2021
Programme Guide
Section
1
Welcome When my father died of a heartbreak he told me to never give up on this city for no first love kills with a dagger.
our humanity, even though it so often breaks our hearts. Sheffield DocFest comes from this energy. It is built by a team of people who passionately believe that sharing films and art with everyone else is a way of working – Amina Atiq, ‘Backbencher’ toward a better city, and a better world. It comes from the tradition of a city that has always been there for those who wanted to June 2021. More than a year has passed be welcomed. Sheffield DocFest celebrates since going to the cinema ceased being an film and arts by honouring this spirit, and ordinary habit. Since we were no longer creating a collective space that is both able to come together in this way, to build relevant and generous to those who want a sense of community, to celebrate the art to be a part of it, whether in Sheffield, of filmmaking, to discuss the world and online, or throughout the country. our lives, and to resist individualistic forms This year’s festival can be lived through of cultural and social life. More than a like a story: one that starts with the energy year has passed since we were invaded by and empowerment depicted in Summer of fear, loss, and isolation. And yet, so many Soul by Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson and people have, collectively, fought for what takes us to the intimacy and generosity of needs to be fought for: a better future, Mark Cousins’ The Story of Looking. The through justice, truth, equality and respect first film portrays a collective event and for everyone. Community is not about the movement that gave more air to breathe, norms we impose on ourselves: it is about hope, and a sense of belonging to those our capacity to think and act for the sake who were so often forgotten or shut-out. of those whose names we do not know. The second, meanwhile, emerges from It is about our capacity to not give up on isolation, from a deeply personal space,
and calls for togetherness through the capacity we all have to open our eyes and hearts to new images, and to the new possibilities of emotional discovery therein. These two moments encapsulate what we have tried to build in our film programmes. This year, we have also organised the festival programme in a way that clarifies its position towards both its public and industry audience and attendees. We want to simultaneously support and nourish talent, and those who work in the film industry, while giving our audiences a rich and varied artistic programme. We also want to strengthen our bonds with our Sheffield audiences, and with our city, by opening opportunities for different forms of engagement with the festival. Outside of DocFest’s 10-day run, we will continue to offer a variable, year-round programme in Sheffield, because we believe that film and arts should help everyone to feel connected, heard, and – hopefully – liberated, beyond a festival’s lifespan. This year, we are also carrying the energy and spirit of Sheffield to different parts of the UK, by bringing DocFest to cinemas nationwide: by doing this, we can share the programme with everyone who wants to engage with it, while simultaneously helping venues to rebuild audiences and reconnect with a community of film-lovers. Once again, we have worked with extraordinary partners and sponsors who have supported this festival in times of unprecedented uncertainty. We thank you not just in our names, but in the name of culture. In order to resist the haunting threads of injustice and violence, and of authoritarianism and a lack of transparency,
we need support in the creation of spaces where people can be invited to think together. This is a process of building democracy, and participation; it is about providing scrutiny, and empowering critique. Thank you for your care. I would like to dedicate this edition to its team: a group of dedicated people – some with long histories with Sheffield DocFest, others newcomers – who have not only built this festival but have supported each other during hard times. I am in awe of your strength and passion, and deeply thankful. Finally, I would like to thank Amina Atiq, a British-Yemeni poet who I have discovered in one of the films in this programme (thank you, always, for films and what they bring to us) and who has inspired these words. I hope her writing can resonate with all those who are fighting for community: never give up on this city. — Cíntia Gil, Festival Director
Festival & Booking Info Welcome to Sheffield DocFest - in Sheffield, online, and in cinemas across the UK
In Sheffield Films & Talks Film screening and event tickets are priced at £9 / £7 concession (students, senior citizens, claimants, carers and those under 26). For films and events taking place before 5pm on weekdays, all tickets are priced at £5. Want to watch several films in the cinema? The DocLover offer includes 10 tickets to any film screening or talk in the programme, subject to availability. This year’s DocLover allows you to redeem up to two tickets per event, so why not share it with a friend or partner? DocLovers are priced at £65 / £55 concession.
Arts Programme Exhibitions The Arts Programme Exhibitions are free and open to all. For in-person exhibitions, advanced booking is strongly advised. Please bring your own wired plug-in headphones to view the artworks. Our Arts Programme Exhibition is open daily from 4 - 13 June at the following venues: Site Gallery / 1 Brown Street, Sheffield, S1 2BS 11:00 - 18:00, Tuesday - Saturday 11:00 - 16:00, Sundays Closed Monday S1 Artspace / 1 Norwich Street, Park Hill Sheffield, S2 5PN 11:00 – 18:00, Monday - Sunday
Limited DocLover ticket packages are available due to reduced capacities in cinemas in line with UK government COVID-19 guidelines.
Sheffield Hallam University Performance Lab / Arundel Gate, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield S1 2LQ 11:00 – 18:00, Monday - Sunday, closed Sun 13 June
Individual tickets and DocLovers are available online at www.sheffdocfest.com from 12 May.
To see venue information and book your slot, visit our website at www.sheffdocfest.com
Individual tickets and DocLovers can also be purchased in person from the Showroom Cinema Box Office at 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield, S1 2BX, open 11:00 - 21:00 daily from Monday 17 May. Films & Talks will take place at the following venues between 4 - 13 June: Showroom Cinema / 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield, S1 2BX Abbeydale Picture House / 387 Abbeydale Rd, Nether Edge, Sheffield, S7 1FS Please see the schedule for event dates and times. All events and dates are subject to change at any time due to the changing nature of the UK government’s COVID-19 response.
Online Films from our Official Selection for 2021, along with live streamed talks and Q&As, are available on Sheffield DocFest Selects: selects.sheffdocfest.com Sheffield DocFest Selects is our video on demand online festival which offers you a curated programme of films from all over the world, from our Official Selection 2021, across our competitions and strands which include: Opening and Closing Films, International Competition, UK Competition, Special Screenings, Into the World, Rebellions, Rhyme & Rhythm, Ghosts & Apparitions, Northern Focus, Retrospective and DocFest Exchange. Selects will be available for booking for UKbased audiences from 12 May until 13 June, with most films becoming available to watch for a 72 hour window between 4 - 13 June, or until capacity is reached. Films will be released on the same schedule as their cinema screening in Sheffield. You can access films from our Sheffield DocFest Selects programme in four ways:
Online DocLover - £50 / £40 concession All the available online films are included in the Online DocLover and are automatically added to your Selects Library at the time of booking. Explore the selection and add your favourites to Your List. From the scheduled release time of films online, you will have 72 hours to press play on the film(s) of your choice before they disappear. If you purchased an Online DocLover any included films at the time of purchase will remain available to you to watch within the 72 hour watch period, even if the film sells out. This pass is available to book until 4 June at 23:59. Single Rental - £5 View any available individual feature film, curatedshorts programme or live-streamed talk on Sheffield DocFest Selects. DocFest Exchange - Free All films in the online DocFest Exchange programme can be accessed free of charge. Sheffield DocFest Selects Ticketing Guidelines: Films are released online following the festival schedule and then most are available for a 72 hour rental window, with some exceptions. All films are subject to a 24 hour watch period which begins when you press play on your chosen film. You can pause your watching then start again within the 24 hour period. You can rent a film in advance. When it becomes released for online viewing, you have 72 hours to press play on the film from your Selects library, which can be found in the top right ‘Signed In As’ dropdown of any Selects page. Similar to our physical festival, we expect some films will sell out. There are a limited number of tickets available for each film on Selects. Once a film sells out, it will no longer be possible for viewers to watch the film as a single rental. If you purchased an Online DocLover any included films at the time of purchase will remain available to you to watch within the 72 hour watch period. For more information on Sheffield DocFest Selects, please visit the FAQ page on Selects
In Cinemas across the UK
Safer Festival Policy
A selection from the following films will also screen simultaneously at partner cinemas across the UK: Summer of Soul (Friday 4 June) (p.28) Lift Like a Girl (Saturday 5 June) (p.39) My Name is Pauli Murray (Sunday 6 June) (p.35) The First 54 Years (Friday 11 June) ) (p.36) The Story of Looking (Saturday 12 June) (p.29)
We aim to create a safe Festival, where we care and look out for each other. Through the films we showcase and the talent we develop, we aim to celebrate difference, promote equality, and challenge injustice. We are committed to providing an environment that is welcoming, accessible, and inclusive for all audiences and all those who engage, and for all team members and volunteers. Harassment or harmful behaviour has no place at our festival or on any of our venues or online platforms. We are all responsible for our own actions, and we are all entitled to a safe positive experience. By participating in DocFest events, in Sheffield and online, you agree to abide by and embrace our shared code of conduct. Anyone violating these principles will be asked to stop and are expected to comply immediately, and, at the discretion of the organisers, may be expelled from the activity, event or viewing (without refund).
Participating partner cinemas include: Arts Picturehouse in Cambridge, BFI Southbank in London, Broadway in Nottingham, Chapter in Cardiff, City Varieties Music Hall (in partnership with Hyde Park Picturehouse) in Leeds, Duke of Yorks Picturehouse in Brighton, Eden Court Highlands in Inverness, FACT in Liverpool, Filmhouse in Edinburgh, Glasgow Film Theatre, HOME in Manchester, National Media Museum in Bradford, Phoenix in Exeter, Quad in Derby, Queens Film Theatre in Belfast, and Watershed in Bristol. For the latest information about participating venues, and films which will be screening, please visit www.sheffdocfest.com
Online Exhibitions Platform Access to the Arts Programme is available via the Online Exhibitions Platform at www.sheffdocfest.com from Friday 4 - Sunday 13 June, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from the comfort of your home.
Audience Award A number of the films are up for Awards – and our biggest jury is you, our audience! Please look out for information at our cinema screenings and on Sheffield DocFest Selects on how to cast your vote for the Audience Award. The Audience Award is supported by PBS America.
COVID-19 Safety Information We are working hard with our venue partners and the local authority to ensure that you are safe at our events. To help us with this we ask that attendees follow the guidelines and procedures in place at each venue and respect instructions from staff and volunteers on site. Venue capacities will be reduced and social distancing measures in place. Face coverings must be worn at all times indoors, unless exempt. All visitors must check in on arrival using the NHS Test & Trace QR code or provide their details to a member of staff, or they may be refused entry.
For our full Safer Festivals Policy please visit https:// sheffdocfest.com/view/saferfestival If you observe or experience a violation of our code of conduct, please contact a member of DocFest staff, security personnel, or email: saferfestival@sheffdocfest.com
Content Note & Self-Care
For information on all our venues, including details of blue badge parking, wheelchair accessibility, wheelchair spaces, accessible toilets, and hearing loops, please visit https://sheffdocfest.com/view/festivalvenues For any feedback and/or enquiries relating to accessibility and reasonable adjustments please email access@ sheffdocfest.com or call +44 [0]114 276 5141.
Support For Those With Babies & Children Sheffield DocFest is a breastfeeding friendly event, and those with babies should feel welcome to breastfeed at all our participating venues. Sheffield DocFest has partnered with Tinies Yorkshire to offer childcare services that come to you. To discuss, email Ellie Irwin at hospitality@sheffdocfest.com or call us on +44 [0] 114 276 5141.
The Fine Print: Age Ratings We screen films prior to their distribution meaning that most films will not have been age certified in the UK. For this reason, we recommend that Sheffield DocFest Selects is accessible to those aged 18+ only. Our film screenings in cinemas are 18+ unless otherwise identified. Any age ratings will be displayed on the films’ corresponding page on our website and on Selects. Subtitles
Please note that some of the works in our Films and Arts programme may contain distressing subjects and scenes. We are also mindful that our audiences are watching these films in particularly distressing times and challenging environments. For this reason we recommend taking the time to read the synopsis for each film and look out for any content notes on our website. We have made every effort to be as transparent as possible about the content of our programme and welcome feedback on this. If you, or anyone you know, has been affected by any of the content featured in our programme, you can find support and expert advice via the NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mental-health-helplines/
All films produced in non-English languages are presented with English subtitles. Please note that the subtitles were created at the discretion of the filmmakers. Sheffield DocFest cannot guarantee standard.
Accessibility
For the most up-to-date announcements, follow us on on our social media channels: Facebook: /sheffdocfest Twitter: @sheffdocfest Instagram: @sheffdocfest
Sheffield DocFest is committed to providing a positive and inclusive experience for all, including those with disabilities and other access requirements.
Please do not attend any events if you are experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19, however mild, or if you are awaiting a test result, or have been asked to self-isolate. Any in person screenings, exhibitions and talks in Sheffield are subject to change in line with the UK government’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidelines, which are continually being reviewed.
Complimentary tickets are available for Personal Assistants, Carers or sign language interpreters, but must be booked in advance, and proof of DLA or a valid CEA card or international equivalent is required. All venues are wheelchair accessible but please note that wheelchair spaces in events are subject to availability. To see an up-to-date list of relaxed screenings, fully and partially subtitled, dialogue-free and closed-captioned films and events, please visit our website at sheffdocfest.com/view/accessibility
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the festival will not be hosting any physical social events this year.
All live-streamed Talks will be captioned. Live captioning for our Talks programme is provided by Ai Media.
Most Up to Date Information All information is correct at the time of publication. Sheffield DocFest reserves the right to add and remove content and make changes and updates. Please visit sheffdocfest.com for current listings.
Contact Information T: +44 [0]114 276 5141 E: info@sheffdocfest.com Sheffield DocFest office hours are 09:30–17:30 BST
#SheffDocFest2021 Sign up to our enews on our website www.sheffdocfest.com International Documentary Festival Sheffield is a charitable incorporated organisation with registered charity number: 1184849
Programme Schedule Film Programme Exhibitions Talks Workshops Radio
p.12 - 47 p.48 - 50 p.57 - 59 p.55 - 56, and 60 - 61 p.50
Friday 04 June 09:00
10:00
Film 11:00
12:00
13:00
Exhibition 14:00
15:00
Talk 16:00
Event
17:00
18:00
Showroom Cinema 2 Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Delphine's Prayers
GUNDA + Everything
21:00
HOME
Opening Film: Summer of Soul
Site Gallery
Here In This Room
S1 Artspace
Here In This Room
Sheffield Hallam University Performance Lab
Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong
Right on Time Radio
Arts Programme Launch
Right on Time / Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong / Here In This Room DocFest Exchange Online Cinema
6
20:00
Opening Film: Summer of Soul
Showroom Cinema 4
Online Exhibitions Platform
19:00
Workshop
GUNDA - DocFest Exchange Online Highlight
Sheffield DocFest
2021
Radio 22:00
Saturday 05 June 09:00
10:00
Film
11:00
12:00
Exhibition
13:00
14:00
TERRITORIES
Showroom Cinema 1
Halo Showroom Cinema 3
15:00
16:00
Event
17:00
18:00
HOW CAN WE EVER LIVE TOGETHER
Charm Circle
Here In This Room
S1 Artspace
Here In This Room
Sheffield Hallam University Performance Lab
Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong
Radio
21:00
22:00
TALES OF THE CITY
The silence of the Mole
Nũhũ Yãg Mũ Yõg Hãm: This Land Is our Land! BBC Interview: David Olusoga
Site Gallery
20:00
TWO FILMS FROM ARGENTINA
UK COMPETITION SHORTS
Showroom Cinema 4
19:00
Workshop
STORIES OF STRUGGLE, STORIES OF DIASPORA
SONIA + CHANTAL
SE24 - HD4 - SW3
Showroom Cinema 2
Talk
Lydia Lunch - The War Is Never Over
Lift Like a Girl + Stormskater
Uprising
Right on Time Radio Online Exhibitions Platform Right on Time / Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong / Here In This Room DocFest Exchange Online Cinema
Everything - DocFest Exchange Online Highlight Sonic Register: British black womxn and onscreen performativity
Online
Working with the BFI National Archive
Between Reminiscence and Reactivation
Emily Chao and Al Wong in Conversation
Talk
Event
Sister: Sistah - The Erasure of the DarkSkinned Black Woman in Mainstream Media
Zoom
Sunday 06 June 09:00
Showroom Cinema 1
Showroom Cinema 2 Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Showroom Cinema 4
10:00
Film 11:00
12:00
Exhibition
13:00
14:00
15:00
16:00
17:00
18:00
Riverock
White on White SOME MAGIC TO FIGHT OPPRESSION
FAMILY LIFE
Men Who Sing
People's Account + Mangrove Nine
Site Gallery
20:00
BLACK-EYES SUSANS
Just a Movement Don McCullin: Almost Liverpool 8 + RIP SENI
My Dear Spies
The Return: Life After ISIS
19:00
Workshop
My Name is Pauli Murray
Radio
21:00
22:00
DISRUPTING THE IMAGE
LET'S START AGAIN
I Get Knocked Down Alone Together + Shelly Belly inna Real Life
Here In This Room
S1 Artspace
Here In This Room
Sheffield Hallam University Performance Lab
Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong
Right on Time Radio
Online Exhibitions Platform
Right on Time / Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong / Here In This Room DocFest Exchange Online Cinema
Online
Who We Were - DocFest Exchange Online Highlight Notes From the Field: working strategies for non-fiction artists
2021
So Real it Hurts: In Conversation with Lydia Lunch
The Return: Life After ISIS - Reframing the Narrative
Programme Schedule
7
Monday 07 June 09:00
10:00
Film 11:00
12:00
13:00
Exhibition 14:00
15:00
Talk 16:00
Event
17:00
18:00
Showroom Cinema 2
Workshop
19:00
20:00
21:00
REEL WOMEN/ REAL LIVES
Portrait of Kaye + The Battle of Denham Ford
Dear Elnaz Relaxed Screening: Alone Together + Everything
Showroom Cinema 4
S1 Artspace
Here In This Room
Sheffield Hallam University Performance Lab
Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong
22:00
IMAGE AND MEMORY
From the 84 Days
Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Radio
The Inheritance
Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America
Firestarter - The Story of Bangarra
Right on Time Radio
Online Exhibitions Platform
Right on Time / Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong / Here In This Room
The Great Silence - DocFest Exchange Online Highlight
DocFest Exchange Online Cinema
When We Click: Making Music Even When We're Not Together
Zoom
Tuesday 08 June 09:00
10:00
Film 11:00
12:00
13:00
Exhibition 14:00
15:00
Talk 16:00
Event
17:00
18:00
19:00
20:00
Fixed barricade at Hamdalaye crossing
Showroom Cinema 2 Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Workshop
FIGHTING FOR DEMOCRACY
Equatorial Constellations
Songs for the River + Alive
Relaxed Screening: Men Who Sing + Everything
Showroom Cinema 4 Site Gallery
Here In This Room
S1 Artspace
Here In This Room
Sheffield Hallam University Performance Lab
Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong
In the Shadow of 9/11
Right on Time Radio Online Exhibitions Platform Right on Time / Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong / Here In This Room
DocFest Exchange Online Cinema
Symbiotic Earth - DocFest Exchange Online Highlight We Are Family: The Special Bond of Singing
Zoom
8
Sheffield DocFest
2021
Radio
21:00
22:00
RETURN JOURNEYS
Rancho
Gallant Indies
Wednesday 09 June 09:00
10:00
11:00
Film 12:00
13:00
Exhibition 14:00
15:00
Talk 16:00
18:00
Workshop
19:00
20:00
REMAINS OF HISTORY
Showroom Cinema 2
Halo Showroom Cinema 3
17:00
Event
Relaxed Screening: World of Mindfulness + Workshop
Carlos Ghosn The Last Flight
From the Wild Sea + Everything
Showroom Cinema 4
S1 Artspace
Here In This Room
Site Gallery
Here In This Room
Sheffield Hallam University Performance Lab
Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong
CAUGHT + Madness Remixed
Factory to the Workers
21:00
Radio 22:00
Double Layered Town / Making a Song to Replace Our Positions
MONOPOLY OF VIOLENCE
The Witches of the Orient
Tabita Rezaire: Mamelle Ancestrales (collective screening)
Right on Time Radio Online Exhibitions Platform Right on Time / Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong / Here In This Room From the Wild Sea DocFest Exchange Online Highlight
DocFest Exchange Online Cinema
Zoom
Learning from the More-ThanHuman: Audio Walk and Online Workshop
Fire and Land: Ritualistic Movement and Spirituality
2021
Programme Schedule
9
Thursday 10 June 09:00
10:00
Film
11:00
12:00
Exhibition
13:00
14:00
15:00
Talk 16:00
Event
17:00
18:00
19:00
Showroom Cinema 2
Workshop 20:00
21:00
Summer REMEMBER / RE-EVALUATE / REVIEW 1
Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Firestarter - The Story of Bangarra
Showroom Cinema 4
Site Gallery
Here In This Room
S1 Artspace
Here In This Room
Sheffield Hallam University Performance Lab
Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong
BRAZIL: STORIES OF MUSIC AND PAIN
A Pandemic Poem: WHERE DID THE WORLD GO?
