Sheffield Doc/Fest 2019 Overview

Festival:
The 26th Sheffield Doc/Fest

Dates:
June 6-11

About:
This popular British event presents more than 100 new and recent features, organized into several thematic sections.

Personal relationships are showcased in Doc/Love, and includes the world premieres of Archana Atul Phadke’s ABOUT LOVE, a multigenerational portrait of the filmmaker’s Indian family; Claudia Marschal’s IN OUR PARADISE, which follows several children from disparate places; Kristof Bilsen’s MOTHER, about a Thai caregiver and her European charges with Alzheimer’s; and Bara Jichova Tyson’s TALKING ABOUT ADULTERY, which takes an intimate look at marriage, sex, and infidelity. Other work in this section includes Theodore Collatos and Carolina Monnerat’s QUEEN OF LAPA, about a trans sex worker and activist; and Elín Hansdóttir, Hanna Björk Valsdóttir, and Anna Rún Tryggvadóttir’s DIVE: RITUALS IN WATER, about an Icelandic man who teaches infants to swim.

Among the projects in the Doc/Adventure strand are Gints Grube and Jaak Kilmi’s MY FATHER THE SPY, focused on a woman who explores her father’s life as a Soviet double agent; Andres Torres’ THE FORTRESS, about Colombian soccer fans who follow their team to an away game; Marwa Zein’s KHARTOUM OFFSIDE, on a women’s soccer team in Islamic Sudan; and Agostino Ferrente’s SELFIE, about two teen friends making a film about their rough neighborhood in Naples.

The thought-provoking films of Doc/Think include: Arthur Cary’s WAR IN THE BLOOD, about two experimental cancer drug trial patients; Aaron Zeghers and Lewis Bennett’s DANNY, a found footage portrait of a man facing his mortality in 1993; Máximo Ciambella and Damián Coluccio’s THE BLACK TREE, about an indigenous Argentine goat breeder facing challenges by corporations; and Alexe Poukine’s THAT WHICH DOES NOT KILL, which explores sexual assault through the story of a 19-year-old woman.

Investigative projects are the focus of Doc/Expose, including: Victoria Alvares and Quentin Delaroche’s BLOCK, about the face-off between striking truck drivers and the Brazilian military in the lead-up to the country’s recent presidential election; Olivier Magis’ ANOTHER PARADISE, on efforts of natives of the Chagos Island to return to the home from which they were expelled; Raul O Paz Pastrana’s BORDER SOUTH, which explores the path taken by migrants between Latin America and the US; and Dina Naser’s TINY SOULS, which explores refugee camp life over several years through the eyes of a child.

Other sections include the music focused Doc/Rhythm, with work like Imogen Putler and Monika Baran’s COOL DADDIO: THE SECOND YOUTH OF R STEVIE MOORE, on the unlikely late success story of an influential cult musician; the innovative films of Doc/Vision, including Artem Moskalev’s HERMIT, a portrait of a Russian man who has lived alone in the woods for more than two decades; the episodic programming of New/Signals, including a preview of Alison Millar’s OUT IN THE COLD, a true crime story set in a small Alaskan town; and the country focus of New/Japan, spotlighting films like Kazuhiro Soda, Markus Nornes, and Terri Sarris’ THE BIG HOUSE, an observational portrait of Ann Arbor’s university football stadium.