Festival:
The 29th Sheffield Doc/Fest
Dates:
June 23-28
About:
Just under 90 new and recent features make up the lineup of this British nonfiction event.
Among the offerings:
International Competition:
A BUNCH OF AMATEURS
Director: Kim Hopkins
A group of aging cinephiles attempts to save their filmmaking club, including remaking a classic musical.
AFTER THE END OF THE WORLD
Director: Nadim Mishlawi
Set amongst the constantly changing city of Beirut, an exploration of the knowledge and history spaces can hold, and what happens when those spaces disappear.
SANSÓN AND ME
Director: Rodrigo Reyes
The director reconnects with Sansón, a Mexican migrant sentenced to life in prison, who he met when Reyes was a translator at his trial.
SINGING ON THE ROOFTOPS
Director: Enric Ribes
The life of nonagenarian Gilda, a drag-queen in Barcelona, dramatically changes when he is asked to take care of an abandoned three-year-old girl.
THE MELT GOES ON FOREVER: THE ART & TIMES OF DAVID HAMMONS
Director: Harold Crooks, Judd Tully
A striking portrait of an African American artist who has steadfastly remained an outlier in the art world but whose work offers an essential commentary on race in the US.
International First Feature Competition:
CHILDREN OF LAS BRISAS
Director: Marianela Maldonado
Nine years in the lives of young Venezuelans whose musical talent offer a chance for them to escape poverty.
HAFREIAT
Director: Alex Sardà
While laboring on an archaeological dig in Jordan, a father with another baby on the way excavates his troubled past and ponders the possibility of a better future.
SOME WOMEN
Director: Quen Wong
Drawing on her own experiences to reclaim her transgender identity, the director disrupts the silence around trans discrimination in Singapore.
THIS IS NATIONAL WAKE
Director: Mirissa Neff
A rich trove of archive reveals the history of South Africa’s outlaw multi-racial rock group, who formed at the height of Apartheid.
Other Sections:
ALL MAN: THE INTERNATIONAL MALE STORY
Director: Bryan Darling, Jesse Finley Reed
For three decades, one fashion catalogue helped define masculinity and male fashions in the US: INTERNATIONAL MALE.
BEAUTY OF THE BEAST
Director: Anna Nemes
A fascinating journey into the world of the female bodybuilder.
BEFORE WE MOVE
Director: Aleksandr M Vinogradov
The story of queer tango dancers in St Petersburg, dancing in the face of prejudice in the hope of greater acceptance for the LGBTQI+ community.
BREAKING THE BRICK
Director: Carola Fuentes, Rafael Valdeavellano
Two Chileans, on opposing sides of the political spectrum, experience a year of turmoil as protests give way to transformation.
DANCING PINA
Director: Florian Heinzen-Ziob
Two of Pina Bausch’s most famous works are rehearsed in Germany and Senegal, championing the choreographer’s legacy through a younger generation of dancers.
DUST & METAL
Director: Esther Johnson
A thrilling, unorthodox portrait of Vietnam.
EL ARENA
Director: Jay B Jammal
Unfolding against the backdrop of a turbulent political climate, the finest rappers in the Arab-speaking world gather in Beirut, hoping to be crowned King of the Battle.
ELECTRIC MALADY
Director: Marie Liden
From within a cocoon of layered blankets, William copes with a life consumed by electrosensitivity, in this touching experiential portrait of isolation and survival.
FASHION REIMAGINED
Director: Becky Hutner
Trailblazing fashion designer Amy Powney is on a mission to create a sustainable collection and transform the way we engage with fashion.
THE FIRE WITHIN: REQUIEM FOR KATIA AND MAURICE KRAFFT
Director: Werner Herzog
Drawing from the personal film archive of two passionate volcanologists, Werner Herzog explores humanity’s fascination with one of our planet’s most elemental forces.
GARÇONNIÈRES
Director: Céline Pernet
A group of men aged between 30 and 45 talk candidly to Céline Pernet about their relationship to notions of masculinity.
ITHAKA
Director: Ben Lawrence
Julian Assange’s wife and father battle the British establishment on behalf of the WikiLeaks founder, who faces a 175-year prison sentence if extradited to the US.
LYRA
Director: Alison Millar
An intimate and uncompromising portrait of Lyra McKee, a 29-year-old Northern Irish investigative journalist who was murdered by the New IRA.
MARWAN: TOMORROW’S FREEDOM
Director: Sophia Scott, Georgia Scott
The story of Marwan Barghouti, often described as the “Palestinian Nelson Mandela,” who is serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison.
MOUNTAINS AND HEAVEN IN BETWEEN
Director: Dmytro Hreshko
An intimate portrait of life in a remote mountain village, seen through the eyes of four paramedics, as the spectre of COVID-19 looms over it.
MY PAPER LIFE
Director: Vida Dena
An Iranian filmmaker befriends a Syrian family in Brussels, whocommunicate past traumas and future dreams through drawings.
THE NEW GREATNESS CASE
Director: Anna Shishova
The story of Anya Pavlikova, found guilty of being a member of a subversive terrorist organization, emphasizes Russia’s emergence as a state of fear and coercion.
NEW PIGS ON THE BLOCK
Director: Jimmy Kets
Three pigs live a seemingly care-free life as part of an urban community project, unaware of what lies ahead.
NO U-TURN
Director: Ike Nnaebue
The filmmaker retraces a journey he attempted as a young man.
OFF THE RAILS
Director: Peter Day
Two urbex and parkour-obsessed teenagers face-up to reality following the death of their friend, in this portrait of urban life.
ONE DAY AT A TIME
Director: Paul Chambers
An uncompromising yet uplifting look at the work of a Liverpool-based recovery living centre that uses art and sport to combat addiction.
ONE DAY IN UKRAINE
Director: Volodymyr Tykhyy
Media activist and filmmaking collective Babylon’13, formed during the Maidan uprisings, focus on the events of March 14, 2022 – the 2,944th day of the Russian-Ukrainian War.
OUR BODIES ARE YOUR BATTLEFIELDS
Director: Isabelle Solas
An urgent spotlight on the fight for trans rights across Argentina’s polarized political landscape.
PLAI. A MOUNTAIN PATH
Director: Eva Dzhyshyashvili
A contemplation of rural life for a couple whose world is irrevocably impacted by conflict but whose resilience perseveres.
PONGO CALLING
Director: Tomáš Kratochvíl
From his truck, rising online star Štefan Pongo streams his political rants and creates social media movements that go viral, in support of Romani people across Europe.
PRYVOZ
Director: Eva Neymann
Everyday life in Odessa’s vast market, revealing the thoughts of its traders and visitors, and highlighting its role as a vital artery in the city.
RISING SUN BLUES
Director: Renata Ferraz, Maria Roxo
An actress asks a sex worker to help her create a film in which they share secrets of their professions, and they become both filmmakers and characters.
A STORY OF BONES
Director: Joseph Curran, Dominic de Vere
What begins as a simple formality in the construction of an airport transforms into a campaign to pay honor to thousands lost through the transatlantic slave trade.
TS ELIOT: INTO THE WASTE LAND
Director: Susanna White
The hidden history behind a landmark in modernism and one of the most acclaimed 20th century poems details a correspondence that was to prove inspirational to TS Eliot.
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