This Stained Dawn
22:00
HARD TO BE HUMAN
Soy Cubana + BLONDIE: VIVIR EN LA HABANA
The Quintessence
Radio
The Ants and the Grasshopper + Everything
Right on Time Radio Online Exhibitions Platform Right on Time / Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong / Here In This Room The Ants and the Grasshopper - DocFest Exchange Online Highlight
DocFest Exchange Online Cinema Sanctuary of the Sensuous: Audio Walk and Online Workshop with Foresta Collective
Zoom
Friday 11 June 09:00
10:00
Film 11:00
12:00
Exhibition
13:00
14:00
15:00
Talk 16:00
Event
17:00
18:00
MEMORY REVISITED: FOCUS TAIWAN 1
Showroom Cinema 1
Showroom Cinema 2
Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Showroom Cinema 4
LIFE IS OUR REVOLUTIONARY PRIORITY
SONIC REGISTER TRACK 1
Call Me Human
Sing, Freetown
Maisie
Gorbachev. Heaven
The Art of Staging Reality: Marc Isaacs in Conversation with Jon Bang Carlsen
Relaxed Screening: GUNDA + Everything
Abbeydale Picture House
Microcosmos (35mm)
Site Gallery
Here In This Room
S1 Artspace
Here In This Room
Sheffield Hallam University Performance Lab
Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong
Right on Time Radio Online Exhibitions Platform
DocFest Exchange Online Cinema
Zoom
10
19:00
Right on Time / Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong / Here In This Room Who is Afraid of Ideology? Part III - Micro Resistances - DocFest Exchange Online Highlight
Between Us and Nature - A Reading Club
Sheffield DocFest
Pallavi Paul: The Blind Rabbit (live discussion + Q&A)
2021
Workshop 20:00
21:00
Radio 22:00
MEMORY REVISITED: FOCUS TAIWAN 2
DESTROY | DISTURB | DISRUPT DECOLONISING QUEER DESIRE
BODIES UNDER CONTROL
The First 54 Years An Abbreviated Manual for Military Occupation
Roses. Film-Cabaret
Daïchi Saïto: earth earth earth (35mm)
Saturday 12 June 09:00
10:00
Film
11:00
12:00
13:00
Exhibition 14:00
Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America
Showroom Cinema 1
Showroom Cinema 2
Borderland
Halo Showroom Cinema 3
SONIC REGISTER TRACK 2
17:00
18:00
Workshop
19:00
20:00
The Savior For Sale: The Story of the Salvator Mundi
Courage
The Story of Looking: In Conversation with Mark Cousins
Awards Ceremony + Closing Film: The Story of Looking
S1 Artspace
Here In This Room
Sheffield Hallam University Performance Lab
Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong
22:00
Chelas nha Kau
Horvath + Tictoc
King Rocker
Here In This Room
21:00
Raymonde El Bidaoia
Emily Chao & Al Wong: Films in Dialogue (16mm)
Site Gallery
Radio
Daïchi Saïto: earth earth earth (35mm)
REMEMBER / RE-EVALUATE / REVIEW 3
Tales From a Hard City
Daïchi Saïto: earth earth earth (35mm)
Abbeydale Picture House
16:00
Event
REMEMBER / RE-EVALUATE / REVIEW 2
Final Account
Showroom Cinema 4
15:00
Talk
Awards Ceremony + Closing Film: The Story of Looking
Karrabing Film Collective Shorts Programme - DocFest Exchange Online Highlight
DocFest Exchange Online Cinema
Geraldine Snell: light love (live performance)
Right on Time Radio
Online Exhibitions Platform
Right on Time / Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong / Here In This Room
Reframing Our Desires
Online
Sunday 13 June 09:00
10:00
Film 11:00
12:00
13:00
Exhibition 14:00
Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Showroom Cinema 4 Abbeydale Picture House Site Gallery
15:00
Talk 16:00
Event
17:00
18:00
19:00
Workshop 20:00
21:00
Radio 22:00
MINAMATA Mandala
Showroom Cinema 1 Showroom Cinema 2
Solidarity Forever: Community Organising and Creative Disruption
Who are ‘We’? Global & Local Visions
Stories of Other Animals
Zoom
How to Perform (in) a Crisis: Geraldine Snell & Mohamed Abdelkarim
BAFTA Masterclass: Betsy West & Julie Cohen
Chelas nha Kau
Tim Hetherington Award Winner
First Feature Award Winner
NORTHERN FOCUS SHORTS
Charlotte Jarvis: In Posse
SONIC REGISTER TRACK 3 (35mm) My Childhood, My Country – 20 Years in Afghanistan
9/11: One Day in America The Time to Live and the Time to Die
La Zone (35mm)
No Straight Lines + Drawings of my BF
Youth Jury Award Winner UK Competition Award Winner
International Competition Winner
Audience Award Winner
Here In This Room Here In This Room
S1 Artspace
Sam Smith: E.1207 (live performance)
Sheffield Hallam University Performance Lab
Right on Time Radio
Online Exhibitions Platform
Right on Time / Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong / Here In This Room
Zoom
Seeds for a Common Future
2021
Storytelling as Collective Resistance
Soundtracking Streets - Found Sounds and Impromptu Music
Learning How to Live Together: A Symbiotic Worldview
Programme Schedule
11
Opening Film
Summer of Soul (...Or When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson / USA / 2021 / 117’ / European Premiere / English
In the summer of 1969, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). After that summer, the footage was largely forgotten – until now. Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson Fri 4 Jun / 19:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 2 presents a transporting film that includes Fri 4 Jun / 19:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 4 never-before-seen concert performances from Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly and Also screening in select cinemas the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, across the UK Ray Baretto, Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach and more.
12
Sheffield DocFest
2021
Closing Film
The Story of Looking Mark Cousins / UK / 2021 / 90’ / World Premiere / English Sat 12 Jun / 20:00 BST / Abbeydale Picture House Also screening in select cinemas across the UK
The Story of Looking sees Mark Cousins prepare for surgery to restore his vision, revealing how looking makes us who we are. In a personal meditation on the power of looking in his own life, he guides us through a kaleidoscope of extraordinary imagery across cultures and eras, showing how looking lies at the heart of human experience, empathy, discovery and thought. The Story of Looking will be preceded by a conversation with Mark Cousins (see pg 59) and followed by Sheffield DocFest’s Awards Ceremony (see website for details).
2021
Opening / Closing Film
13
International Competition History, stories, and territories – whether distant or close, real or imaginary – can become concrete, and operate within the singular, shared universe of the screen. This International Competition selection consists of films that remind us of these cinematic possibilities, from microcosms – a family unit, a prison cell,
intimate dreams and recollections – to macrocosms, such as social shifts, the history of colonisation and ethnocide, the complexities of conflicts and paradoxes of the capitalistic worldview. It is a selection where the individual and collective intertwine and interrogate each other, either through delicate strategies or
bold and affirming confrontations. Representing 14 countries and 13 spoken languages, with a number of films coming from emerging talent across different continents, this selection offers gestures and visions at once unique, precise and transformative.
Charm Circle Nira Burstein / USA / 2021 / 79’ / World Premiere / English
Nũhũ Yãg Mũ Yõg Hãm: This Land is Our Land! / Nũhũ Yãg Mũ Yõg Hãm: Essa Terra é Nossa! Isael Maxakali, Sueli Maxakali, Carolina Canguçu, Roberto Romero / Brazil / 2020 / 70’ / International Premiere / Portuguese, Maxakali
White on White / Bílá na Bílé Viera Čákanyová / Czech Republic, Slovakia / 2020 / 74’ / International Premiere / English, Slovak
Charm Circle is a cinéma vérité portrait of an eccentric New York family navigating the chaos that divides them. After uncovering a treasure trove of home videos documenting the moments of joy that punctuated an otherwise tumultuous upbringing, filmmaker Nira Burstein returns to her childhood home – now crumbling from the inside out – to explore whether she and her two sisters can reconnect with her parents. Sat 5 Jun / 11:00 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
This Land is Our Land! is a unique and multilayered visual cartography made by Indigenous filmmakers Isael and Sueli Maxakali and their collaborators, made after their land was taken from them by local farmers. Following Yãmīhex: The Women-Spirit (2019), a landmark in Brazilian Indigenous cinema, Isael and Sueli Maxakali have crafted a deeply personal film that is both mournful and confrontational. Sat 5 Jun / 17:30 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
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White on White is the video diary that Viera Čákanyová kept while staying at the Polish Antarctic station, where she shot her neural network-led film FREM (2019) in 2017. During her stay, the filmmaker chats with an AI bot, leading conversations that touch on the nature of film, art, and the meaning of life. Sun 6 Jun / 11:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 1
My Dear Spies / Mes chers espions Vladimir Léon / France / 2020 / 134’ / UK Premiere / French, Russian
Equatorial Constellations Silas Tiny / Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe / 2021 106’ / World Premiere / Igbo, Portuguese
Factory to the Workers / Tvornice Radnicima Srđan Kovačević / Croatia / 2021 / 105’ / World Premiere / Croatian
Two brothers, Vladimir and Pierre, wonder whether their Russian grandparents, Lily and Constantin, were working for the Soviet secret services in Paris during the 1930s and 1940s, beginning an investigation in Russia. Behind many meetings, yellowed pictures and glasses of vodka, a lost world reappears and haunts the present.
Following the onset of the Nigerian-Biafran War, São Tomé, then a Portuguese colony, played a critical role in saving hundreds of thousands of children from starvation. Equatorial Constellations reflects on this time in the island’s history through the contemporary testimonies of the refugees and humanitarian workers involved.
Sun 6 Jun / 14:15 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Tue 8 Jun / 14:30 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Workers in a collectively-run factory in Croatia have been struggling to weather economic forces and organisational disputes since they took over in 2005. Filmmaker Srđan Kovačević returns regularly over a five year period to make a film that charts the evolution of this communal enterprise. After a decade, the same question remains: can the factory run on selfgovernance, or is it just a utopian dream?
From The 84 Days / Aus den 84 Tagen Philipp Hartmann / Bolivia, Germany / 2021 / 105’ / World Premiere / German, Spanish
Rancho Pedro Speroni / Argentina / 2021 / 72’ / International Premiere / Spanish
After the Bolivian Experimental Orchestra for Indigenous Instruments (OEIN) came to play music in Germany but found their concerts cancelled due to COVID-19, they faced the crisis by developing musical projects there instead. In this film about music as a form of communication in a state of exception, the camera becomes part of the improvisation.
In a maximum-security prison in Argentina, a boxer doggedly seeks his freedom. Awaiting release, he receives advice from the cell block mentor, who is serving 30 years. Other inmates include youngsters dreaming of being millionaires, and other men with their own pasts. Together, they create their own kind of utopia: a closed environment with rules and norms of its own making.
Mon 7 Jun / 17:45 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
Tue 8 Jun / 20:30 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Wed 9 Jun / 17:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 4 Double Layered Town / Making a Song to Replace Our Positions / Niju no machi / Kotaichi no uta o amu Komori Haruka, Seo Natsumi / Japan / 2020 / 78’ / International Premiere / Japanese
Following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011, Filmmakers Komori Haruka and Seo Natsumi chose to live in Rikuzentakata, one of the regions most affected by the disaster. Double Layered Town / Making a Song to Replace Our Positions is a visual record of a workshop that the pair devised; it provides a bridge for new encounters and new forms of communication. Wed 9 Jun / 20:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
2021
International Competition
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This Stained Dawn Anam Abbas / Pakistan / 2021 / 89’ / World Premiere / English, Urdu
Karachi’s feminists organise a women’s march, coming up against Pakistan’s state, media, and radical religious right. Filmmaker Anam Abbas follows the march’s organisers as they negotiate a deeply surveilled, paranoia-inducing, and often physically violent space in the hopes of spurring a revolution. A philosophical work, This Stained Dawn is not just about the Aurat March, but about the act of political organising itself. Thu 10 Jun / 14:45 BST / Showroom Cinema 4
Summer / ЛЕТО Vadim Kostrov / Russia / 2020 / 109’ / World Premiere / Russian
Set in Nizhny Tagil, Russia, Summer journeys nostalgically through the warm middle-Ural summer with eight-year-old Vadim and his half-sister Christina. Caressed by the sun and the warmth of his relatives, Vadim enjoys his childhood days. Acting as a serene lullaby that mimics the movements of a gentle breeze, Summer provides warmth, joy and solace, offering hope and strength for the future. Thu 10 Jun / 17:45 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
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Sheffield DocFest
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UK Competition This year Sheffield DocFest announced a UK Competition as part of an ongoing commitment to nurture and launch home-grown films. This is a selection of independent films that bring unique perspectives, and whose filmmakers contribute in rich ways to the future
UK and international film landscape. Some are shot here: from the mountains of Cromarty, down to South London, via the streets of Toxteth in Liverpool and the banks of the River Severn. Some are set abroad: New York in the USA, the Ecuadorian Amazon, and
on a pilgrimage through Iraq, while another takes us into outer space. Here, there is great diversity in subject and style, length and form. Although each film is crafted in very different ways, they have in common a distinctiveness of voice.
UK Competition Shorts
Cold Stack Frank Martin / UK / 2021 / 12’ / World Premiere / English
The Elvermen Isla Badenoch / UK / 2021 / 14’ / World Premiere / English
Divided into three parts, Cold Stack is a documentary charting the melancholic decline of the oil rig industry in the Scottish Highlands. The first part documents the Kishorn fabrication yard, whilst the second shows the dereliction of the Cromarty Firth. The final section looks to the future, considering the otherworldly beauty of the wind farming that is now dominant in the area.
Shot over a moonlit night, The Elevermen is an atmospheric film that reveals the last of a hidden community hunting an endangered fish. As the sun sets on the banks of the River Severn, on the outskirts of an impoverished city in the UK, a group of men race to catch the elusive elver, supposedly worth more than its weight in gold.
2021
UK Competition
In The Space You Left Christine Saab / UK / 2021 / 23’ / World Premiere / English
From the confines of her home in England, a filmmaker embarks on a digital quest to track down an old friend who disappeared years ago in Japan. As she gets closer to finding him, she finds herself wondering why it is so hard to forget about some people, and, equally, why it is often necessary to let them go.
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The Return Eriberto Gualinga / Ecuador, UK / 2021 / 17’ / World Premiere / Kichwa
RIP SENI Daisy Ifama / UK / 2021 / 20’ / World Premiere / English
In the Ecuadorian Amazon, the COVID-19 pandemic breaks out while the Uyantza festival is underway. As people test positive in the community, some decide to leave and head deeper into the jungle. Disconnected from school, friends, the internet, and work, one family learns to reconnect with life in the forest and relearn the Indigenous knowledge that mainstream education ignores.
