Leading Industry Figures revealed for Doc/Fest: 8 – 12 June 2011 (04/05/2011)
Adam Curtis, KEO Films, Nick Broomfield, Molly Dineen, A.A Gill, Bruce Parry (pictured left) and Morgan Spurlock are amongst a high profile line up of industry figures confirmed today to give masterclass and in-conversation sessions at this year's Sheffield Doc/Fest, taking place from 8-12 June, supported and funded by Screen Yorkshire with Bfi/Lottery Funding.
Highlights include BBC interview with Adam Curtis, Channel 4 interview with KEO Films, in conversation between newspaper columnist AA Gill and Nick Fraser, interview with TV presenter Bruce Parry, in conversation with Molly Dineen, filmmaker masterclasses with John Akomfrah, Nick Broomfield, Leonard Retel Helmrich, Steve James, and Morgan Spurlock. Hot on the heels of the success of The King's Speech, Bedlam Productions' Gareth Unwin and Simon Egan will examine how the demand for history films often results in documentaries that become dramas.
BBC Interview: Adam Curtis (10 June)
Adam Curtis's distinctive films often reflect opinions and arguments he has developed through rigorous research and meticulous planning. They can be broadly characterised by their thought provoking content, carried by a voice whose every word speaks of thorough understanding. In this session, Adam will be discussing the inspiration behind his latest documentary, All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace.
The Channel 4 Interview: The People's Republic of KEO (9 June)
KEO Films have brought to our screens docs about food ideology (Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall), Amish teenagers and Banksy's Oscar-nominated Exit Through the Gift Shop as well as produced Welcome to Lagos. Hamish Mykura, Head of Documentaries at Channel 4, will talk to the Andrew Palmer (Creative Director), Will Anderson (Producer and Director), Zam Baring (Managing Director) about their distinct and diverse brand, joined by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
A.A. Gill in Conversation with Nick Fraser (10 June)
The Sunday Times and Vanity Fair columnist AA Gill will be in conversation with Nick Fraser – editor of BBC's Storyville strand – discussing the documentary form.
Bruce Parry Interview (10 June)
Bruce Parry, a former Royal Marine, is one of British documentary's most recognisable faces (notably Tribe, Amazon), and famed for his compassionate presentation style. His most recent outing, Arctic, sees him immersing himself in the lifestyle of a group of Inuit, whose lives have been irrevocably altered by climate change. In this session, Parry will be discussing living and documenting his life in the Arctic and other parts of the world.
Molly Dineen in Conversation (12 June)
Molly Dineen, one of Britain's most acclaimed documentary filmmakers, is known for her intimate and probing portraits of British individuals and institutions – ranging from her debut film, Home from the Hill (1987), which made a star of its protagonist Colonel Hilary Hook, to the BAFTA-winning Lie of the Land (2007), which explores the harsh realities of life as a British farmer. In this session, Molly Dineen will discuss among other things, how her style and approach have developed and explaining why she's not a 'fly-on-the-wall'
John Akomfrah Masterclass (11 June)
John Akomfrah's genre-defying films elegantly combine art and politics; his career spans the worlds of film, arts, television, and academia. He began directing in the eighties with Black Audio Film Collective, whose subtle but searing commentaries on British racism were aired on a bold new Channel 4. His latest, The Nine Muses, plays at Doc/Fest prior to a theatrical release. This masterclass will unravel the meticulous creative processes behind Akomfrah's films, from choice of story to sifting through archive to the creation of elaborate soundscapes.
Nick Broomfield Masterclass (12 June)
Nick Broomfield, who has been making films for over 30 years, often with a film crew of two, is considered to be one of the most important and innovative filmmakers working in documentary. In this masterclass, Broomfield will be discussing the structure and execution of his famously investigative style.
