Sheffield Doc/Fest
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: City of Ghosts
There have been many documentaries made about the heroism and dedication of war correspondence and conflict photographers. However, with the changing face of news journalism and in the digital age, we’ve started to see the rise of citizen journalism. This first came to the fore during the ‘Arab Spring’, with Tunisians and Egyptians using mobile …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Unrest
What science and medicine can’t understand, often gets stigmatise. Sufferers of ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome, has been the recipients of a whole raft of negative labels. From hysteria to yuppie flu, over the centuries millions have been categorised anywhere between lazy to mad. It’s an illness which disproportionality afflicts women. Which is probably one …
Film Review: Freedom for the Wolf
Despite the dire straits of the current political situations in ‘First-World’ nations around the world, we generally take our freedoms for granted. Freedoms of speech, religion, belief etc are just parts of everyday life. This is not the case for large parts of the world. With the ‘Arab Spring’ and recent conflicts in the Middle …
Film Review: Armed with Faith
Since 9/11, the US and most of the Western world have waged a ‘War on Terror’ across much of the Middle East. This has taken form as wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Libya, or in tactical and drone strikes across a swathe of nations. Whilst we’ve seen a growing number of terror attacks in …
Film Review: Ask the Sexpert
It wasn’t so long ago that sex education was nigh on inexistent in both America and the UK. Whilst we’ve come a long way, there are many who wish to take us back to the 1950s. And although it could be argued that there’s too much ‘information’ in Western magazines and websites aimed at teens, …
Film Review: Geek Girls
Words such as ‘nerd’ and ‘geek’ have been used to bully and stigmatise for decades. Humans, it seems, don’t like people who are ‘different’. Thankfully, these terms are beginning to be reclaimed by a new generation. Indeed, geek culture has even become trendy or something to aspire to. Technological advances have made the likes of …
Film Review: A River Below
Modern technology has brought many benefits, but few more transformative than the ability to easily and cheaply document life. Most people carry a camera in their pocket. Activism has moved from a participatory group event to something easily done online. What every media campaign now needs is that one picture which will capture the public’s …
Film Festival Preview: Sheffield Doc/Fest Part 2
Comprising a record 182 features and shorts, this year’s Sheffield Doc/Fest promises to be the best yet. It’s a marvellous eclectic programme featuring 35 world, 21 International, 24 European and 73 UK premieres. Indeed, it feels like the focus of the world’s third biggest documentary film festival is squarely on the films this year. The …
Film Festival Preview: Sheffield Doc/Fest Part 1
Comprising a record 182 features and shorts, this year’s Sheffield Doc/Fest promises to be the best yet. It’s a marvellous eclectic programme featuring 35 world, 21 International, 24 European and 73 UK premieres. Indeed, it feels like the focus of the world’s third biggest documentary film festival is squarely on the films this year. The …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Life, Animated
As adults we’re often warned about the negative influences of TV and films on children. The next scare story is never too far away. However, the benefits are rarely ever even touched on. Disney has become much-maligned over the last few years but for decades it has made beautifully crafted animation which has beguiled and …