Overnight on 24th June 2020, graffiti reading ‘RIP SENI’ appeared on a public artwork outside Bethlem Royal Hospital, London. The spray-painted letters called attention to Seni Lewis, a 23-year-old black man who died at the hands of police officers while in the care of the hospital in 2010. This film is a reaction to that graffiti, exploring mental health, public art and injustice.
Ali and His Miracle Sheep Maythem Ridha / Iraq, UK / 2021 / 25’ / World Premiere / Arabic
Guided by his grandmother’s haunting Sumerian lament, 9-year-old mute Ali takes his favourite sheep for sacrifice. Over a 400km journey, they bear witness to the beauty, and unravel the ills of Iraq. Can both boy and sheep survive the hardship and accept their fate? A lyrical tale about the loss of childhood against the harsh realities of adult life. Sat 5 Jun / 13:30 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
The Battle of Denham Ford Rob Curry, Tim Plester / UK / 2021 / 27’ / World Premiere / English
Don McCullin: Almost Liverpool 8 Daniel Draper, Allan Melia / UK / 2021 / 89’ / World Premiere / English
Currently a primary focus for environmental campaigners in the UK, HS2 is a controversial new high-speed rail line, being built from London to the North of England. Documenting a single day on the front line of protests against it, The Battle of Denham Ford tells the story of attempts by rail network contractors to fell a tree that overhung their compound. Portrait Of Kaye Ben Reed / UK / 2021 / 59’ / World Premiere / English
Photojournalist Don McCullin photographed the area of Toxteth, Liverpool, 50 years ago. Focusing on a single image, Almost Liverpool 8 is an exploration of the same area as it exists today. Heading into the heart of the community to meet the people that make ‘L8’ a model example of a modern community, Almost Liverpool 8 is a love letter to one of Britain’s most interesting postcodes. Sun 6 Jun / 17:45 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Restricted by her lifelong agoraphobia, Kaye has spent most of her life within the four walls of her parents’ house, surrounded by the faces of old film stars that she pastes upon her walls. Now 74-years-old and recently widowed, she discovers an opportunity to explore personal and sexual freedoms that have always been hidden away. Mon 7 Jun / 17:45 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
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Sheffield DocFest
2021
Alive Makeda Matheson / UK / 2021 / 11’ / World Premiere / English
Alive documents the life of opera singer Marilyn Minns, from childhood through to her diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease later in life. Grounded by the pursuit of love, this saga spans decades and geographies. The film features disgruntled ex-lovers, scrapes with the KGB, and brushes with fame, acting as a reminder that even when someone’s memory begins to slip away, the essence of who they are stays within them. Songs For The River Charlotte Ginsborg / UK / 2021 / 77’ / World Premiere / English
Over the course of a year, Charlotte Ginsborg filmed the London housing co-operative that she lives in, charting residents’ experiences over numerous national lockdowns. Intimate observational footage of the confined residents is combined with song and landscape photography, telling the story of a community’s resilience, grief, and anger in a country failing to manage the virus. Tue 8 Jun / 17:45 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Madness Remixed Rhea Storr / UK / 2021 / 11’ / World Premiere / English
Madness Remixed explores the image of exoticism portrayed by Josephine Baker in a 1926 performance entitled The Madness of the Day in which Baker wore the infamous skirt, made of only bananas, that played into stereotypes of Black women as hyper-sexualised. The film questions the terms by which images of Black bodies performing should be reproduced. CAUGHT / CAER Nicola Mai / UK / 2021 / 61’ / European Premiere / English, Spanish
The Quintessence Pamela Breda / France, Italy, Switzerland, UK, USA / 2021 / 108’ / World Premiere / English, French
Constructed during a three-year-long research period that involved visits to more than 20 centres and laboratories dedicated to the advanced research of outer space, The Quintessence considers the scientific study of outer space as a narrative, and analyses the hidden dreams and expectations of those shaping contemporary research about the universe. Thu 10 Jun / 14:15 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Following Rosa and Paloma as they fight against transphobic violence and persecution from the police, and defend their cases of trafficking in an increasingly anti-migration political environment in the US. CAUGHT mixes fiction and observational documentary methods to express the struggles for recognition and justice of and justice of trans Latina women working in New York City’s sex industry. Made in collaboration with the TRANSgrediendo Intercultural Collective. Wed 9 Jun / 17:45 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
2021
UK Competition
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Special Screenings We are pleased to present five films that resonate, in different ways, with the highlighted themes from our film programme, made by filmmakers who are well known to our audiences and whose work we want to follow. Steve McQueen’s new series resonates with current conversations and tensions across Europe and in
other continents, whilst Clive Patterson follows television reporter Sorious Samura’s efforts to portray Sierra Leone in a positive way. Working with Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, Brian Hill uses music and poetry to portray the pain and sadness experienced by ordinary British people during COVID-19. Additionally, we also
present three films that together offer a multitude of perspectives on 9/11 and its consequences, from that of a child in Afghanistan, to the perspective of firemen, workers and survivors in New York City.
Uprising Steve McQueen, James Rogan / UK / 2021 / 60’ / World Premiere / English
A Pandemic Poem: WHERE DID THE WORLD GO? Brian Hill / UK / 2021 / 76’ / World Premiere / English
Sing, Freetown Clive Patterson / UK, USA / 2021 / 94’ / World Premiere / English, Krio
Uprising is a vivid and visceral three-part series which examines three events from 1981: the New Cross Fire which killed 13 black teenagers; Black People’s Action Day, the first organised mass protest by black British people; and the Brixton riots. The series reveals how these events intertwined and defined race relations for a generation. Sat 5 Jun / 17:15 BST / Showroom Cinema 4
A collaboration between filmmaker Brian Hill and poet laureate Simon Armitage, Where Did The World Go responds to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film meets several people, who have different experiences of the pandemic, some tragic, some amusing, whilst poetic narration provides a narrative backbone. Employing music, dance, and poetry, the film looks at the use of art in dealing with catastrophe.
Celebrated TV journalist Sorious Samura has grown tired of telling negative stories about Africa. He embarks on a journey with his best friend Charlie Haffner, Sierra Leone’s most famous playwright, to create an epic work of national theatre – a play to reclaim their country from negative media narratives and the damaging legacy of colonial rule. It doesn’t go as planned.
Thu 10 Jun / 18:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 4
Fri 11 Jun / 11:30 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
The first episode of the series will screen at Sheffield DocFest.
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Sheffield DocFest
2021
My Childhood, My Country – 20 Years in Afghanistan Phil Grabsky, Shoaib Sharifi / Afghanistan, UK / 2021 / 90’ / World Premiere / Dari
Following the life of one Afghan youth from 2001 to 2021, My Childhood, My Country begins with an encounter with the charismatic seven-year-old Mir Hussein. After this, the film follows him for two decades, bearing witness to his adventures and to Afghanistan’s struggles, examining what has – and what has not – been achieved in the country over the past 20 years.
9/11: One Day in America Daniel Bogado / UK / 2020 / 76’ / UK Premiere / English
Surviving 9/11 (Working Title) Arthur Cary / UK / 2021 / 89’ / World Premiere / English
Made in official collaboration with the 9/11 Memorial Museum, 9/11: One Day in America uses archival footage and new interviews with eyewitnesses who have had almost two decades to reflect on the events they lived through to offer a powerful, immersive, and emotionally charged account of that fateful day.
9/11 is perhaps the defining event of the contemporary era. Broadcast internationally, it is a moment in modern history that everyone over a certain age feels that they lived through. This film offers two intertwining narratives; the two hour period in which terrorists attacked the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and Flight 93, and the story of the 20 years that have passed since.
Sun 13 Jun / 14:15 BST / Showroom Cinema 4
Sun 13 Jun / 11:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 4
2021
This film is only screening online
Special Screenings
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Into the World Sheffield DocFest’s Into the World strand showcases essential films with urgent themes that take varied approaches to exploring our past, present, and collective future. Established filmmakers and young, emerging
talents are showcased side by side in this strand to tell us vital stories from across the globe: Argentina, Brazil, Cameroon, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Poland, Russia, Spain, Syria, the
UK, and the USA. Thanks to their films, we are not only able to travel, but to learn and think deeply about the world we are living in.
Delphine’s Prayers / Les prières de Delphine Rosine Mbakam / Belgium, Cameroon / 2021 / 90’ / UK Premiere / French
Two Films from Argentina
Splinters / Esquirlas Natalia Garayalde / Argentina / 2020 / 70’ / UK Premiere / Spanish
Delphine’s Prayers is the story of Delphine – a young Cameroonian woman – and her life in Belgium. Through exchanges between Delphine and filmmaker Rosine Mbakam, a powerful portrait emerges of a generation of women lost to the dream of a better world in Europe. Delphine’s energy and courage consume the confined space that she inhabits. Her voice is essential, and this film belongs to her. Fri 4 Jun / 14:00 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
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Homage to the work of Philip Henry Gosse / Homenaje a la obra de Philip Henry Gosse Pablo Martin Weber / Argentina / 2020 / 22’ / European Premiere / Spanish
Using images and sounds from his own personal archive, and taking a broad approach to his subject matter – including insights into artificial intelligence, the philosophical theory of positivism, and even H.P. Lovecraft – Pablo Martin Weber builds a poetic film essay, which has as its consistent thread a genuine passion for science, and regard for the figure of the English naturalist Philip Henry Gosse.
Sheffield DocFest
2021
On November 3rd, 1995, in filmmaker Natalia Garayalde’s hometown, the Río Tercero Military Munitions Factory exploded. Thousands of shells dispersed against the city that had produced them. Aged 12, while trying to escape from the explosions, Garayalde recorded the devastation of her hometown with a video camera. Finding these tapes 25 years later, the filmmaker observes continuities in the footage. Sat 5 Jun / 17:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
The Return: Life After ISIS Alba Sotorra Clua / Spain, UK / 2021 / 85’ / European Premiere / English
Shamima Begum and Hoda Muthana made it into headlines worldwide when they travelled from their countries – the UK and USA – as teenagers and joined ISIS. Now, they want to return to their homes. Sevinaz, a young Kurdish woman who has lost family to ISIS, invites the women to write letters to their former selves and tell their stories for the first time. Sun 6 Jun / 11:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 4
Family Life The World of Mindfulness / Zing Nim Sai Gaai Ying Liang / Hong Kong / 2021 / 15’ / World Premiere / Cantonese, English, Mandarin
Tomorrow We’ll See / Domani si vedrà Lorenzo Vitrone / Italy / 2020 / 21’ / UK Premiere / Italian
Luigina is a nurse and a mother of three who lives in the outskirts of Rome. The effects of the pandemic weigh heavily on her, worrying the whole family. Eventually, she confides in her eldest son, finding solace in an expression of her fears. Only the warmth of her loved ones gives her the strength she needs to keep going. If god were a woman / Si dios fuera mujer Angélica Cervera / Colombia / 2021 / 71’ / World Premiere / Spanish
My Name is Pauli Murray Betsy West, Julie Cohen / USA / 2021 / 91’ / European Premiere / English
Pauli Murray was a pioneering Black attorney, activist, priest, poet and memoirist who wrestled with gender identity and shaped landmark litigation – and consciousness – around race and gender equity, and fought heavily in the battle for social justice. Told mainly using Murray’s own words, this filmic portrait reveals a tenacious spirit; Pauli Murray is a name you will not forget. Sun 6 Jun / 17:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 4 Also screening in select cinemas across the UK. Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America Emily Kunstler, Sarah Kunstler / USA / 2021 / 117’ / UK Premiere / English
Laura lives with her parents in L’Alfàz del Pi, in Valencia. Three years ago, she started her transition. Laura now faces adolescence, and with it, a series of changes that will mean a new chapter for her and her family. Each decision they make could be definitive. During those lockdown days when nobody could go outside, Ying Liang saw his son finding a way to fly around the world, using a paper airplane carrying Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami’s portrait. Using a touch of playful cinephilia, with The World of Mindfulness, Chinese filmmaker Liang – now living in Hong Kong – creates a marvellously simple piece about the world of childhood.
Sun 6 Jun / 14:15 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
Taking American Civil Liberties Union deputy legal director Jeffery Robinson’s groundbreaking talk on the history of anti-Black racism in America as a starting point, Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America interweaves archival material, and interviews that chronicle Robinson’s meetings with change-makers throughout history. The film explores the enduring legacy of white supremacy and our collective responsibility to overcome it. Mon 7 Jun / 17:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 4 Sat 12 Jun / 11:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 1
2021
Into the World
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Fighting For Democracy Party Line Lydia Cornett / USA / 2020 / 7’ / International Premiere / English
Franklin County, the liberal stronghold and most populated county in Ohio, faced its share of challenges in November 2020: errors in absentee ballots, record inperson early voting turnout, and a polarising political climate with rising coronavirus numbers. Party Line documents the experience of those who waited in line to ensure their votes were counted. Alvorada Palace / Alvorada Anna Muylaert, Lo Politi / Brazil / 2020 / 80’ / European Premiere / Portuguese
Designed by Oscar Niemeyer, the Palácio da Alvorada is the official residence of all of Brazil’s presidents, including Dilma Rousseff, in power from 2011 until 2016, at which time she was impeached. Following Dilma Rousseff and her closest members of staff over the days that lead up to the impeachment trial that resulted in her downfall, Alvorada Palace is a poignant reflection on the nature of leadership and power.
In The Shadow of 9/11 Dan Reed / Dominican Republic, Haiti, USA / 2021 / 110’ / World Premiere / English
From the director of Leaving Neverland (2019), In The Shadow of 9/11 tells the story of a post-9/11 real-life thriller fabricated by the FBI in which seven innocent young Black men from Miami were accused of plotting mass murder with Al Qaeda. The film questions the troubling methods of the FBI’s post-9/11 hunt for domestic terrorists which has perversely increased the public’s fear of terrorism while making the country less safe for its inhabitants. Tue 8 Jun / 18:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 4
Gorbachev. Heaven / Горбачев. Рай Vitaly Mansky / Czech Republic, Latvia / 2020 / 100’ / UK Premiere / Russian
In this intimate portrait, Vitaly Mansky encounters Mikhail Gorbachev, a truly titanic figure of 20th century history, at his secluded estate on the outskirts of Moscow. Through a series of contentious conversations, he reflects on the major battles of his life, all while struggling with the enervating effects of his age. Fri 11 Jun / 17:30 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Carlos Ghosn: The Last Flight Nick Green / France, Lebanon, UK / 2021 / 99’ / World Premiere / English, French, Japanese
The First 54 Years – an Abbreviated Manual for Military Occupation Avi Mograbi / France, Finland, Germany, Israel / 2021 / 110’ / UK Premiere / English, French, German, Hebrew
Carlos Ghosn – the former CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, charged with financial crimes – stunned the world with his escape from Japan to Lebanon. What triggered Ghosn’s spectacular downfall from industry leader to international fugitive? Is there any truth to Ghosn’s claims of a corporate conspiracy? Nick Green’s documentary sheds light on this multilayered story, drawing out a portrait of a fascinating character. Wed 9 Jun / 14:15 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Tue 8 Jun / 11:30 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
The Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian territories has lasted 54 years, and there is seemingly no end in sight. Working with testimonies given by soldiers in the Israeli army, Avi Mograbi provides insights on how a colonialist occupation functions, using Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip as a case study. Fri 11 Jun / 20:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 4 Also screening in select cinemas across the UK.
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Sheffield DocFest
2021
Final Account Luke Holland / Germany, UK / 2019 / 90’ / UK Premiere / German
An urgent portrait of the last living generation of everyday citizens who participated in Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich, Final Account uses interviews with men and women who are reckoning with their memories of their own roles in one of the most horrendous crimes in human history to raise vital, timely questions about authority, conformity, complicity and perpetration, national identity, and responsibility. Sat 12 Jun / 11:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 4 Borderland / Grenzland Andreas Voigt / Germany, Poland / 2020 / 97’ / International Premiere / English, German, Polish
Three decades after making his first film about the region, one of the pivotal East German documentarians returns to the borderlands where the outer limits of Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic intersect. Voigt once again encounters a people with a porous cultural identity, where family histories are intertwined with an array of dialects and legacies.
The Savior For Sale: The Story of the Salvator Mundi Antoine Vitkine / France / 2021 / 95’ / UK Premiere / English, French
Delving into the murky depths of the art world, journalist Antoine Vitkine investigates the influence that one painting can have. Exploring the story of the Salvator Mundi (The Savior of the World), The Savior for Sale asks a question: is this really the work of Leonardi da Vinci, or one of the greatest scams in the history of art? Sat 12 Jun / 17:00 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3 MINAMATA Mandala 1, 2 & 3 Kazuo Hara / Japan / 2020 / 372’ / UK Premiere / Japanese
As early as 1937, the Chisso Corporation began dumping toxic waste into the waters of a fishing village in Minamata, Japan, initiating a form of methylmercury poisoning in the local population now known as Minamata disease. Kazuo Hara’s documentary tracks the legal struggles of several long-term sufferers of this disease, filming their battle across 15 years to create an epic three-part film. Sun 13 Jun / 11:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 1
Sat 12 Jun / 11:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
2021
Into the World
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Rebellions The global pandemic of the past 15 months has shone a light on the unjust systems of power and rapacious forms of exploitation that define our contemporary world. With these inescapable revelations comes a clear and unambiguous need for rebellion. In an era that will be remembered both for an unimaginable force majeure, and a global reckoning with hierarchy and domi-
Territories Ancient Sunshine Jason Livingston / USA / 2021 / 19’ / World Premiere / English
Ancient Sunshine traces a meandering path through coal extraction and climate activism in the American West, focusing on The Utah Sands Resistance, and setting interviews with its primary organisers against images of the industrialised landscape. Reflecting on anarchist organisation, labor history and cultural myth, the film proposes that we foster solidarity against the violence by which ‘earth’ becomes ‘resource’.
