Sheffield Doc/Fest
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Hooligan Sparrow
China has a population of well over a billion people. However, it’s highly likely that you or I know much more about what’s going on in the country than those actually living there. Despite relaxing restrictions in the new global climate, China is very much a nation under censorship. Corruption is rife amongst government officials …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Sonita
The traditional role of a documentary film-maker is one of an impartial observer; there to document but not interfere or intercede. However, times change, and the ethical question shifts between the purity of the process and the morality behind doing nothing. If you transfer the debate into almost any other sphere, the ethics of inaction …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Weiner
Anthony Weiner was an outspoken and media-friendly Democratic Congressman. He was hugely popular with the electorate and built up a reputation of campaigning hard on behalf of his constituents. His career was brought to an abrupt halt when he was forced to resign his position after a sexting scandal reached the press. Two years later, …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Cameraperson
Kristen Johnson has been a documentary cameraperson for over 25 years. The award-winning cinematographer is today considered one of the best in her field and has helped create some incredible works of cinema. Happy Valley, The Invisible War, Fahrenheit 9/11, The Oath and Citizenfour, to name a few. However, the work has begun to take …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: In Pursuit of Silence
Our senses are bombarded on an daily basis. Walk around any city or large town and you’ll be assailed by loud noise; traffic, music, talking and much more. We’re increasingly plugged in to the technological era, often blanking out the background noise with personal media devices. Silence, which was traditionally revered and much sought-after, is …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Author: The JT LeRoy Story
JT LeRoy was born in West Virginia in 1980. Coming from a background of drug addiction, abuse and vagrancy, LeRoy’s story is a troubled one. In 1994 the self-styled ‘Terminator’ reached out to novelists and shared his writings. His first novel, Sarah, sparked a literary sensation and was swifty followed by The Heart is Deceitful …
Film Review: Ambulance
Since the UN partition of Palestine in 1947 and the establishment of the State of Israel a year later, Arab-Israeli could rarely be described as amicable. With the formation of the PLO and subsequent war in 1967, there has been a frequently hostile peace interspersed with occasional wars or intifadas. Today, Palestinians live in intimidatingly …
Film Review: SEED: The Untold Story
For tens of thousands of years humankind has been self-sufficient when it comes to food production. Agriculture and farming played an integral role in the everyday lives of countless generations. However, the industrial revolution and modern farming techniques have almost wiped out traditional farming in the developed, and increasingly in the developing world. The rapid …
Sheffield Doc/Fest – Free Al Fresco
With Doc/Fest kicking off on Friday it’s easy to forget that it brings with it a unique opportunity for everyone to see some of the best documentary cinema for free. Once again there will be two free outdoor screens. The Beijing Screen on Howard street and the Guardian Screen on Tudor Square. Here are just …
Film Review: Where You’re Meant To Be
If you know who Aidan Moffat is you’ll already have a good idea what to expect when it comes to tone from Where You’re Meant To Be. The irascible Falkirk singer is best know for his time performing with Malcolm Middleton in Scottish indie band Arab Strap. After they split in 2006 he continued to …