AND THE WINNERS ARE.....IT'S A WRAP AT SHEFFIELD DOC/FEST (15/06/2011)
After five thrilling days jammed with films, masterclasses and parties, the premier international documentary festival came to a close in Sheffield this Sunday and documentary makers from all over the world began their journeys home... but not before announcing this year's prizewinners. If you weren't able to make it this year and want some pointers on what's hot in docs for 2011, then make sure you take a note of the award winners below.
The Sheffield Doc/Fest awards ceremony tool place on Sunday 12 June at the Showroom Cinema in Sheffield, in a ceremony hosted by comedian Jeremy Hardy.Sheffield Doc/Fest is supported and funded by Screen Yorkshire in partnership with the BFI through RIFE Lottery Funding.
The six award categories were: Special Jury Award, Sheffield Innovation Award, Sheffield Green Award, Sheffield Youth Jury Award, and Student Doc Award plus the Inspiration Award which was awarded to Nick Broomfield. Doc/Fest also celebrated the work of Albert Maysles with a Lifetime Achievement Award, which was given to him on Friday 10 June at the City Hall.
Special Jury Award
The Special Jury Award was awarded to Steve James's The Interrupters, in which ex-Chicago gang members come together to fight crime. The jury praised the film's "powerful depiction of modern day heroes".
Steve James commented, "What a great festival!" and in praising the other nominees said, "it's such a great time to make documentaries, there is such incredible work being made".
A special mention was given to Alma Har'el's Bombay Beach, for its "lyrical craft, humanity and sheer originality".
The Special Jury were:
David Courier, Senior Programmer, Sundance Film Festival / USA
Danny Leigh, Writer and critic / UK
Louisa Dent, Managing Director, Artificial Eye Film Co / UK
Satwant Gill, Head of Events, London Indian Film Festival / UK
Yance Ford, Series Producer, AMDOC POV / USA
Sheffield Youth Jury Award
An extra special hurrah from Screen Yorkshire goes to the winners of The Sheffield Youth Jury Award for We Are Poets, in which Sheffield-based filmmakers Alex Ramseyer-Bache and Daniel Lucchesi follow the group Leeds Young Authors as they prepare for the most prestigious poetry slam competition in America.
The jury stated that the film "engages terrifically with a young audience, mostly because it portrays young people in a more positive light than we are used to" and added, "it best fulfils all of the necessary criteria for a cracking documentary: an interesting narrative, compelling characters and thought-provoking subject matter. More specifically it is a poignant, truthful and uplifting perspective on youth today and its potential."
The filmmakers, who finished the film just 3 days ago, said that the reception for the film after it received its World Premiere at the festival was "mind-blowing". They gave special thanks to the Leeds Young Authors, the group of poets featured in the film.
Sheffield Innovation Award
The Sheffield Innovation Award was awarded to Welcome to Pine Point, by Paul Shoebridge and Michael Simons, a creative web story about the abandoned mining town of Pine Point in Canada's Northwest territories.
The jury rewarded the film for "embracing new platforms and new languages" and "immersing the viewer in a beautifully crafted, inventive and heartbreaking digital memoir of loss, nostalgia and disintegration".
A special mention went to John Akomfrah's "breathtaking and sumptuous work" The Nine Muses.
Sheffield Green Award
The Sheffield Green Award was awarded to Anthony Baxter's You've Been Trumped, which investigates American billionaire Donald Trump's project to build the world's greatest golf coast on one of Britain's last stretches of wilderness.
The jury commented, "This year's Green Award goes to a film which exposes one of the most shocking environmental crimes in recent UK history. We hope that this award will raise awareness and hold Donald Trump to account for his environmental and social belligerence and expose the corruption and incompetence at the heart of the Scottish authorities which let this destruction go ahead".
Anthony Baxter expressed his "immense gratitude to the people around the world who crowdfunded the film", and to his producer Richard Phinney.
An honourable mention went to Up in Smoke, "for the positive message it offers for hope and the possibility of change".
Student Doc Award
The Student Doc Award was awarded to Eighty Eight, a short film by Josh Bamford, Seb Feehan and Hannah Bone, which portrays 88-year-old Ralph Settle, former roller skating, cycling and swimming champion.
The jury described the film as "a simple story, told well, wonderfully executed, that got to the heart of its subject, and to the heart of the jury".
Inspiration Award
Sheffield Doc/Fest's Inspiration Award, which celebrates a figure in the industry who has championed documentary and helped get great work into the public eye, went to acclaimed British documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield. Broomfield, who has been making films for over 40 years, often with a crew of two, is considered to be one of the most important and innovative directors working in documentary.
Alex Graham praised Broomfield's unique style, which "has come to influence a whole generation of filmmakers". He noted that after forty years making films, Broomfield still "welds together documentary and drama in whole new ways, and keeps coming up with new ways of telling stories".
In his acceptance speech, Nick Broomfield said he was "slightly embarrassed" to be getting this award as he "likes to think his career is just beginning", and he acknowledged the influence of Colin Young, the founder of the National Film and Television School.
The Audience Award winner goes to Give Up Tomorrow, directed by Michael Collins and produced by Marty Syjuco.
Says Hussain Currimbhoy, Doc/Fest Programmer, "Michael and Marty came to Sheffield to raise money in the MeetMarket in 2009 with Give Up Tomorrow - which they made over six years and three continents – so it's especially wonderful that Doc/Fest audiences have given this film the recognition it deserves."
Say the filmmakers, "It means the world to us to have been invited back to Sheffield, especially because Meetmarket played such a key role in this journey for us. It is such a beautiful, special and ridiculously fun festival, and to get this award is such an honour. Thank you all so much for the continued love and support, for helping us raise the profile of our film and for calling more attention to Paco's case."
Produced in association with BBC Storyville and supported by the Tribeca All Access and the Gucci Tribeca Documentey, Give Up Tomorrow describes the miscarriage of justice and corruption surrounding the murder of the Chiong sisters in the Philippines in 1997. The case ended a nation's use of capital punishment, but it failed to free an innocent man.
About Doc/Fest
Now in its 18th year, Sheffield Doc/Fest is the UK's premiere documentary and digital media festival. It is the place to see world and UK premieres of the best creative documentaries from the cinema, television and online arenas, and to hear from and meet filmmakers at Q&A sessions. Highlights of the film programme are honoured with an award programme including the Sheffield Special Jury, Innovation, Green, Youth Jury, Inspiration, Student Doc and Audience Awards. www.sheffdocfest.com