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nation, mass movements and collective actions have been essential survival strategies, transmitted around the world largely through visual media. Widespread conversation about anti-Blackness, police violence, white supremacy and prison abolition, paired with crackdowns on protest in the name of public health, lead us to reframe contemporary resistance and historic
struggles. The films in Rebellions illuminate cinema’s role in documenting – and tangibly contributing to – the myriad forms of resistance that continue to persist worldwide, pandemic or not.
The Annotated Field Guide of Ulysses S. Grant Jim Finn / USA / 2020 / 60’ / UK Premiere / English
The Silence of The Mole / El silencio del Topo Anaïs Taracena / Guatemala / 2021 / 93’ / European Premiere / Spanish
Few works about the American Civil War reach the level of historical detail and formal playfulness as this musical fantasia about Ulysses S. Grant’s liberatory march through the southern United States. Jim Finn merges stop motion animation, 16mm film, and a 70s-inspired synth score into an unlikely anti-racist combination. Sat 5 Jun / 11:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 1
Sheffield DocFest
2021
In the 1970s, a journalist who called himself ‘The Mole’ infiltrated the bowels of Guatemala’s most repressive government in order to help the resistance, accessing information about political violence that the military government had been planning. Today, the search for this unusual character probes the cracks in the walls of silence that surround this country’s hidden history. Sat 5 Jun / 20:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
Riverock / É Rocha e Rio, Negro Leo Paula Gaitán / Brazil / 2020 / 157’ / UK Premiere / Portuguese
Intimately shot in his home, and emerging somewhere between artist portrait and testimony, Riverock is a conversation with the musician, poet, sociologist and thinker Negro Leo. He articulates his ideas about the development of music, Brazilian and international politics, the ascension of neo-Pentecostal religions and his obsession with social media, all while making parallels with his own life and work. Sun 6 Jun / 13.30 BST / Showroom Cinema 1 Just A Movement / Juste un mouvement Vincent Meessen / Belgium, France / 2021 / 110’ / UK Premiere / Chinese, French
In Senegal, Omar Blondin Diop’s name is associated with an unpunished state crime. In France, he is mostly remembered as the Marxist activist featured in La Chinoise, a fiction film of political anticipation by Jean-Luc Godard. Vincent Meessen’s political and poetic inquiry into Diop offers a meditation on the relationship between politics, justice, and memory. Sun 6 Jun / 17:15 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
Let’s Start Again Civil War Surveillance Poems (Part 1) Mitch McCabe / USA / 2020 / 15’ / UK Premiere / English
The first iteration of a five-part feature film of speculative experimental nonfiction, which contemplates an impending American civil war via lyrical nonfiction, mixing call-in radio, twenty years of verité footage from the filmmaker’s archive, and robots. The film is partly a nostalgic political travelogue and partly a pre-war surveillance record, deconstructing our past, future and present political moment, with its clashing ideologies. E•pis•to•lar•y: Letter to Jean Vigo Lynne Sachs / USA, Spain / 2021 / 9’ / UK Premiere / English
In a cinema letter to Jean Vigo, Lynne Sachs ponders the French filmmaker’s 1933 classic Zéro de conduite, in which school boys wage an anarchist rebellion against their authoritarian teachers. Thinking about the January 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol by right-wing activists, Sachs wonders how both innocent play and calculated protest can quickly turn into chaos and violence.
2021
Two Minutes to Midnight Yael Bartana / Germany, Netherlands / 2021 / 47’ / UK Premiere / English
Two Minutes to Midnight is the final stage of a four year transdisciplinary series by Yael Bartana. A group of actors gather on a stage. They are playing the allfemale government of an imaginary nation. Together, they discuss the global emergencies of our male-dominated reality. The performance examines the impact that female-led governments would have on the way that international crises are resolved. Sat 6 Jun / 20:45 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
Dear Elnaz Mania Akbari / Canada / 2021 / 83’ / UK Premiere / Farsi
In Dear Elnaz, Javad Soleimani – whose wife, Elnaz Nabiyi, was killed aboard a flight shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Jan 2020 – is given space to reflect and share his anger. The film follows him through a complex labyrinth of mourning and healing, until his sorrow is gradually geared towards a loud cry for justice. Mon 7 Jun / 14:45 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Rebellions
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The Inheritance Ephraim Asili / USA / 2020 / 100’ / UK Premiere / English
Monopoly of Violence They Won’t Call It Murder Melissa Gira Grant, Ingrid Raphael / USA / 2021 / 24’ / World Premiere / English
A young man inherits his grandmother’s house and, with the encouragement of his girlfriend, turns it into a Black socialist collective where community forms the basis of family. Based partly on his own time in a Black liberationist group, Ephraim Asili references the legacies of the MOVE Organisation and the Black Arts Movement with humour and reverence. Mon 7 Jun / 20:30 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3 Fixed barricade at Hamdalaye Crossing / Barrage d’arrêt fixe et fermé au niveau du carrefour Hamdalaye Thomas Bauer / France, Guinea / 2020 / 70’ / International Premiere / French, Fulfulde
On September 28th 2009, in Conakry, Guinea, security forces massacred 157 people at the Stade du 28 Septembre, the city’s main sports stadium. In 2018, filmmaker Thomas Bauer met a group of frustrated plaintiffs who set up rehearsals for the staging of a hypothetical trial, using performance to piece together the case as an investigative aid, and an act of catharsis.
Police have been killing people in Columbus, Ohio, with near impunity for more than two decades, leaving behind a community bound together by grief – and a system that refuses to call these killings murder. These are the mothers, sisters, and grandmothers of those who were killed by Columbus police, seeking justice where they know it is unlikely to be found. The Monopoly of Violence / Un pays qui se tient sage David Dufresne / France / 2020 / 87’ / UK Premiere / French
In France, as anger and resentment grow in the face of social inequities, citizen-led protests are met with ever-increasing violence. The Monopoly of Violence gathers a panel of citizens to question, exchange, and confront their views on the social order and the legitimacy of state uses of violence, and to ask: where is the space for resistance and protest? Wed 9 Jun / 20:15 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Brazil Is Thee Haiti Is (T)here / O que Há em Ti Carlos Adriano / Brazil / 2020 / 16’ / UK Premiere / English, French, Haitian, Portuguese
On March 16th 2020 in Brasília, the capital of Brazil, an anonymous and unknown Haitian man challenged the chief of the nation: “Bolsonaro, it’s over. You are not the President anymore.” This film-poem is a counterpoint between this act of protest, and the catastrophic military operations held by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, commanded by Brazil. Narcissus Off Duty / Narciso em Férias Ricardo Calil, Renato Terra / Brazil / 2020 / 84’ / UK Premiere / Portuguese
In Narcissus Off Duty, renowned musician Caetano Veloso gives testimony about his imprisonment by the military dictatorship in Brazil in 1968. A minimalist exercise that describes the psychological tactics of violence practiced during his incarceration, and their effects, this courageous and lyrical historical documentation takes on contemporary relevance, when considered alongside the actions of Brazil’s current government. Thu 10 Jun / 20:30 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Tue 8 Jun / 18:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
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Brazil: Stories of Music and Pain
Sheffield DocFest
2021
Life Is Our Revolutionary Priority
Chelas nha Kau Bagabaga Studios, Bataclan 1950 / Portugal / 2020 / 57’ / International Premiere / Creole, Portuguese
I’m Free Now, You Are Free Ash Goh Hua / USA / 2020 / 15’ / UK Premiere / English
I’m Free Now, You Are Free is about the reunion and repair between Mike Africa Jr. and his mother Debbie Africa – a formerly-incarcerated political prisoner of the MOVE9. In 2018, Mike Africa Jr. successfully organised to have his parents released on parole. This film meditates on Black family preservation as resistance against the brutal legacies of state sanctioned family separation. MOVE: Confrontation in Philadelphia Karen Pomer, Jane Mancini / USA / 1980 / 62’ / UK Premiere / English
The MOVE Organisation is a family of committed revolutionaries, founded by John Africa in 1972. Life is their priority, and caring for life forms the core of their beliefs. MOVE’s members survived two catastrophic attacks from the Philadelphia police within the span of 10 years, resulting in members being imprisoned and murdered, including children. This film is a living testimony.
Made collectively through a multimedia workshop and composed of everyday fragments, Chelas nha Kau was born from the desire of Bataclan 1950 – a group of friends and hip-hop artists – to tell their story from their own perspective, rebuking the negative public perception of Chelas’s Zona J, the low-income suburb in Lisbon where they live. Sat 12 Jun / 20:00 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3 Sat 13 Jun / 11:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 2 (Community Screening) Courage Aliaksei Paluyan / Belarus, Germany / 2021 / 89’ / UK Premiere / Belarusian, Russian
Maryna, Pavel and Denis belong to an underground theatre group in Minsk, Belarus. In the course of the contested 2020 presidential elections, and together with thousands of fellow citizens, they take part in the peaceful mass protests. United by their hope for freedom of speech and democracy, they narrowly escape arrest and torture. Sat 12 Jun / 20:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 4
Fri 11 Jun / 17:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
2021
Rebellions
29
Rhyme & Rhythm Film has a rich history of interacting and interweaving with other practices, and it is in Rhyme & Rhythm where cinema and other artforms meet: through Afro-Cuban music, chaâbi, choral singing, classical, new wave, no wave, pop, post-punk and spoken word, via cabaret, drag, comic books, drawing, opera, poetry, skating, sports and street dance. Here, each film offers one artistic
expression within another, and spotlights the work of different artists: Beth B on Lydia Lunch; Kim O’Bomsawin on Josephine Bacon; Michael Cumming and Stewart Lee on Robert Lloyd; Rob Roth on Blondie; Vivian Kleiman on Alison Bechdel, Howard Cruse, Jennifer Camper, Rupert Kinnard, and Mary Wings; Vivian Ostrovsky on Chantal Akerman; Chantal Akerman on
Sonia Wieder-Atherton; Yael Abecassis on Raymonde El Bidaouia, and more. From across the globe, a diverse range of creative talent – both in front of and behind the camera – express their truth, each film offering encounters and inspiration to a different beat.
Sonia & Chantal
Avec Sonia Wieder-Atherton Chantal Akerman / France / 2003 / 51’ / French
Lift Like a Girl & Stormskater
SON CHANT Vivian Ostrovsky / USA / 2020 / 13’ / UK Premiere / French
Reviewing tapes shot over a decade, filmmaker Vivian Ostrovsky rediscovered a night sequence showing Chantal Akerman and Sonia Wieder-Atherton leaving a brasserie that they had all dined at in Paris. From this, Ostrovsky decided to focus on the role of music in Akerman’s films and her collaboration with WiederAtherton, the cellist with whom she made more than 20 films.
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Stormskater Guen Murroni / UK / 2021 / 6’ / World Premiere / English
Filmed and introduced by Chantal Akerman, world famous cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton talks about herself and her musical path. After this, Wieder-Atherton takes over the narrative, sitting before the camera for an extended presentation of her life and art, including a series of beautifully-framed shots that show her playing various short pieces, both solo and with a small ensemble. Sat 5 Jun / 14:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 1
Sheffield DocFest
2021
Meet Ishariah Johnson, known as ‘Stormskater’ – a London-based roller-skater who started skating by picking up techniques from other skaters in different spots across the city. Now one of the most well-known skaters in the UK, Stormskater gives us insight into the sport and its community, as well as exploring issues of appropriation, ownership, authenticity, and the fundamental need for space.
Lift Like a Girl / نتباك اي شاع Mayye Zayed / Denmark, Egypt, Germany / 2020 / 92’ / UK Premiere / Arabic
Alone Together & Shelly Belly inna Real Life
Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra Nel Minchin, Wayne Blair / Australia / 2020 / 95’ / European Premiere / English
Shelly Belly inna Real Life Cecilia Bengolea / Argentina, France / 2021 / 24’ / UK Premiere / English
On a corner-lot in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, female weightlifters train to become Olympic champions. Following in the footsteps of some of Egypt’s most famous athletes, 14-year-old Zebiba trains under the tutelage of the visionary Captain Ramadan. Can Zebiba direct her focus to be the weightlifting champion that her coach feels certain she is capable of becoming? Sat 5 Jun / 20:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 4 Also screening in select cinemas across the UK
Lydia Lunch: The War Is Never Over Beth B / USA / 2019 / 78’ / UK Premiere / English
Artist and choreographer Cecilia Bengolea collaborates with Jamaica’s dancehall scene to capture the cultural influences within and upon the Caribbean island art community. Narrated through movement and music, the film follows the language of dancehall, progressing from the intricate rhythms of the jungle landscapes to the choreography of the people whose passionpractice it follows.
Men Who Sing Dylan Williams / UK / 2021 / 90’ / World Premiere / English, Welsh
Mon 7 Jun / 20:45 BST / Showroom Cinema 4 Gallant Indies / Indes Galantes Philippe Béziat / France / 2020 / 108’ / UK Premiere / English, French
Alone Together Bradley & Pablo / USA / 2020 / 80’ / International Premiere / English
Working with choreographer Bintou Dembélé, filmmaker Clément Cogitore staged a bold new production of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s baroque masterpiece Les Indes galantes at Paris’s Opéra national de Paris, combining urban dance such as hip-hop, krump, break, and voguing with classical music. In Philippe Béziat’s film about the production, various worlds collide, showing how powerful art can overcome social and cultural divides.
Underground filmmaker Beth B’s Lydia Lunch: The War Is Never Over is the first in-depth documentary on the titular no wave artist. A plethora of rare archives takes viewers into the 1970s New York underground scene where the magnetic, unapologetic Lydia takes to the stage to sing about sex, desire, violence, and her refusal to be a victim of male oppression. Sat 5 Jun / 20:30 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
The story of three Aboriginal brothers, who formed a young dance company and, with its founders and alumni, turned it into a First Nations powerhouse. Firestarter explores the loss and reclamation of culture, the burden of intergenerational trauma, and the power of art as a messenger for social change, care, pleasure and healing.
Overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic and searching for any means to mediate lockdown, pop star Charli XCX enlists the help of her fanbase to record a new album, collaboratively and virtually, in only 40 days. The film shows the power music has to connect people and how transparency in the creative process can offer a cathartic form of escapism.
Tue 8 Jun / 21:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 4
Sun 6 Jun / 20:15 BST / Showroom Cinema 4 Mon 7 Jun / 14:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 4 (Relaxed Screening)
The Trelawnyd Male Voice Choir has a proud history, and its demise reflects the industrial decline of North East Wales. Now facing a waning membership, the choir must act fast or face extinction. With an average age of 74, they begin a hunt to find “brown haired men” in their 40s and 50s who can take the choir forward. Sun 6 Jun / 11:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 3 Tue 8 Jun / 14:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 4 (Relaxed Screening)
2021
Rhyme & Rhythm
31
The Witches of the Orient / Les Sorcières de l’Orient Julien Faraut / France / 2021 / 100’ / UK Premiere / French, Japanese, Russian
Former players of the Japanese women’s volleyball team, all now in their 70s, reunite to eat, talk, and share their memories. Mixing anime, archive and liveaction footage, The Witches of the Orient spans from the squad’s beginnings through to their triumph at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, which followed a record 258 successive wins that remains unbeaten to this day. Wed 9 Jun / 20:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 4
Soy Cubana Jeremy Ungar, Ivaylo Getov / Cuba, USA / 2021 / 80’ / International Premiere / English, Spanish
Just as diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba begin to falter, the Vocal Vidas, an all-female a cappella group from Santiago de Cuba, are invited to perform their first show in America. What starts as a concert soon becomes a journey across borders: an affirmation of the connective power of music, even in the most uncertain times. Thu 10 Jun / 17:30 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Soy Cubana & BLONDIE: VIVIR EN LA HABANA BLONDIE: VIVIR EN LA HABANA Rob Roth / USA / 2021 / 18’ / UK Premiere / English
In 2019, a lifelong dream comes true for Blondie when the legendary post-punk band is invited to Cuba. When they hit Havana, New York’s new wave blends with Latin beats as filmmaker Rob Roth fuses street sequences shot on Super 8 and 16mm with digitally-filmed performance footage, creating a love letter to the city penned in partnership with Debbie Harry and the group.
