new, and it’s our favorite doc of the last few years (apologies to all of our friends who’ve made our other favorites) The title of the film + the identities of all the other TBAs on the schedule will be posted around 5pm today. This happens at the conclusion of online ticket reservations — this means that if you want to claim additional tickets if you’re a passholder or you want to simply purchase tickets if you’re a non-passholder, you’ll need to wait until after noon on Thursday, Feb. 28 at T/F’s Cherry St. Artisan box office.

T/F passholders are so splendidly thoughtful!

Apparently some of you looked at your completed reservations only to realize that sometime during the fest you are bound to want to do something crazy - like, eat. Or just stretch your legs. This realization has led to several emails inquiring about returning tickets if you won’t be able to use them. So, if you decide not to pack your breakfast/lunch/dinner to nosh on while you watch films from dawn ’til dusk, I can help you out. Just email your reservation information to tickets@truefalse.org along with the name/date/time of the ticket(s) you’d like to return, and I can remove it from your reservation.

Now, this is one of those processes that only works in one direction. We can’t make additions to any reservations, so save yourself the keystrokes. That said, any ticket that is returned will be freed up to be sold/reserved at the T/F Box Office beginning at noon on Thursday, Feb. 28.

It’s come to our attention that some of you may be a mite bit confused about how to use your fancy Lux and/or Silver Circle passes to get tickets to the They Might Be Giants Show (Sunday, 9pm, The Blue Note).

You DO get a free ticket to this show. Exactly how you get that ticket is still being worked out, but we’ll be emailing you in the next few days with that information.

For now, rest assured that your ticket has been pulled and is waiting for you to step up and say “Yes, I want my ticket to the greatest show in the world!”

Or something like that.

More info to come. Thanks for your patience . . .

Lordy, we didn’t think this would happen when we set caps on different pass levels back in the summer. But as of tonight at 8pm, pass sales for T/F 2008 have sold out at every level. But let’s break out that old saw — this does not mean that True/False is sold out for its screenings. Starting at noon on Thursday, Feb. 28 and extending through the weekend, you can buy individual tickets at our Cherry Street Artisan box office. Here’s what happens before that: until Feb. 22nd, we’ll be filling passholder ticket orders. Then we will take stock of what tickets remain and make that available at the Artisan. Then most likely, we will go through most tickets there. This is when we need to remind you of the almighty Q, which allows hopeful filmgoers to go to a film venue, 30 minutes before a screening to claim a Q #. With a little foresight and a little luck, you’ll be surprised how successful you’ll be. Some ticketholders don’t show up — and we build in a buffer of extra seats to cut down on the glum faces. In sum, we need to reiterate: True/False is NOT sold out. There are multiple ways to get tickets — it’s just that the first, most forward-thinking method is kaput for this year. 19 days and counting! Gasp……