Film Festival
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: My Childhood, My Country – 20 Years in Afghanistan
The first rule of documentary filmmaking is to never get involved. To observe your subject objectively and not interfere with the events taking place on screen. This often throws up a Pandora’s Box of moral and ethical questions. However, the moment you intervene not only do you change the focus of your film but you …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: The Story of Looking
To say Mark Cousins loves film would be an understatement, to say the least. The former host of Moviedrome went on to create the definitive history of film in The Story of Film: An Odyssey, along with several other documentaries focusing on cinema. The Northern Irish filmmaker is also highly curious and inquisitive. Many of …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Gorbachev. Heaven
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a name and a face which will be well known to anyone of a certain age. His role in the dismantling of the Iron Curtain is possibly the most important event in the history of post-war Europe. In the West and former Eastern Bloc states his lauded as a hero for …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Sing, Freetown
In many ways the more recent history of Sierra Leonne is not so different to that of its neighbours. Its climate and habitat shielded it from conquest until the European colonisers arrived by sea. Perched on the west coast of Africa, several nations established trading posts until eventually the British created the settlement of the …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: The Witches of the Orient
For an athlete the Olympic Games is the pinnacle of sporting achievement. An event which marks the culmination of years of training and dedication. However, there’s much more to Olympic success that personal or team glory. As a representative of your country, you carry the hopes and expectations of millions on your shoulders. When Japan …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: The Monopoly of Violence
The past few years has seen unrest break out in many placed around the world. One of the constants has been the reaction of the police. There have been almost universally robust responses, ranging from unnecessary overreaction to outright murder. The only groups who seem to spared the truncheon, baton, tear gas or Taser are …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Factory to the Workers
The transition from communism to capitalism in the former Soviet Central and Eastern European states was far from smooth. The dissolution of the USSR and the break-up of the Eastern Bloc removed the safety net provided by the state. The vacuum left was usually filled by the unscrupulous and opportunistic individuals, often connected to the …
Tribeca Review: My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To
It’s natural for siblings to squabble and bicker. The power dynamic between brothers and sisters is often established in early life and usually remains until they’re old and grey. Whilst families routinely disagree or hold long-standing grudges, they usually come together when something major happens. Like the death of a parent or loved one. Some …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review – Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America
If the past decade has taught us anything it’s that racism is alive and well and thriving in America. The death of George Floyd might be the tipping point to finally bring some real change, if only to the way police departments behave. However, we’ve been here many times before and nothing ever really seem …
IFFR Review: Poupelle of Chimney Town
Whilst those of us in the West were brought up on a diet of Disney (and for younger generations, Pixar and Dreamworks), the experience was very different to that in the East. Over the last couple of decades, Studio Ghibli has taken its rightful place next to mouse industries as the best in the world. …