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An intimate portrait of aging and friendship as Maisie Trollette, Britain’s oldest drag artiste, prepares for the performance of a lifetime while battling Alzheimer’s. Featuring Broadway classics such as ‘Lady is a Tramp’, ‘One’, and ‘If I Never Sing Another Song’, Maisie is a heart-warming, and often heart-breaking, peek into the world of a character more colourful than his gowns. Fri 11 Jun / 14:15 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3 Roses. Film-Cabaret / Рози. Фільм-кабаре Irena Stetsenko / Ukraine / 2021 / 78’ / International Premiere / English, Russian, Ukrainian
Call Me Human / Je m’appelle humain Kim O’Bomsawin / Canada / 2020 / 78’ / UK Premiere / French, Innu-Aimun
This tender portrait of Innu poet, writer, filmmaker, and storyteller Joséphine Bacon follows her from the snowy streets of Montreal to the region along the coastal mouth of the Saint-Laurent river, occasionally accompanied by Ilnu-Québécoise poet Marie-Andrée Gill. Bacon talks of her efforts to preserve her elders’ traditions, which the forces of Canadian colonisation have attempted to stamp out. Fri 11 Jun / 11:15 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
Sheffield DocFest
Maisie Lee Cooper / UK / 2021 / 76’ / World Premiere / English
From the Ukrainian uprising came the Dakh Daughters, a punk cabaret performance act comprising seven artists, who play 15 instruments between them. The film follows preparations for their first stage show, Roses, a multilingual and multi-instrumental tragicomic musical theatre production through which the group explore their roles as artists, as women, and as citizens living through times of revolution and war. Fri 11 Jun / 19:45 BST / Abbeydale Picture House
2021
King Rocker Michael Cumming / UK / 2021 / 90’ / Festival Premiere / English
No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics & Drawings of my BF Drawings of my BF James Cooper / UK / 2021 / 7’ / World Premiere / English
Comedian Stewart Lee and director Michael Cumming (Brass Eye) investigate a missing piece of punk history. Robert Lloyd, best known for fronting cult bands The Prefects and The Nightingales, has survived under the radar for over four decades. Anti-rockumentary King Rocker weaves the story of Birmingham’s undervalued, underdog autodidact with that of the city’s forgotten public sculpture of King Kong. Sat 12 Jun / 14:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 4 Raymonde el Bidaoia Yaël Abecassis / Israel / 2020 / 77’ / European Premiere / French, Hebrew, Moroccan
The artist Wilfrid Wood and his muse Theo Adamson have, over the course of their relationship, produced hundreds of drawings together. The two lovers, who first met on a gay hook-up app, discuss the romantic ideals and human realities of the artist-muse dynamic, and the role that art has played in bringing artist and model together as BFs. No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics Vivian Kleiman / USA / 2021 / 73’ / International Premiere / English
Armed with her camera, actor-turned-director Yaël Abecassis follows her mother, the legendary Moroccan singer Raymonde, in an attempt to understand and redefine their relationship. This film shows a mother and daughter as bound by pain, guilt, admiration, and above all else, their limitless love for music and each other. Sat 12 Jun / 18:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
From Come Out Comix to Fun Home and Brown Bomber & The Diva, zine culture comes to life on screen in this celebration of queer cartoons and graphic novels. Artists Alison Bechdel, Howard Cruse, Jennifer Camper, Rupert Kinnard, and Mary Wings tell of how they tackled issues of identity and challenged censorship through pen, paper, intelligence and imagination. Sun 13 June / 17:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 4
2021
Rhyme & Rhythm
33
Ghosts & Apparitions Cinema was borne out of the tension between that which is visible, and that which – however lived, however felt – struggles to find material form or expression. This realm of virtuality – the “real but not actual, ideal but not abstract” – carries the possibilities of both oppression and freedom, resistance and violence, fear and
revolution. Ghosts & Apparitions is the exploration of this wonderful, interstitial space, and of the capacities of film to expand our notions and experiences of reality. Past and present images gather on the screen, and build a possible map of our times: one which is complex, multifaceted, and which can’t be grasped or parsed
through fixed codes and norms. With films ranging from 1945 to 2021, from 23 countries, this is a journey full of surprises, that encourages us to reflect on the richness and complexity of our multiple existences.
Home
Golden Flask / Auksinis Flakonas Jurgis Matulevicius, Paulius Anicas / Lithuania / 2020 / 28’ / International Premiere / Lithuanian, Russian
How Can We Ever Live Together
The Year of The White Moon / God Beloi Luni Maxim Pechersky / Russia / 2020 / 21’ / International Premiere / Russian
In the intimacy of a muted, deserted living room, a series of telephone conversations take place between a superstitious mother living in the Russian provinces and her gay son, who moved to the capital. The Year of the White Moon is a tragicomedy about a conversation between two people who hear each other, but are not able to listen.
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When We Were Bullies Jay Rosenblatt / USA / 2021 / 35’ / UK Premiere / English
A single night in a small apartment in which the same four people have lived together for many years. Nothing changes here. People’s hearts may not age, but their minds, worn by the ravages of time, cannot function clearly anymore. They talk about God, dreams, and their growing beer bellies. Time seems circular; life is a waiting room. Fri 4 Jun / 20:30 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Sheffield DocFest
2021
A mind boggling ‘coincidence’ leads the filmmaker, Jay Rosenblatt, to track down members of his 5th grade class – and 5th grade teacher – to see what they remember of a bullying incident from 50 years ago. In a playful yet poignant manner, using collage and conversations, he begins to understand his complicity in the incident, and considers the bully in all of us.
Blue sky / Zerua blu Lur Olaizola Lizarralde / Spain / 2020 / 14’ / International Premiere / Basque, English, French
Stories of Struggle, Stories of Diaspora
One Image, Two Acts / Yek Tasveer, Do Bardasht Sanaz Sohrabi / Canada, Germany, Iran, USA / 2020 / 45’ / UK Premiere / English, Farsi
Aphorisms of the Lake / Aforismos del Lago Humberto González Bustillo / Venezuela / 2021 / 26’ / World Premiere / English, French, German, Spanish
In 1954, Mamaddi Jaunarena, 22-years-old, took a boat from Le Havre to New York. But Mamaddi’s journey began before, in a film theatre in her hometown, Ortzaize, in France, with images that affected her life and remained with her forever: a beautiful Cadillac, a young woman, the blue sky. This is the imagery of emmigration, and its often crude reality. Barataria Julie Nguyen Van Qui / France, Spain / 2021 / 49’ / World Premiere / Spanish
After his mother falls ill, filmmaker Humberto González Bustillo flies back home to be with her. Upon his return, he memorialises his childhood, but also recounts the colonial interest in Venezuelan land, and the now crisisstricken oil industry. This diaristic film is a meditation on grief, and a visual poem that is both mournful of, and haunted by, nostalgia. Letter From Your Far-Off Country Suneil Sanzgiri / India, USA / 2020 / 18’ / UK Premiere / English, Hindi, Urdu
El Quiñon is the youngest city in Spain: a brand new town which was left incomplete when the financial crisis devastated the country’s economy. The first generation of children have now become teenagers, living in a ghost town that is trying to become a community. In Barataria, in the face of an uncertain future, this generation’s dreams and hopes reflect the complexities of contemporary Spain during its national elections. Sat 5 Jun / 14:15 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
Using hand-processed 16mm film, direct animation techniques, and digital renderings of Kashmir’s mountains, Suneil Sanzgiri’s personal film explores lineages of political commitment and diasporic creativity. A poem by Agha Shahid Ali, interviews with the filmmaker’s father, and a letter addressed to Communist Party leader Prabhakar Sanzgiri (the filmmaker’s distant relative), converge to uncover a delicate solidarity across generations.
2021
One Image, Two Acts examines the photographic archives of British Petroleum during its operations in Iran, exploring the organisation’s widespread construction of cinemas in the country’s oil towns. Sanaz Sohrabi’s film folds cinematic time into geological time, revealing how a homogenous colonial narrative was sustained through the appropriation of films and monopolisation of land. Sat 5 Jun / 17:00 / Showroom Cinema 1
Some Magic to Fight Oppression Kalsubai Yudhajit Basu / India / 2020 / 20’ / UK Premiere / Marathi
Kalsubai is an ethnographic film exploring the legend of Kalsu, a Goddess of India’s Mahadeo Koli people, whose story and identity remains highly present within the consciousness of the women of the tribe today. Yudhajit Basu’s film plunges us into a reverie that seeks traces of this ancestral myth in the contemporary world.
Ghosts & Apparitions
35
Finding Aline / À la recherche d’Aline Rokhaya Marieme Balde / Senegal, Switzerland / 2020 / 27’ / UK Premiere / Diola, Wolof, French
Under the White Mask: The Film Haesaerts Could Have Made / Onder Het Witte Masker: De Film Die Haesaerts Had Kunnen Maken Matthias De Groof / Belgium / 2020 / 9’ / International Premiere / Lingala
Something Nice to Eat Sarah Erulkar / UK / 1967 / 21’ / English “Cooking is a kind of loving.” Featuring Jean Shrimpton, and sponsored by the Gas Council, this film encapsulates the spirit of the 1960s in a gloriously entertaining, sometimes patronising and always visually inventive tribute to good food – preferably prepared using a gas cooker. Mon 7 Jun / 11:30 / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Image and Memory Rokhaya Marieme Balde, a young filmmaker, returns to her home in Dakar to make a film about a local historical figure. Through her research – which consists of interviews with local personalities, and discussions with her team alongside fictional scenes shot on location – Finding Aline uncovers the story of Aline Sitoe Diatta. Saudade Russell Adam Morton / Singapore / 2021 / 20’ / International Premiere / Creole
Yaõkwá, Image and Memory / Yaõkwá, Imagem e Memória Rita Carelli, Vincent Carelli / Brazil / 2020 / 21’ / European Premiere / Enawene Nawe
Based on fragments of Under the Black Mask, a 1958 film by Paul Haesaerts, this new film imagines what the masks, now subjects, would say. Aimé Césaire’s ‘Discourse on Colonialism’ is spoken in Lingala for the first time. This speech is still a critical mirror for Europe. Sun 6 Jun / 11:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
Reel Women / Real Lives: Britain’s Female Documentary Filmmakers A special Sheffield DocFest preview of a major BFI project, coming in Spring 2022, celebrating pioneering British women documentary filmmakers. Three digitally restored films provide a taster: Homes for the People (1945, Kay Mander); The Troubled Mind (1954, Margaret Thomson); Something Nice to Eat (1967, Sarah Erulkar). — Restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation. Funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. Saudade is an audio-visual archive of the vanishing language of Kristang – a Portuguese-Malaccan creole which was once the mother tongue of the Eurasian community within Singapore and Malaysia. Using folklore and myth as narrative anchors, the film reimagines the rituals of the early Eurasians to tell a story of culturedisplacement and, consequently, the loss of a language.
The Whisper of the Leaves / El Susurro de las Hojas Amir Aether Valen / Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago / 2021 / 16’ / World Premiere / Spanish
Homes for the People Kay Mander / UK / 1945 / 23’ / English One of Mander’s most powerful and radical films, itgives space for working class women to describe their living conditions in London, Derby, Rhondda and Northamptonshire. The Troubled Mind Margaret Thomson / UK / 1954 / 20’ / English A dramatised documentary featuring Adrienne Corri, made to recruit women for training as nurses in ‘mental hospitals.’ It takes a deeply humane and stylistically vivid approach. Some of the treatments shown would be considered unsuitable today.
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In the Mato Grosso state of Brazil, an audience of more than one thousand Enawenê Indians view images depicting their Yaõkwá ritual, recorded 25 years earlier. Through footage of their deceased relatives captured in these repatriation screenings, the Enawenê-nawê rediscover precious customs, rituals, and traditions that have fallen into disuse in the years since these images were first recorded.
Sheffield DocFest
2021
Three elderly workers of the land live in a small community in the outskirts of Bauta, Cuba. They perform simple daily rituals, moving with a slow rhythm that feels at one with the surrounding nature. These people live on their own time, and through them this film becomes a meditation on the interconnectivity between human spirit and other forms of life.
“The red filter is withdrawn.” / “레드필터가 철회됩니다” Minjung Kim / South Korea / 2020 / 12’ / UK Premiere / No Dialogue
With references to René Magritte’s La condition humaine (1935) and Hollis Frampton’s A Lecture (1968), caves and bunkers on Jeju Island, South Korea, are turned into camera lenses and projection screens, connecting the past and present of a place that holds memories of colonialism and massacre, and questioning the meaning of image-capturing itself. The White Death of The Black Wizard / A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro Rodrigo Ribeiro / Brazil / 2020 / 10’ / UK Premiere / No Dialogue
In The White Death of the Black Wizard, memories of Brazil’s history of slavery overflow into ghostly, manipulated archival images of ethereal landscapes, alongside a score composed of haunting and harrowing noises. This intimate and sensorial film reflects on the material and psychosocial impacts of slavery and the memories that reverberate through the generations, and across the diaspora. Mon 7 Jun / 20:45 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
Return Journeys
On Memory / 关于记忆 Liao Jiekai / Singapore / 2021 / 34’ / World Premiere / Mandarin
Remains of History Liberty Square / 自由廣場 Wood LIN / Taiwan / 2020 / 12’ / International Premiere / Mandarin
After two decades of avoiding the Qing Ming festival tradition of grave-sweeping, Liao Jiekai visits the graves of his ancestors. Based on Stones, by the Singaporean writer Yeng Pway Ngon, this is a semi-autobiographical portrait, where the filmmaker joins his future self on a journey of redemption and contemplation of their shared ancestral roots: a meditation on the passage of time and spirit.
“Liberty Square” was originally known as the “Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Square”, before being later retitled. By gazing upon this place, Wood LIN looks to uncover the legacy of authoritarianism that the dictator it was made for has left on contemporary Taiwan. Interweaving audio from propaganda films with new footage, Liberty Square is a probing spatial study that asks questions about history and democracy.
MITSUGU Ryuichi Ishikawa / Japan / 2017 / 42’ / International Premiere / Japanese
Lubiana Laibach Michael Pattison / UK / 2021 / 63’ / World Premiere / No Dialogue
A distinctive-looking man covered in tattoos, Mitsugu is in his studio. There, he carefully performs a mourning ritual, preparing his mother’s ashes to be scattered in the sea. Mitsugu asked Ishikawa to photograph this; Ishikawa decided to film. Ishikawa films every detail, each gesture feels like one of farewell. Death, mourning and love lend these images a sense of existential abyss.
In Michael Pattison’s Lubiana Laibach, a walkway encircling the Slovenian capital – delineated by a series of large stones that commemorate the border of the city’s wartime occupation – becomes the site for a work of pure cinema. Through the power of montage alone, Pattison poetically evokes and reanimates the invisible outlines of a history of resistance.
Tue 8 Jun / 20:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
Wed 9 Jun / 18:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
2021
Ghosts & Apparitions
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Hard to be a Human Two Sons and a River of Blood Amber Bemak, Angelo Madsen Minax / USA / 2021 / 10’ / UK Premiere / English, Spanish
The Art of Staging Reality: Three Films by Jon Bang Carlsen
Focus Taiwan: Memory Revisited 1
“Documentary films that pretend to be just filming reality, without reality acknowledging the intrusion of the camera crew, are dangerous”, says Danish filmmaker Jon Bang Carlsen. This programme of three of Bang Carlsen’s films will offer an insight into the working methods of a filmmaker who is never afraid to reinvent his approach in order to realise a cinematic narrative. Non-fiction and fiction are just two different methods for exploring the world, and in Bang Carlsen’s films, the two are often inseparable. — Curated by Marc Isaacs
In the historic context of Taiwan, ‘Memory Revisited’ also means ‘History Revisited’. This program emphasises personal and artistic perspectives that use archive footage to challenge the ideologies that were instilled into Taiwan’s citizens in the past – as well as this, these films also show how diverse Taiwan society and Taiwan cinema is! — Wood LIN, Curator A Short History of Decay / 解體概要 LIN Shih-chieh / Taiwan / 2014 / 6’ / No Dialogue
In a self-made family unit of two dykes and a trans man, one of the women is pregnant. Together, they enact a public sex ritual to celebrate an ideal or hoped-for interpersonal multiplicity, and to imagine a kind of erotic magic that could allow for procreation based solely on desire. Throughout the ritual, they acknowledge their cyborg bodies as technological interventions. North by Current Angelo Madsen Minax / USA / 2021 / 86’ / UK Premiere / English Before the Guests Arrive Jon Bang Carlsen / Denmark / 1986 / 18’ / Danish
After the death of his young niece, Angelo Madsen Minax returns to his rural Michigan hometown, preparing to make a film about a broken criminal justice system. Instead, he pivots to explore generational addiction, Christian fervour, and trans embodiment. North by Current is a visual rumination on the relationships between mothers and children, truths and myths, losses and gains. Thu 10 Jun / 20:45 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
On the west coast of Denmark, two elderly women are preparing a small beach hotel for the oncoming season, while talking about life and death, and teasing each other. Before the Guests Arrive is a poetic perception of the relationship between Mrs. Bech and Mrs. Christensen and the well-ordered past that they have chosen as their present.
History is the interpretation of linear signs and symbols. By decontextualizing the signs, the images are liberated. To fight against this illusion, let there be glitches. This video is sampled from Assignment Taiwan, a propaganda film made by the US army in the 70s, introducing the colonized history and the establishment of the US military in Taiwan after the Second World War.
It’s Now or Never Jon Bang Carlsen / Denmark / 1996 / 31’
Resampling the Past / 昔日拼貼 Marco WILMS / Taiwan / 2010 / 16’ / No Dialogue
The Irish west coast’s harsh yet graceful landscape is the setting for this documentary comedy. At the centre stands Jimmy, middle-aged and lonely. Looking out of his window, the only living being he sees is a cow, which he purchased from another friend – also a bachelor. Dreaming of a woman to share his life with, Jimmy approaches a matchmaker. How to Invent Reality Jon Bang Carlsen / Denmark / 1996 / 30’ / Danish In this filmic essay, Jon Bang Carlsen explains his approach to reality. In the film’s narration, Carlsen states: “I can only see the world by illuminating it with myself. Therefore, my shadow is always a big part of the finished film, and therefore my films have nothing to do with truth. They are my perceptions of the world, nothing else.” Fri 11 Jun / 16:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 4
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In Resampling the Past, the filmmaker uses a modern perspective to re-edit archival footage showing Taiwan between 1945 and 1985. Creating a contemporary musical out of historical images, this film reflects the filmmaker’s understanding of Taiwan’s history.
