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Sheffield DocFest · 2010

Sheffield DocFest 2010

Doc/EU

A collection of interesting new documentary works from around Europe.

Programme

18 films · 5 reviews

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Alibi

Review preview for Alibi

Darren Bolger and Caroline Campbell's film is a portrait of an individual crime lost amidst other tragedies.

Andrew Robertson · 3.5 out of 5
The truth behind an alibi that kept a killer from justice for 20 years.

(Country: Ireland; Year: 2009; Director: Darren Bolger, Caroline Campbell) , Official site

Full review

The Autobiography Of Nicolae Ceausescu

A biopic of former Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, assembled from his own archive footage.

(Country: Romania; Year: 2010; Director: Andrei Ujica)

Bathing Micky (Micky Bader)

An elderly woman who swims every day, regardless of the weather, offers insights into her fascinating life.

(Country: Sweden; Year: 2010; Director: Frida Kempff)

Beats Of Freedom (Zew Wolnosci)

Polish musicians reflect on the restrictions on music that were imposed on their country under Communist rule.

(Country: Poland; Year: 2010; Director: Wojciech Slota, Leszek Gnoinski; Stars: Tomek Lipinski)

Benda Bilili!

Review preview for Benda Bilili!

Renaud Barret treads a careful path, resulting in a film that captures wider realities whilst providing an engaging, entertaining story of one band's search for fame.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A group of homeless blues musicians disabled by childhood polio join forces with a street kid with a home made instrument and make plans to tour Europe.

(Country: France; Year: 2010; Director: Florent de la Tullaye, Renaud Barret)

Full review

La Boheme

Puccini reinvented, Ethiopian style.

(Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Werner Herzog)

Burma Soldier

Review preview for Burma Soldier

Their choice of this one man to symbolise the oppression of a whole nation makes this a strong and impressive film.

Val Kermode · 4 out of 5
The story of former Burmese soldier Myo Mint who, after becoming disabled in action, educated himself with banned books and became a campaigner against the civil war.

(Country: Ireland, Burma, Thailand, US; Year: 2010; Director: Nic Dunlop, Annie Sundberg, Ricki Stern; Stars: Myo Mint)

Full review

...but Film Is My Mistress

A look back at the career of the great Ingmar Bergman, seen partly through the eyes of his actress muse.

(Country: Sweden; Year: 2010; Director: Stig Björkman; Stars: Ingmar Bergman, Liv Ullman)

The Embrace Of The River

Peasants living along Colombia's Magdalena river are wary of a mischievous water monster but still warier of paramilitaries who hide corpses in the water.

(Country: Belgium; Year: 2010; Director: Nicolas Rincon Gille)

Into Eternity (Into Eternity: A Film For The Future)

Review preview for Into Eternity

This is a powerfully atmospheric film that goes beyond the conventional techniques of documentary to communicate concepts we might otherwise struggle to grasp.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A documentary asking what we can do with nuclear waste that will remain dangerous for a hundred thousand years.

(Country: Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Italy; Year: 2010; Director: Michael Madsen; Writer: Michael Madsen, Jesper Bergmann; Stars: Timo Äikäs, Carl Reinhold Bråkenhjelm, Mikael Jensen, Berit Lundqvist, Wendla Paile, Esko Roukola, Sami Savonrinne, Timo Seppälä, Juhani Vira, Peter Wikberg) , Official site

Full review See: Interview with Michael Madsen about Into Eternity

I Shot My Love

A personal documentary about the relationship between the Israeli director, his mother, and the German dancer who becomes his lover.

(Country: Israel, Germany; Year: 2010; Director: Tomer Heymann)

Little Bride (Przyrzeczona)

A Turkish woman talks about her escape from an abusive arranged marriage and her sadness that she is unlikely ever to see her family again.

(Country: Poland; Year: 2010; Director: Leslaw Dobrucki)

Lukomir - Six Months Off

A few aging people struggle on in a remote, hostile land where there was once a thriving community.

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2010; Director: Niels van Koevorden)

The Naked Of Saint Petersburg

Sunbathers persist in doing their thing even in the depths of winter in St Petersburg.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2010; Director: Ada bligaard Søby)

Postcard To Daddy

Review preview for Postcard To Daddy

This nuanced, insightful documentary is much more successful than most at communicating the complex impact of sexual abuse.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A filmmaker looks back at his experiences of sexual abuse at the hands of his father, challenging his family to discuss what happened.

(Country: Germany, Thailand; Year: 2010; Director: Michael Stock)

Full review

Rainmakers (De Regenmakers)

Four Chinese activists challenge their government over issues relating to pollution.

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2010; Director: Floris-Jan van Luyn)

Travelling Fields

A visit to Russia's remote Kola peninsula.

(Country: Norway; Year: 2010; Director: Inger Lise Hansen)

When My Child Is Born

A couple struggle to rearrange their lives around an unexpected pregnancy amid the legal restrictions and traditional expectations still extant in modern China.

(Country: UK, Denmark, Japan; Year: 2010; Director: Ke Dingding, Guo Jing)