Jason Parsons

Pat Tillman never thought of himself as a hero. His choice to leave a multimillion-dollar football contract and join the military wasn't done for any reason other than he felt it was the right thing to do. The fact that the military manipulated his tragic death in the line of duty into a propaganda tool is unfathomable and thoroughly explored in Amir Bar-Lev's riveting and enraging documentary.

Artifice explores the delayering of the performative facade to reveal the generational and societal trauma that artists internalize. The performers struggle to grapple with the “characters” they have created in a bid to win the attention and approval of their community turned audience. As they begin to strip away the false layers, they both confront and embrace their primal selves in a process and practice of healing.