One World One Dream / 一中 CHUNG Chuan / Taiwan / 2018 / 20’ / International Premiere / Mandarin
People say that what happens in dreams is the opposite of that which unfolds in reality. But sometimes, reality itself is like a dream, and also a mirror image. Although reality can present a reflection of our dreaming lives, it cannot reverse time. In dreams, however, like an island where time and space are stagnating, a new moment may seem familiar again. Return / 回程列車 HUANG Pang-chuan / France / 2018 / 20’ / French
Bodies Under Control All of Your Stars Are but Dust on My Shoes Haig Aivazian / Lebanon / 2020 / 17’ / UK Premiere / Arabic, English
All of Your Stars Are but Dust on My Shoes tracks the public administration of light and darkness as an essential policing tool. Layering, splicing, and confronting disparate kinds of sound and image, Aivazian generates a sensorial meditation on how the fundamentals of human vision – light hitting the retina – were mechanised into tools that capture our movements, be it in everyday life or on screen. All Light, Everywhere Theo Anthony / USA / 2021 / 109’ / UK Premiere / English
Focus Taiwan: Memory Revisited 2 The Falling Kite / 斷線風箏 HSIAO Mei-ling / Taiwan / 1999 / 42’ / French, Taiwanese, Mandarin
The filmmaker lives in a dark and cold stone-paved town, far from her homeland in Taiwan. Leafing through photographs, her grandmother unravels a memory. Meanwhile, the French-speaking son of a Chinese man, who had arrived in France as a coal mine worker one century ago, speaks about his life. This film captures the emotions of wanderers caught between nations and history. This Shore: A Family Story / 此岸：一個家族故事 Tzu-An WU / Taiwan, USA / 2020 / 62’ / International Premiere / English, Mandarin
Two journeys take place in two different periods. One is a return by rail, passing through two continents. The other is an old family photograph that traces wartime life. The rhythmic swaying of the train merges the past and the present, revealing a forgotten memory, which has been covered with dust for a long time. Fri 11 Jun / 17:45 BST / Showroom Cinema 1
All Light, Everywhere is an exploration of the shared histories of cameras, weapons, policing and justice. As surveillance technologies become a fixture of everyday life, Theo Anthony’s film interrogates the complexity of an ‘objective’ point of view, probing the biases inherent in both human perception and the lens. Fri 11 Jun / 20:30 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
When the filmmaker told his aunt that he found his grandmother’s painting in a Chinese restaurant in America, his aunt burst into tears. Wandering through Cold War constructions, Taiwan-US relations, generations of diaspora, family romances, and ghost stories, this film transforms personal and collective familial memories into a reworking of The Flying Dutchman, wherein they are doomed to sail the oceans forevermore. Fri 11 Jun / 20:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 1
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Emily Chao & AI Wong: Films in Dialogue
Twin Peaks Al Wong / USA / 1977 / 50’ / International Premiere / No Dialogue
Focus Taiwan: Masterpiece The Time to Live and the Time to Die / 童年往事 Hsiao-Hsien HOU / Taiwan / 1985 / 118’ / Chinese
Bruce Takes Dragon Town Emily Chao / USA, Taiwan / 2015 / 15’ / UK Premiere / No Dialogue
Emily Chao’s Bruce Takes Dragon Town is a meditation on displacement, historical disembodiment and the power of cinema to immortalise lost souls. The whirr of a film projector at a lonely outdoor screening, the rhythm of bustling nighttime crowds and scenes of dilapidated futurist architecture meld with clips from a film directed decades earlier by the filmmaker’s uncle in Taiwan.
While working as a delivery driver, artist Al Wong became captivated by the meditative qualities of the looping roads around San Francisco’s Twin Peaks. Rather than a documentation of these journeys, this long-form structural film utilises Wong’s conceptual explorations to create a stunning, sensual work of pure cinema. A monumental, largely-unseen masterwork 1970s avantgarde film, Twin Peaks has been restored in 16mm by the Pacific Film Archive and will be screened internationally for the first time. Sat 12 Jun / 14:30 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Spanning from 1947 to 1965, this film displays the complexity of identity and the shifting moods of displaced people, adopting a young boy’s perspective as he comes of age. The Time to Live and the Time to Die is regarded as a masterpiece of 1980s Taiwan New Cinema, but its form, narration, and aesthetic are closer to the form of the personal documentary. Sun 13 Jun / 14:00 BST / Abbeydale Picturehouse
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Northern Focus Blooming from cities that, in some ways, were left to be forgotten as forlorn relics of industry, the films in Northern Focus offer stories of community and craft, nostalgia and resilience, and of our neighbours and our
heroes. The landscapes – inflected by the traces and echoes of heavy industry – provide engines for activism and altruism, fueled by the subjects’ unassuming beauty and brilliance. In a Sheffield DocFest first, we
are taking a spotlight to the artists and talent down the road and round the corner, in hearth and in heart.
I Get Knocked Down Sophie Robinson / UK / 2021 / 87’ / World Premiere / English
Tales from a Hard City Kim Flitcroft / France, UK / 1995 / 80’ / English
Tictoc Mark Waters / UK / 2020 / 22’ / UK Premiere / English
I Get Knocked Down is the untold story of Leeds-based anarcho-pop band Chumbawamba. Founding member Dunstan Bruce is angry and frustrated. How does a retired, middle-aged radical pick himself back up again? Following Bruce’s personal voyage of rediscovery, redemption, and reawakening, I Get Knocked Down acts as a call to arms to those who think activism is best undertaken by someone else.
It is 1993, and Sheffield is reeling from the collapse of its heavy industry. Four characters battle to survive. Glen is a thief who dreams of being a singer. Paul is a boxer who dreams of becoming a celebrity. Sarah becomes a tabloid sensation after being arrested in Greece for dirty dancing. Enter, Wayne: the media mogul.
Sun 6 Jun / 20:45 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Sat 12 Jun / 15:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
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Felix is 16 years old. Across his life, he’s had to contend with the unpredictable and consuming nature of Tourette’s syndrome – and has recently had to do so while navigating the trials and tribulations of adolescence. He wants to share his story, and break the stigma.
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Horvath Jim Wraith / UK / 2021 / 45’ / World Premiere / English, Romany, Slovak
By uprooting his family from Slovakia to Page Hall, Sheffield, in 2012, Ladislav Horvath sought to fulfil his wish of kick-boxing stardom. Now a local hero, Ladislav has fought on the national Muay Thai and K-1 kickboxing circuit, with the adoration of a close and loyal following who have travelled with him up and down the length of the country.
Jun Sel MacLean / UK / 2021 / 6’ / World Premiere / English
The Branches are Hope; The Roots are Memory Sema Basharan / UK / 2021 / 7’ / World Premiere / English
Jun explores the ideas of South Korean craftsman Jun Rhee, and his view on the importance of handmade ceramics over factory made tableware in today’s society.
Through documenting the memories of faith-based activists in Bradford, The Branches Are Hope; The Roots Are Memory explores the links between Bradford’s religious diversity, peace heritage, and grassroots activism. In this audio-visual portrait of a unique aspect of Bradford’s culture, filmmaker Sema Basharan explores her own relationship with her home city in a personal reflection inspired by the oral history recordings.
Hanging On Alfie Barker / UK / 2021 / 10’ / World Premiere / English
Video Villanelle (for distance) Catriona Gallagher / UK / 2020 / 17’ / Festival Premiere / English
Sat 12 Jun / 17:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 4
Northern Focus Shorts Growing Love Claire Davies / UK / 2020 / 7’ / English
Set in Oulton, a former coal-mining community in Leeds, Hanging On spotlights the strength of a neighborhood that unites when facing eviction. Uncovering the stories of a close community of residents in the area, filmmaker Alfie Barker hears their nostalgic memories of this place, and learns of the stress caused by their ongoing campaign to save their homes.
Growing Love conveys the joy of watching plants grow, regardless of their shape, size, or species. Following the activities of an amateur gardener, Growing Love tells tales of the relationships that people build with plants and the day-to-day nurturing that plants need, all while weaving in personal perspectives on what society considers conventionally beautiful and worthy of our attention.
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Incidental phone videos from the artist’s camera reel are edited into the poetic form of a villanelle. Two lives between two countries follow an A-B-A rhyming structure, with sequences of birds in flight appearing as repeating refrains. Video Villanelle (for distance) reflects on changing relationships to home during lockdown. Sun 13 Jun / 14:45 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Sheffield DocFest
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Retrospective Films belong to those who need them – fragments from the history of Black British Cinema This year, we want to spotlight and celebrate the history of Black British screen culture: a wide and diverse filmography that has been largely overlooked and undervalued in film discourse. We want to find
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connections between past and present, to spark a conversation about how this work resonates with contemporary filmmakers and artists, and how it can inspire and inform the ways in which we conceive our own communities. With such an abundant and complex body of work, we present programmes curated by people who inhabit this history through their own
The Homecoming: A short film about Ajamu Topher Campbell / UK / 1995 / 15’ / English
In this programme, the underlying principle of what constitutes home links together films by Clovis Salmon (aka ‘Sam The Wheels’), Topher Campbell and Sandi Hudson-Frances. These films discuss ideas of place, space, migration, community, location and dislocation, and remind us of how important it is to post the codes of our own stories.
Remember/ Re-evaluate/Review This programme explores and identifies how implicit racism has continued to fester in the British Media, some 40 years after some of these projects were first broadcast. — We Are Parable, Curators The Black Safari Colin Luke / UK / 1972 / 60’ / English
— Mark Sealy, Curator The Great Conflict, Brixton Riots & Other Films Clovis Salmon aka ‘Sam the Wheels’ / UK / Various / 43’ / English, Jamaican Patois
work, their existential pursuits, and their curiosity and care, with works by voices that multiply and intersect. This is the beginning of an ongoing series that we want to bring back in the following editions of the festival, as a place for reframing history and building access.
Ajamu, a Black queer photographer, is staging his first one man show in his hometown of Huddersfield. He is broke and his electricity is about to be cut off. How can he get there? On his journey he meets some friends and foes, but in the end is able to declare proudly who he is, and his place in the world. Super Sam Sandi Hudson-Francis / UK / 2019 / 44’ / English
In this playful, satirical mockumentary, presenter Horace Ove takes the well-worn trope of ‘intrepid European explorer learns about the natives’ and flips it on its head. This time, four Black surveyors from an unnamed African country arrive along the LiverpoolLeeds canal to find out more about the people that reside there, all while being on the mission to find the middle of England. Thu 10 Jun / 11:30 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Stationary Peaceful Protest Xhosa Cole, Shiyi Li / UK / 2020 / 12’ / English
In Brixton from the late 1950s to the present day, Clovis Salmon (aka ‘Sam the Wheels’) captures accounts of everyday life, protest and people, offering a lens through which the struggles, sufferance and joys of those times can be seen with an authenticity uncontaminated by a media agenda.
A portrait documentary about 93 year old Clovis Salmon. Using Clovis’ personal Super 8 film archive mixed with Sandi Hudson-Frances’ own footage of Clovis, the film tells the story of Clovis’ journey from Jamaica 1930 to the present day. Sat 5 Jun / 11:15 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
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In the summer of 2020, jazz musician and composer Xhosa Cole attended a Black Lives Matter protest in Birmingham which left a profound mark on him. In this beguiling, free-flowing, and absorbing short film made with Birmingham-based animator Shiyi Li, Cole’s own music is intertwined with a monologue about his thoughts on his own personal experience of the occasion.
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The Psychosis of Whiteness Eugene Nulman / UK / 2018 / 77’ / English
The Psychosis of Whiteness sheds light on society’s perceptions of race and racism by exploring cinematic representations of the slave trade. This documentary takes an in-depth look at big budget films that focus on the transatlantic slave trade and, using a wealth of sources and interviews, makes an argument that these depictions are metaphoric hallucinations about race.
Bloom A.T., Journal du Pôle / Kenya, UK / 2020 / 5’ / English
Destroy | Disturb | Disrupt - Decolonizing Queer Desire In Destroy | Disturb | Disrupt – Decolonizing Queer Desire, Black queer filmmakers craft an intervention into desire for the Black queer body on film: a space denied to Black queer people as agents of our own longing and storytelling. These films show Black queer filmmakers creating our own language to disrupt our colonised historical framing by the white straight cisgender lens.
Set to the lilting tones of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s honeyed rasp, Bloom is a queer African pole dancer’s surreal adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream inspired by Ballet Black’s production, A Dream Within a Midsummer Night’s Dream. Therein, a visual labyrinth of prisms and glossy anthuriums yields to innocent flesh and chrome in contemplation of a queer desire yet to be. Batería Damian Sainz / Cuba, Spain / 2016 / 15’ / Spanish
— Campbell X, Curator The Attendant Isaac Julien / UK / 1993 / 8’ / English
Sat 12 Jun / 14:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 1 Blacks Britannica David Koff / UK / 1978 / 54’ / English
Originally banned, this 1978 documentary exploring the systemic racism experienced by Black people in the UK has no narrator. Instead, we hear directly from activists, community leaders and members of the public who reveal their experiences of harassment and discrimination at the hands of the police. From London to Hume, to Handsworth, this thoughtful piece allows those who have been marginalised a voice in a way that the media at the time didn’t. It Ain’t Half Racist, Mum Stuart Hall / UK / 1979 / 30’ / English
The ruins of an ancient military fortress outside Havana have become a clandestine gay cruising spot. The old walls and the rubble give shelter not only to Cuban homosexuals, but also to a culture of resistance and socialisation. The Attendant explores spatial temporalities in a museum context, commenting on queer history and racial boundaries. Set in an actual museum, the Wilberforce House in Hull, England, which is devoted to the history of slavery, in the hands of Isaac Julien, the place is made to look surreal. Fetish Topher Campbell / UK, USA / 2018 / 17’ / English Fetish, a multi-dimensional being, bestrides the streets of New York City. As his strength and vulnerability are exposed, he reveals his power through death and rebirth. As he defies space and time, Fetish becomes the embodiment of the ‘Black Man Who Fell To Earth’. His last moments are a mixture of traffic-stopping masculine power, supernatural presence, and nakedness. BLACKN3SS / NEGRUM3 Diego Paulino / Brazil / 2018 / 22’ / Portuguese
This work, first shown on the BBC’s ‘Open Door’ in 1979 takes a critical perspective of the corporation’s idea of impartiality, as Stuart Hall and Maggie Steed explore the hypocritical coverage afforded to racist politicians, while silencing marginalised (Black) voices. With the latest director general of the BBC reinforcing its need to remain balanced, despite clear biases, It Ain’t Half Racist, Mum shows how little progress has been made since its broadcast. Sat 12 Jun / 17:15 BST / Showroom Cinema 1
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BMB (Black, Muslim and Bi) Heidi (Jade) Ramírez / Spain / 2021 / 7’ / Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Wolof
Between melanin and far away planets, BLACKN3SS dives into the journey of the Black youth of São Paulo city. This is a documentary on Blackness, queerness, and the spacial aspirations of the diaspora’s children.
Sheffield DocFest
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‘BMB’ stands for Black, Muslim and Bi. This work is a compilation of four poems where Dafne C. learns how to forgive, forget, and re-love themselves, accepting who they are. Life is not easy when everything, and everybody, is telling you that who you are is wrong. This work is an ode to those for whom freedom might be hard to reach.
Umbilic Natasha Thembiso Ruwona / UK / 2021 / 15’ / English
Fi Dem Zinzi Minott / UK / 2018 / 6’ / English, Patois
Track 2 Dancer and filmmaker Zinzi Minott is interested in ‘the freedom that unfree people find in moving their own body.’ Fi Dem II aesthetically peaks above acceptable Db levels. Menelik Shabazz’s realist drama Burning an Illusion chants out a prophetic Nyabinghi drumbeat, and Pat’s shifting linguistic register vacillates between fulfilling her preconceived desires for a romantic life or political activism.
Umbilic is an essay film that expands on the current discourse of Hydrofeminism through a mapping of research into water, following the line of a Black Feminist Geographical framework. An excavation into Scotland’s Black history, this work began in 2020, which was incidentally the ‘Year of Scottish Coasts and Waters’. The work asks: what can we learn from water? Fri 11 Jun / 20:15 BST / Showroom Cinema 2 Additional films in this programme are TBC. For the latest information on the full Retrospective programme, please visit the DocFest website.
Fi Dem II Zinzi Minott / UK / 2019 / 9’ / English, Patois
The piece journeys through Zinzi Minott’s personal diasporic journey and takes the moment of Windrush Day to focus on those that move and have been moved, those who stay and cannot leave, and all of the slippage in between. Shifting between personal and community moments of loss and joy that sit at the border, she hopes this work can add to a conversation about these experiences. where did we land Rabz Lansiquot / UK / 2021 / 30’ / English
Sonic Register: British black womxn and onscreen performativity
Fi Dem II is part of a continued investigation into Blackness and Diaspora, as part of a body of work that will be made annually on the anniversary of the Empire Windrush docking in the UK on 22nd June 1948. Minott reflects on the first National Windrush Day which sits in the middle of UK Pride Month, and seems to get lost among it. Burning an Illusion Menelik Shabazz / UK / 1981 / 101’ / English
Track 1 Complexity is the theme for the first in a three-strand programme, Sonic Register: British black womxn and onscreen performativity. Performativity is the ‘doing’ work of images of British black womxn achieved through audio and visual cues that are used to create ideas and impressions that operate over and above that required for the success of the internal narrative of a film. — Judah Attille, Curator Sequence to a Dream Yasmin Nicholas / UK / 2018 / 4’ / English
where did we land is an experimental essay film interrogating the effect of images of anti-Black violence produced and reproduced in film and media. The film features 900 abstracted still archival images from across the African diaspora, accompanied by a spoken text that features thoughts from Tina Campt, Saidiya Hartman, Guy Debord, Susan Sontag, Rooney Elmi and more. Fri 11 Jun / 14:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 2
A pioneering first feature from Menelik Shabazz, Burning an Illusion marked a coming of age for Black British cinema. A film about transformation and identity, it is a love story that traces the emotional and political growth of a young black couple in Thatcher’s London. Sat 12 Jun / 11:30 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3
Alongside a poem created and narrated by poet and artist Yasmin Nicholas, three ancestors visit the narrator to bring her gifts of encouragement in her road to self-discovery and identity.