Steve James Masterclass (11 June)
Steve James is an award winning, critically acclaimed documentary filmmaker whose 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams featured on more critics' top ten lists than any other movie. Steve James's latest outing, The Interrupters (which plays in the film programme) tells the story of three ex-gang members trying to protect their community from the violence that they themselves once exercised. In this masterclass, James will be discussing the inspiration behind the documentary and his return to filming in the streets of Chicago
Leonard Retel Helmrich Masterclass (10 June)
Filmmaker Leonard Retel Helmrich will discuss his landmark Indonesian trilogy of films which offer an in-depth portrait through the eyes of one family with whom he has filmed for over a decade. Through the method 'single-shot cinema', involving long takes and a constantly moving camera, and he developed the innovative 'steady-wings' camera mount. A multi-award winning director including, the Special Jury Winner at this years Sundance, Leonard is the only person to win the Grand VPRO/IDFA Award on two occasions, doing so with two films from the trilogy, Shape of the Moon (2004) and Position Among the Stars (2010), which plays in this year's film programme.
Morgan Spurlock Masterclass (11 June)
Academy-Award nominated documentary director, Morgan Spurlock, who made the international hit film Super Size Me, is one of the most successful documentary filmmakers of the last decade. His most recent venture: Pom Wonderful: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, which opens Doc/Fest on 8 June, explores the world of product placement in mainstream Hollywood cinema today. In this masterclass Spurlock will discuss his successes, his failures, and what it takes to make it in the documentary world.
Bedlam Masterclass: The King's Speech Got Made and Other Stories (11 June)
In this masterclass Bedlam Productions' Gareth Unwin and Simon Egan (The King's Speech) will examine how the demand for history films often results in documentaries that become dramas.
For passes and full programme details: http://sheffdocfest.com/
About Doc/Fest
Now in its 18th year, Sheffield Doc/Fest will be held 8-12 June 2011. Sheffield Doc/Fest brings the international documentary family together to celebrate the art and business of documentary making for five intense days. Sheffield is fast becoming known as one of the top places in the world for people from the documentary and digital industries to get together - to meet, to screen their work, share knowledge, do business, make new contacts and discuss innovations and challenges they are facing in the ever changing media landscape.
Over the past five years Sheffield Doc/Fest has massively expanded its marketplace activity, as well as its cross platform, interactive and digital programme. These developments, the stunning film programme and often controversial conference sessions are what attract over 2000 delegates from around the globe and thousands more of the general public.
The highly acclaimed film programme features around 120 docs, including a number that will receive their European premiere at Doc/Fest, having launched earlier this year at Sundance. Five such highlights are: Ian Palmer’s Knuckle, Steve James’ The Interupters, Marshall Curry’s If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, Matthew Bate’s Shut Up Little Man: An Audio Misadventure and Andrew Rossi’s Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times.
Ian Palmer’s epic 12-year journey into the world of an Irish Traveller community, Knuckle takes us inside their secretive and exhilarating bare-knuckle fighting lives. Chronicling a history of violent feuding between rival families, the film follows James Quinn McDonagh and his younger brother Michael, as they fight for their reputations and the honour of their family name. Following its world premiere at Sundance, Knuckle was picked up by ContentFilm for international distribution and Revolver Entertainment for cinema release in the UK and Ireland.
RISE Films, also co produced The Interupters, with the non-profit Chicago based production studio Kartemquin Films - the sixth collaboration for Steve James (Hoop Dreams) with Kartemquin. The Interupters is an intimate journey into the stubborn persistence of violence in our cities in which Steve James achieved unparalleled access to three violence interupters - ex-gang members who have renounced their former ways - who now work to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once employed.
Marshall Curry’s If A Tree Falls: A Story of The Earth Liberation Front will play within a festival strand about the role of documentary and social media in the protest movement. It tells the story of the rise and fall of a group within the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), an organisation which the FBI has called America's "number one domestic terrorism threat." For years the ELF had launched spectacular arsons against dozens of businesses they accused of destroying the environment. In December 2005, Daniel McGowan was arrested by Federal agents in a nationwide sweep of radical environmentalists.
In Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure Australian filmmaker Matthew Bate has taken the surreal recordings of two men fighting - which became the world’s first viral pop-culture sensation - and turned it into an hilarious and critically acclaimed documentary feature.
In the revealing Page One: A Year Inside The New York Times director Andrew Rossi gained unprecedented access to the workings and journalists of the paper’s media desk and shows the impact that internet news and social media, is having on traditional printed media.
For passes and full programme details: http://sheffdocfest.com/