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Track 3
Blood Ah Go Run Menelik Shabazz, Imruh Caesar / UK / 1981 / 20’ / English
Twilight City Black Audio Film Collective / UK / 1989 / 52’ / English
Menelik Shabazz’s short film looks back at 1981, an important year in the annals of Black British history, but one which began so tragically with the death of 13 young Black people in a fire during a birthday party in New Cross, London. This film captures exclusive footage of the Black People’s Day of Action march that followed.
After 10 years in Dominica, Octavia’s mother Eugenia wants to return to London to live with her daughter again, but old resentments, hurt, and anger resurface. Meanwhile, interviewees - including Paul Gilroy, Gail Lewis, George Shires, Homi Bhaba, Rosina Visram and David Yallop - discuss how London has changed through the centuries and talk about the changes wrought by the Conservative Government through the 1980s.
The third and final programme in Sonic Register: British black womxn and onscreen performativity listens to undercurrents of self-possession and sartorial feminism in Julian Henriques’ feature Babymother and attends to ancestor reverence, violent displacement and care in Zinzi Minott’s epic memorial Fi Dem III. Fi Dem III Zinzi Minott / UK / 2020 / 11’ / English, Patois
Fi Dem III draws from personal and familial archives to chart several Black Caribbean journeys and narratives, some of which have been returned to throughout the series. For Zinzi Minott, a trained dancer who was raised within sound system culture, Fi Dem’s clashing images and sounds are a way of “editing with the body” to create the feeling of movement central to her training, and to the migratory lives of Black Caribbeans.
JUS SOLI somebody nobody / UK / 2015 / 16’ / English
Sat 5 Jun / 20:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 1
Black-Eyed Susans This programme focuses on the work of Black women writers and filmmakers. Each work articulates different ideas of personal politics and psychological states related to family, domestic space, survival, and aspirations for future generations.
Babymother Julien Henriques / UK / 1998 / 82’ / English
JUS SOLI opens up a discourse on the Black British experience: interrupting the emotional transition between generations and questioning what it means to be British.
— Karen Alexander, Curator Amine Beverley Bennett / UK / 2017 / 12’ / English
Something Said Jay Bernard / UK / 2017 / 10’ / English Babymother is a reggae musical, alive with the vibe of the London streets, fashions, and the glittering magic of the dancehalls. Babymother features music by Beres Hammond, Carroll Thompson and Cinderella. Sun 13 Jun / 11:00 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3 / 35mm
Tales of the City It is 40 years since 13 young people were murdered by racists fire-bombing a birthday party in New Cross, London. The first three films in this programme, Tales of the City, are very different responses to that event. The last film weaves fact with fiction to explore deeply personal ideas of race, place, and belonging set against the background of 1980s London. — Karen Alexander, Curator
Claiming the lives of 13 young Black people, the 1981 New Cross Fire was met with state, media and police indifference. Haunted by that history, and in the context of the recent rise of the far-right and the tragedy of Grenfell, Something Said is an imaginative, gestural letter to Yvonne Ruddock, the 16-year-old whose birthday was being celebrated the night of the fire.
Amine features a tapestry of voices that reveal the multi-faceted and complex experiences of Black womxn in the UK today. Featuring testimonies from Black womxn all over the country, the stories of family, friends, friends-of-friends, and acquaintances from varying backgrounds and age groups are intricately woven together, creating a story of vulnerability, pain and joy that is at once liberatory and heartbreaking. Sun 6 Jun / 17:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 1 Further films in this programme are TBC. For the latest information on this and the full Retrospective programme, please visit the DocFest website.
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Disrupting the Image
the words i do not have yet Phoebe Boswell / UK / 2017 / 11’ / English
External social realities and the dynamics of black representation are critiqued and contested in this selection of films from UK visual artists from across the generations. Ranging from the examination of nationality and sporting representation, the creative spirit, meditations on archival and found images of black culture through to a poetic examination of Black gay male desire – each artist consciously engages with the aesthetic possibilities of their chosen medium.
I have chosen two documentaries that are meaningful to me because of how they have influenced my own films. One is The People’s Account, made in 1987 by a Black British film collective called Ceddo. The other film is Franco Rosso’s The Mangrove Nine, a film by Franco Rosso that I would like people to watch as an accompaniment to my recent film for the BBC: Black Power: A British Story of Resistance.
— Karen Alexander, Curator The Nation’s Finest Keith Piper / UK / 1990 / 7’ / English
Black British Stories of Resistance
— George Amponsah, Curator Phoebe Boswell combines traditional draftswomanship and digital technology in the words I do not have yet. The words of poet Audre Lorde and Kenyan writers Wambui Mwangi and Ndinda Kioka intermingle as various women’s voices are overlaid upon drawings of women’s contested bodies. Looking for Langston Isaac Julien / UK / 1989 / 45’ / English
The Mangrove Nine Franco Rosso / UK / 1973 / 37’ / English The Mangrove Nine trial resulted from conflict between the police and the Black community in Notting Hill that had escalated from the end of the 1960s onwards. The Mangrove case began when around 150 Black people protested against long-term police harassment of the popular Mangrove Restaurant in Ladbroke Grove. Franco Rosso’s The Mangrove Nine includes interviews with the defendants recorded before the final verdicts. The People’s Account Menelik Shabazz / UK / 1986 / 52’ / English
This short video explores, through a collage of images, text and voice-over, some of the issues raised when Black athletes are called upon to ‘represent’ what have been historically seen as ‘White’ nations within the international sporting arena. The piece juxtaposes nationalistic heraldry and the heroic imagery found in public monumental sculpture, with the bodies of two young Black athletes. Three Songs on Pain, Time and Light Trevor Mathison, Edward George / UK / 1995 / 25’ / English Three Songs on Pain, Light and Time is a rarely seen video portrait in deliberately unbalanced colours, made by Trevor Mathison and Edward George and produced with Black Audio Film Collective.
Looking for Langston is a lyrical exploration – and recreation – of the private world of poet, novelist and playwright Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967) and his fellow black artists from the Harlem Renaissance. Sun 6 Jun / 20:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 1
The People’s Account examines serious rioting between police and the residents in Tottenham’s Broadwater Farm Estate in 1984, taking the point of view of the Black community who live there. The film ran into trouble with the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), who demanded editorial changes, and, when the filmmakers refused, the programme was pulled, intended never to be shown on British television. Sun 6 Jun / 14:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 4 David Olusoga will also present a programme as part of the Retrospective. For the latest information on this and the full Retrospective programme, please visit the DocFest website.
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Arts Programme Site Gallery Open 11am - 6pm, Tuesday-Saturday, 11am - 4pm Sunday, Closed Mondays S1 Artspace Open 11am - 6pm Monday - Sunday Sheffield Hallam University Performance Lab Open 11am - 6pm Monday - Saturday, Closed Sunday Abbeydale Picture House Screenings on 11, 12 and 13 June Online Exhibitions Platform Open 24/7 Further Information Booking is essential for in-person exhibitions. Please bring your own plug-in/stereo jack headphones. All exhibitions are free and open to all.
Welcome to the 2021 Sheffield DocFest Arts Programme. This area of the festival – formerly called Alternate Realities – includes a range of activities, from exhibitions and talks to events and new commissions that showcase the best in international contemporary art practice and research. Artists selected for our programme work across many forms, disciplines and subjects, interrogating and expanding the boundaries of non-fiction through moving images, immersive technologies, sound, performance and other media. Beyond just a name change, the Arts Programme has been refocused towards bringing the contemporary arts sector in the UK into dialogue with a wide scope of international artists’ reflections and contexts. Centred
around two group exhibitions – ‘Here In This Room’ curated by Herb Shellenberger and ‘Right On Time’ curated by Soukaina Aboulaoula – the programme is rich in works of aesthetic innovation, sociopolitical relevance, and urgency of form/content. In total, this year’s Arts Programme will feature the work of over 30 artists from around the world, curated thoughtfully through a process of research, open-call submissions, and many discussions. The exhibitions were conceived and curated in a quite collaborative process, in accordance with the festival’s image and core spirit. Careful consideration has been given to the best way of presenting these works to audiences, whether shown in galleries, or on our online platform.
Responding to the present moment with this year’s hybrid festival, our goal is to connect viewers from our surrounding neighbourhoods in Sheffield with those on other continents. We look forward to seeing you, whether online, IRL, or – why not both! — Herb Shellenberger and Soukaina Aboulaoula, Curators
Exhibitions & Commissions Here In This Room, perspectives on domestic ambience and surrealism Site Gallery | S1 Artspace | Abbeydale Picture House | Sheffield Hallam University Performance Lab | Online Exhibitions Platform
Here In This Room focuses on the dual concepts of ‘domestic ambience’ and ‘domestic surrealism’, considering the ways that artists have depicted or reimagined living spaces, domestic labour/routines, or many different ideas of home. Curated by Sheffield DocFest Arts Programme Curator Herb Shellenberger, this group exhibition features works across different forms, including moving image, installation, mixed media, sound and performance.
The Registry S1 Artspace | Online Exhibitions Platform
The Registry is a new moving image installation by Los Angeles-based artist and independent filmmaker Alex Tyson, commissioned by Sheffield DocFest. An evolution from his past works of formally-innovative documentary film, The Registry is the artist’s first narrative work, an elliptical, layered psychological horror that brings together narrative threads embedded with topics salient to the documentary/non-fiction field. Alex Tyson, The Registry, 2021
Anuj Malhotra, Yeh Woh (Turmoil), 2020 Basir Mahmood, Sunsets, everyday, 2020 Bassam Al-Sabah, Fenced within the silent cold walls, 2018 Daïchi Saïto, earthearthearth, 2021 David Haxton, Painting Room Lights, 1981 Deborah Findlater, Rituals, 2019 Duncan Marquiss, Contact Call, 2020 Geraldine Snell, Dancing, 2020 Heesoo Kwon, A Ritual For Metamorphosis, 2019 Julie Ramage, How to order online, 2021 Sam Smith, E.1027, 2016 - 21 Séamus Harahan, There’s A Weight On You But You Can’t Feel It, 2008 - 18 Sophie Michael, Rabbit Hole, 2021 Wanja Kimani, borrowed intimacy, 2013
Dialogues: Emily Chao and Al Wong Sheffield Hallam University Performance Lab | Online Exhibitions Platform
Dialogues: Emily Chao and Al Wong is a double retrospective aiming to both illuminate the artists’ practices individually, and even further, through conversation. A cross-generational pairing of two Asian American artists based in the San Francisco Bay Area, this exhibition showcases Al Wong, who has produced innovative work across experimental film, installation and photography since the 1960s, and Emily Chao, whose short-form films focusing on identity and diaspora have been made since 2015. Al Wong, Same Difference, 1975 Emily Chao, As Long As There is Breath, 2020 Emily Chao, No Land, 2019 Emily Chao, chive pockets, 2017
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In Posse Site Gallery | Online Exhibitions Platform
With In Posse, artist Charlotte Jarvis documents a quest she took to make semen from ‘female’ cells. A new commission by Sheffield DocFest, in partnership with Site Gallery, In Posse aims to rewrite the cultural narrative in which semen is often revered as a magical substance. This new multi-channel installation will show how the artist’s research has unfolded across multiple years, countries and collaborations. Charlotte Jarvis, In Posse, 2021
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Right on Time Online Exhibitions Platform
Right on Time Radio Online Exhibitions Platform
Image credit: Aziza Ahmad Featuring works of moving image, performance and sound, Right on Time is a group exhibition that highlights narratives which do not necessarily adhere to the traditional definition of ‘time’ and ‘temporality’. The presented artworks offer new paths of possibilities, and evoke, both through their subjects and visuals, a structure which merges past, present, future and beyond. Areej Huniti and Eliza Goldox, The DIDO Problem, 2021 Ash Moniz, Joules, 2021 Gian Spina, On Time, 2017 Lina Laraki, The Last Observer, 2020 Mohammad Shawky Hassan, And on a Different Note, 2015 Mona Benyamin, Moonscape, 2020 Pallavi Paul, The Blind Rabbit, 2021 The School of Mutants, The School of Mutants, 2020 Tabita Rezaire, Mamelles Ancestrales, 2019 Zara Zandieh, Octavia’s Visions, 2021
Sheffield DocFest
2021
Right on Time Radio is a temporary web radio station which will air daily in Sheffield DocFest’s Online Exhibitions Platform during the festival days. Carried by the voices of sound artists, curators, researchers and radio and podcast collectives, this radio station features new works commissioned by Sheffield DocFest, including sound performance, discussions, contemporary literature, reflections and sound experimentations. AWU Radio Himali Singh Soin Karim Kattan & Yasmine Benabdallah Les Bonnes Ondes ft. Layal Rhanem Listening to the more-than-human Micro Radio Yasmina Reggad
DocFest Exchange: Beyond Our Own Eyes Whether we view the earth from outer space, or through the lens of a microscope, we will discover diverse, interconnected, and interdependent life. This year’s DocFest Exchange challenges the ways in which we see the world, and invites us to inhabit perspectives beyond our own. Can we imagine the
world through the eyes of an animal? Can we shift our perspective to the scale of a microbe? Can we understand life as a planetary-level phenomenon? The DocFest Exchange is a year-long curated programme, exploring themes of climate justice and the health of the planet through screenings, discus-
sions, talks, workshops, collaborations and microcommissions. We invite you to discover what possibilities emerge when we see things differently.
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DocFest Exchange
— Jamie Allan, Curator
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DocFest Exchange: Film Programme GUNDA Victor Kossakovsky / Norway, USA / 2021 / 93’ / English
From the Wild Sea Robin Petré / Denmark / 2021 / 78’ / UK Premiere / English
The Ants and the Grasshopper Raj Patel, Zak Piper / Malawi / 2021 / 74’ / International Premiere / English, Tumbuka
Every year, humans slaughter about 70 billion livestock. Russian filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky lets the camera linger on one of these animals: the sow, Gunda. Does she know her fate? What is she thinking? What does she think of us? Kossakovsky movingly recalibrates our moral universe, reminding us of the inherent value of life and the mystery of all animal consciousness, including our own.
Along the raw and windy coastline of Europe, a network of volunteers are always on alert, ready to rescue marine wildlife from oil spills, plastic pollution, and storms. As the climate crisis fuels violent weather across the seas, their task becomes increasingly difficult. This poetic film dives deep into the emerging Anthropocene era, where some humans frantically attempt to save nature from ruin.
Change begins with denial. Anita Chitaya knows this very well. But she has a gift: she can help bring abundant food from dead soil, she can make men fight for gender equality, and she can end child hunger in her village. Now, to save her home from extreme weather, she faces her greatest challenge: persuading Americans that climate change is real.
Fri 4 Jun / 16:45 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3 Fri 11 Jun / 11:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 4 / (Relaxed Screening)
Wed 9 Jun / 14:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 4
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Sheffield DocFest
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Thu 10 Jun / 20:45 BST / Showroom Cinema 4
Microcosmos Claude Nuridsany, Marie Pérennou / France / 1996 / 80’ / English, French
Microcosmos is a journey to an unknown planet, where fantastic creatures live, obscured in deep forests of moss and grass. Where dewdrops are as large as boulders, and animals walk on water. Here, the Earth is rediscovered on a miniature scale: the unseen world of the insect kingdom. Fri 11 Jun / 17:30 BST / Abbeydale Picturehouse / 35mm Everything David OReilly / Ireland, USA / 2017 / 11’ / English
Who is Afraid of Ideology? Part III – Micro Resistances Marwa Arsanios / Colombia / 2020 / 31’ / English, Spanish
Marwa Arsanios’ Who Is Afraid of Ideology? series (2017 - 2020) weaves an intersectional path through the struggles of women fighting for the right to autonomy, and land. Part III – Micro Resistances takes place in Tolima, Colombia, and focuses on the ongoing systemic war waged by transnational corporations against one of the smallest and most essential elements of life: the seed. This film is screening online only Symbiotic Earth John Feldman / USA / 2017 / 147’ / English
“Whoever you are. Wherever you are. And whatever you are. You are in the middle. That’s the game.” Narrated by British philosopher Alan Watts, Everything is a simulation of reality from the perspective of everyone and everything. See the world from the viewpoint of a twig, an atom, a bear, a bacterium, a mountain or a galaxy. Everything will show as a short alongside each physical DocFest Exchange screening.
Symbiotic Earth explores the ideas of the scientist Lynn Margulis, whose unconventional theories challenged a scientific status quo and, today, are fundamentally changing how we look at ourselves, evolution, and the environment. Margulis’ symbiotic narrative – and the Gaia theory, which says all life is interdependent – presents an alternative to a destructive worldview that has led to the climate crisis. This film is screening online only
2021
DocFest Exchange
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The Great Silence Allora & Calzadilla / USA / 2014 / 17’ / English
At the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, astronomers listen for signs of extraterrestrial life. Using the world’s largest radio telescope, they scan for signals. Featuring a script by science fiction author Ted Chiang, The Great Silence ponders the contradiction of a species so intent on communicating with other lifeforms that it ignores the destruction occurring on its own planet. This film is screening online only Edition of 3 + 2 AP, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris Who We Were Marc Bauder / Germany / 2021 / 114’ / UK Premiere / English, French, German
Karrabing Film Collective – Shorts Programme
The Karrabing Film Collective use filmmaking as a form of Indigenous grassroots resistance and self-organisation. An extended family group that has over 50 members from Belyuen, Northern Territory, Australia, Karrabing have sought to create a model for Indigenous filmmaking and activism that brings together different tribes and languages, and conceives works through an infrastructure of communal thinking and collective experimentation. Windjarrameru, The Stealing C*nt$ / Australia / Karrabing Film Collective / 2015 / 35’ / Emmiyengal, English Wutharr, Saltwater Dreams / Australia / Karrabing Film Collective / 2016 / 29’ / Emmiyengal, English Day in the Life / Australia / Karrabing Film Collective / 2020 / 32’ / Emmiyengal, English This film is screening online only
What will future generations think of us? Will they look back on us in despair? Marc Bauder’s spectacular cinematic essay Who We Were travels the world, to encounter the perspectives of six contemporary thinkers: an astronaut, a deep sea researcher, a Buddhist monk, an economist, a philosopher and a posthuman theorist. This film is screening online only
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Sheffield DocFest
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DocFest Exchange: Talks & Workshops Learning from the More-Than-Human: Audio Walk and Online Workshop 11:00 (BST) / Wed 9 June / Online
Sanctuary of the Sensuous: Audio Walk and Online Workshop with Foresta Collective 11:00 (BST) / Thu 10 June / Online
Between Us and Nature – A Reading Club 13:00 (BST) / Fri 11 June / Online
Join us for an online workshop asking how we can learn to live together from other organisms.
How can we expand our perceptions beyond a reductionist view of ‘nature’? Join us for an online workshop to heighten our attention and ways of listening to more-than-human worlds.
For microbiologist Lynn Margulis, evolution is not as simple as a tree of life: “The tree of life grows in on itself. Species come together, fuse, and make new beings.” Join us for a group reading and informal discussion inspired by Margulis’ revolutionary findings. How can her theories inspire us to see our living Earth beyond the traditional human-centred western perspective?
Hosted by School of the Forest Floor research group: Alen Ksoll, Jamie Allan, Ko-Fan Lin and Sina Ribak.
Hosted by Foresta Collective.
Moderators: Sina Ribak, Researcher for Ecologies and the Arts, Eva-Fiore Kovacovsky, artist.
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DocFest Exchange
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Stories of Other Animals 12:00 (BST) / Sat 12 June / Online
Seeds for a Common Future 12:00 (BST) / Sun 13 June / Online
What stories do we tell about non-human beings? Can we really empathise with a way of being that seems so different to ours? From pigs and chickens in GUNDA to seals and whales in From the Wild Sea, we will discuss the importance and challenges of making films about other animals and ask how storytelling can connect us more deeply with other species.
An open forum bringing together radical projects from Malawi, Rojava and Yorkshire that are rethinking relationships to land, food, soil, and seeds. In very different contexts these projects build community infrastructure to support local autonomy and food sovereignty. Join us for a down-to-earth discussion about food sustainability, and how to build a communal ecological life.
Moderator: Jamie Allan
Moderator: Jamie Allan
Participants: Victor Kossakovsy, director of GUNDA, Robin Petré, director of From the Wild Sea, Danielle Celermajer, Professor of Sociology at the University of Sydney and research lead for the Multispecies Justice collective, pattrice jones, ecofeminist writer, educator, activist and co-founder of VINE Sanctuary for farmed animals in Vermont, USA
Participants: Mary Clear, Community Activist, Chair of Incredible Edible Todmorden Nesrîn Qadir, activist from Jinwar Free Women’s Village in Rojava (Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria), Esther Lupafya, Director of Soil, Food and Healthy Communities and protagonist in The Ants and the Grasshopper
Who are ‘We’? Global and Local Visions 14:00 (BST) / Sat 12 June / Online
The climate crisis is a global problem. We need to change our way of living if we are to avert disaster. But who is ‘we’? Who is responsible? And who is most affected? Join this panel discussion with farmer and community activist Anita Chitaya, filmmaker and author Raj Patel, and director Marc Bauder to explore our understanding of the global, and the crisis with how we view this crisis. Participants: Raj Patel, academic, author and director of The Ants and the Grasshopper, Anita Chitaya, farmer, climate change activist, community leader and protagonist in The Ants and the Grasshopper, Marc Bauder, director of Who We Were.
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Learning How to Live Together: A Symbiotic Worldview 17:00 (BST) / Sun 13 June / Online
Storytelling as Collective Resistance 14:00 (BST) / Sun 13 June / Online
“By always being able to tell one more story, we postpone the end of the world.” – Ailton Krenak Join Elizabeth Povinelli of Karrabing Film Collective and Indigenous filmmakers Sueli and Isael Maxakali in conversation to discuss storytelling as a medium of resistance, Indigenous cinema as a communal act, and the rituals of filmmaking as an indivisible part of the films themselves. Participants: Elizabeth Povinelli, Professor of Anthropology & Gender Studies at Columbia University and founding member of Karrabing Film Collective. Sueli Maxakali, co-director of Nuhu Yãg Mu Yõg Hãm: This Land is our Land!, Isael Maxakali, co-director of Nuhu Yãg Mu Yõg Hãm: This Land is our Land!
Sheffield DocFest
2021
Through studying the world of bacteria, biologist Lynn Margulis proposed her theory that the origin of life is not competition, but symbiosis. Organisms collaborating to survive. The human body as a symbiotic community of bacteria, fungi, and animal cells. Join us for a lively discussion with artists, historians and scientists about how a symbiotic understanding of life could inspire a more caring, collaborative and collective view of the world. Participants: Suzanne Pierre, microbial ecologist, biogeochemist and founder of the Critical Ecology Lab, Salome Rodeck, cultural and literary scholar, doctoral researcher with the project Symbiotic Worldview: Theories and Practices of Coexistence in the Anthropocene. Grégory Castéra, curator and leader of Collective Practices: Symbiotic Organisations at Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm
Talks Resonating across the programme, we are presenting a series of talks, panels, and other events, which aim to deepen and broaden conversation around film and art, and to provide an opportunity for you to meet
the filmmakers and artists involved in the films and projects that form this year’s festival. From conversations about our Retrospective programmes, to talks and masterclasses – including talent such as David
Olusoga, Campbell X, Lydia Lunch, Marc Isaacs, Mark Cousins, Betsy West and Julie Cohen, Zinzi Minott, and Al Wong, among many others.
Sonic Register: British black womxn and onscreen performativity This pre-recorded conversation with be available free from 4 June.
Between Reminiscence and Reactivation: a collective reflection. 16:00 (BST) / Sat 5 June / Online
Emily Chao and Al Wong in Conversation. 18:00 (BST) / Sat 5 June / Online
— Cíntia Gil, Festival Director
Between Reminiscence and Reactivation is a conversation framed around artists whose work with archival materials has led to cross-generational reflections, and exchange of new ideas. The four participants – with practices ranging across writing, film exhibition, moving image and performance – will outline their experience working with archives, and focus on how they share their contemporary perspectives on these materials. Chair: Myriam Mouflih Speakers: Yasmine Benabdallah, Courtney Stephens, Alison S.M. Kobayashi, Sido Lansari A meeting between the artists in our exhibition ‘Dialogues: Emily Chao & Al Wong’ (p.40), on view at Sheffield Hallam University Performance Lab and online. Since the 1960s, Al Wong’s singular practice has incorporated film/video, installation and photography, whereas Emily Chao’s short analogue films have all been made since 2015. Moderated by Herb Shellenberger, this cross-generational dialogue focuses on points of connection between the artists’ practices through their working processes, visual aesthetics and Asian American heritage.
Sonic Register: British black womxn and onscreen performativity (p.45) takes its inspiration from Rabz Lansiquot (Where Did We Land, 2019), Zinzi Minott (FI DEM, 2018, 2019, 2020) and music iconography. Judah Attille and guests welcome ‘Pat’ (Cassie McFarlane, Burning an Illusion, Menelik Shabazz, 1981) and ‘Anita’ (Anjela Lauren Smith, Babymother, Julian Henriques, 1998), into the complexities of representation as a liberatory strategy.
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Talks
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BBC Interview: David Olusoga 15.30 (BST) / Sat 5 June / Showroom Cinema 4 + Livestream
The Return: Life After ISIS – reframing the narrative 17:00 (BST) / Sun 6 June / Online
The Art of Staging Reality: Marc Isaacs in conversation with Jon Bang Carlsen 16:00 (BST) / Fri 11 June / Showroom Cinema 4 + Livestream
The British-Nigerian historian and broadcaster joins us for this year’s BBC Interview to discuss his work as author, academic and documentarian, exploring and uncovering the forgotten histories of Empire and colonialism. David is also one of the guest curators of our 2021 Retrospective: Films belong to those who need them – fragments from the history of Black British Cinema (p.43), which celebrates the history of Black British culture on the screen.
Notes From the Field: working strategies for non-fiction artists 13:00 (BST) / Sun 6 June / Online How can artists working in non-fiction and across different forms approach funding, production and exhibition? In this talk geared towards creative practitioners, we’ll hear different perspectives from across the UK arts sector on artist-run networks, how to target funding opportunities, when to consider working with a producer, and ideas on creating relationships with exhibitors.
Alba Sotorra Clua’s new film The Return: Life After ISIS (p.23) explores the lives of women who devoted themselves to ISIS, but who now want to be given the chance to start over, back home in the West. Join Alba and a panel of filmmakers and activists to discuss how film can reframe conversations around this controversial topic, and foster dialogue and understanding. So Real It Hurts: In Conversation with Lydia Lunch 15:00 (BST) / Sun 6 June / Online
Chair: David Gilbert (Director, Bloc Projects) Speakers: Will Rose (Director, Pavilion), Qila Gill (Producer), Christine Eyene (Curator, Biennale Internationale de Casablanca)
Singer, poet, writer, and actress Lydia Lunch has been a counterculture icon since the late 70s. Having collaborated with a number of filmmakers over the years, Lydia will speak about being the star of Beth B’s new film, The War Is Never Over (p.31), how she documents her reality through multiple mediums, and what success looks like as a fiercely anti-commercial artist.
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Sheffield DocFest
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Jon Bang Carlsen, one of Denmark’s most celebrated filmmakers, joins Marc Isaacs to discuss the necessity of inventing reality. Whether we work with fiction or documentary, we are telling stories, because that is the only way we can approach the world: stories are a way of describing or interpreting the space between objective reality and personal reality. Join us in this exploration of the working methods of a true innovator.
Reframing Our Desires 13:00 (BST) / Sat 12 June / Online
Story of Looking: In Conversation with Mark Cousins 14:00 (BST) / Sat 12 June / Abbeydale Picture House + Livestream
The BAFTA nominated directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen join us for this year’s BAFTA masterclass. In conversation with Mariayah Kaderbhai (Head of Programmes, BAFTA), they will discuss their filmmaking practices, including their latest film My Name is Pauli Murray (2021) (p.23), about the life of the trailblazing LGBTQI+ and civil rights activist Pauli Murray, and Academy Award nominated RGB (2018), about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Campbell X – writer, director and guest curator – joins filmmakers from his programme, Destroy | Disturb | Disrupt – Decolonizing Queer Desire (p.44), to explore how they create their own filmic language to disrupt our colonised historical framing by the white, straight cisgender lens. This discussion forms part of our Retrospective: Films belong to those who need them – fragments from the history of Black British Cinema. Chair: Campbell X Speakers: Natasha Ruwona, Topher Campbell, Diego Paulino + more tbc
BAFTA Masterclass: Betsy West & Julie Cohen 15:00 (BST) / Sat 12 June / Online
Supported by BAFTA
Facing the threat of losing his sight, award-winning filmmaker Mark Cousins embarks on an intimate odyssey from his bed, to explore the central role of looking in his own life and in the past, present and future of human experience. Join us in conversation with Mark as we delve into how looking can paint a portrait of our culture.
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Community Programme Grassroots intercultural and intergenerational connections across the DocFest programme. Stories forged in communities across continents to move the soul and stir the spirit. Roots, grassroots, support, nurture, care, solidarity, and common ground. Thoughts, ideas and manifestos made possible by people coming together. From the deepest parts of the ocean to the far reaches of space. Community is the bond that sticks us together.
the stuff that binds us. Join us on a journey of people across the world. People fighting for truth. People fighting for justice. People fighting for equality and a better future for our planet. Tell us what you think, join the conversation and tell your story too. This programme of films, workshops and inclusive screenings is for everyone but we would love to hear from community organisers, organisations, groups and schools.
The stories that tell our history, our present, our culture and the places we call home: our blueprint. Parallels and perspectives, the things that bring us together,
Visit www.sheffdocfest.com to get involved.
Online Workshops
Solidarity Forever: Community Organising and Creative Disruption. A participatory session inspired by Factory to the Workers.
Sister:Sistah - The Erasure of the Dark-Skinned Black Woman in Mainstream Media. A participatory session inspired by Delphine’s Prayers. Sat 5 June / 14:00 BST When We Click: Making Music Even When We’re Not Together. A participatory session inspired by Alone Together. Mon 7 June / 19:00 BST We Are Family: The Special Bond of Singing. A participatory session inspired by Men Who Sing. Tue 8 June / 19:00 BST Fire and Land: Ritualistic Movement and Spirituality. A participatory session inspired by Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra. Wed 9 June / 19:00 BST
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We deliver activity throughout the year, offering events in partnership to inspire audiences and communities with the art of film. From workshops to community screenings, we are open to involving local, regional and national participants in a range of training, exhibition and creative events.
Alone Together Bradley Bell, Pablo Jones-Soler / USA / 2020 / 80’ / International Premiere / English
Sat 12 June / 15:15 BST Soundtracking Streets: Found Sounds and Impromptu Music. A participatory session inspired by From the 84 Days. Sun 13 June / 15:15 BST All workshops are free and open to all.
Relaxed Screenings Our relaxed screenings are sensory adapted cinema. This means that we want them to be as inclusive as possible. You can move around and make noise during the film, the sound will be a little quieter and the lights will be up a little so you can see around you. There will be a quiet space available for everyone outside of the cinema screen and, as with all our screenings, carer tickets are free. Where possible there will also be subtitles or captions.
Sheffield DocFest
2021
Overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic and searching for any means to mediate lockdown, pop star Charli XCX enlists the help of her fanbase to record a new album, collaboratively and virtually, in only 40 days. The film shows the power music has to connect people and how transparency in the creative process can offer a cathartic form of escapism. Mon 7 Jun / 14:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 4 (Relaxed Screening)
Men Who Sing Dylan Williams / UK / 2021 / 90’ / World Premiere / English, Welsh
GUNDA Victor Kossakovsky / Norway, USA / 2021 / 93’ / English
The Trelawnyd Male Voice Choir has a proud history, and its demise reflects the industrial decline of North East Wales. Now facing a decline in membership, the choir must act fast or face extinction. With an average age of 74, they begin a hunt to find “brown haired men” in their 40s and 50s who can take the choir forward.
Every year, humans slaughter about 70 billion livestock. Russian filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky lets the camera linger on one of these animals: the sow, Gunda. Does she know her fate? What is she thinking? What does she think of us? Kossakovsky movingly recalibrates our moral universe, reminding us of the inherent value of life and the mystery of all animal consciousness, including our own.
Tue 8 Jun / 14:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 4 (Relaxed Screening)
Fri 11 June / 11:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 4 (Relaxed Screening)
The World of Mindfulness / Zing Nim Sai Gaai Ying Liang / Hong Kong / 2021 / 15’ / World Premiere / Cantonese, English, Mandarin
Community Highlights We would like to highlight the following films in this year’s Sheffield DocFest programme as of particular interest to the community:
Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America Emily Kunstler, Sarah Kunstler / USA / 2021 / 117’ / UK Premiere / English
Taking American Civil Liberties Union deputy legal director Jeffery Robinson’s groundbreaking talk on the history of anti-Black racism in America as a starting point, Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America interweaves archival material, and interviews that chronicle Robinson’s meetings with change-makers throughout history. The film explores the enduring legacy of white supremacy and our collective responsibility to overcome it. Sat 12 Jun / 11:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 1 (Community Screening) Chelas nha Kau Bagabaga Studios, Bataclan 1950 / Portugal / 2020 / 57’ / International Premiere / Creole, Portuguese
Alone Together (p.31), All Light, Everywhere (p.39), Caught (p.19), Charm Circle (p.14), Chelas nha Kau (p.29), Delphine’s Prayers (p.22), Factory to the Workers (p.15), From the Wild Sea (p.52), From the 84 Days (p.30) Firestarter (p.31), Gunda (p.52), Horvath (p.42), Just a Movement (p.27), Lift Like a Girl (p.31), Men Who Sing (p.31), No Straight Lines (p.33), Stormskater (p.30), The Ants and the Grasshopper (p.52) The World of Mindfulness (p.61), This Land is Our Land! (p.14)
During those lockdown days when nobody could go outside, Ying Liang saw his son finding a way to fly around the world, using a paper airplane carrying Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami’s portrait. Using a touch of playful cinephilia, with The World of Mindfulness, Chinese filmmaker Liang – now living in Hong Kong – creates a marvellously simple piece about the world of childhood.
Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra Nel Minchin, Wayne Blair / Australia / 2020 / 95’ / European Premiere / English
Made collectively through a multimedia workshop and composed of everyday fragments, Chelas nha Kau was born from the desire of Bataclan 1950 – a group of friends and hip-hop artists – to tell their story from their own perspective, rebuking the negative public perception of Chelas’s Zona J, the low-income suburb in Lisbon where they live. Sun 13 Jun / 11:30 BST / Showroom Cinema 2 (Community Screening)
Wed 9 Jun / 11:30 BST / Halo Showroom Cinema 3 (Relaxed Screening)
The story of three Aboriginal brothers, who formed a young dance company and, with its founders and alumni, turned it into a First Nations powerhouse. Firestarter explores the loss and reclamation of culture, the burden of intergenerational trauma, and the power of art as a messenger for social change, care, pleasure and healing. Thu 10 Jun / 11:00 BST / Showroom Cinema 4
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Community Programme
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Thanks to our Funders, Sponsors & Partners
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Sheffield DocFest
2021
Principal Funders, Sponsors and Partners
Major Funders, Sponsors and Partners
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Still sourced from ‘Your Next Move’ 1981, 12:27. By Martin John Harris and David Falconer Rea. Courtesy of Yorkshire Film Archive.