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Sheffield DocFest · 2010

Sheffield DocFest 2010

Doc/UK

The best recent documentaries from the UK.

Programme

36 films · 13 reviews

Jump to a film

After The Apocalypse

Review preview for After The Apocalypse

I'm not sure that I have ever seen a film as horrific as this.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
A look at the suffering caused by Russia's nuclear testing programme in Kazakhstan, where villagers who knew nothing of what was happening have suffered appalling, generational effects of radiation poisoning.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Antony Butts)

Full review

The Arbor

Review preview for The Arbor

Memory, reality, fact and fiction blend to give you a vivid 'feel' for the interviewees' recollections while being acutely aware that this remains a remembered reconstruction of the past.

Amber Wilkinson · 5 out of 5
Avant-garde documentary exploring the life and legacy of Rita, Sue And Bob Too! playwright Andrea Dunbar.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Clio Barnard; Stars: Manjinder Virk, Christine Bottomley, Monica Dolan, Neil Dudgeon, Danny Webb, Jimi Mistry, George Costigan, Natalie Gavin)

Full review

Alan Bennett And The Habit of Art

Alan Bennett discusses the creation of his latest play, The Habit Of Art, and explores the stories of its subjects, WH Auden and Benjamin Britten.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Adam Low)

Arena: Rolf Harris Paints His Dream

The charismatic Australian octogenarian looks back on his remarkable career.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Vikram Jayanti)

Ashura

Review preview for Ashura

While this is a short film it carries within it the seeds of dread, hope, and waiting.

Andrew Robertson · 3 out of 5
Film borne out of artist's residency with Edinburgh Mela.

(Country: UK, Iran; Year: 2010; Director: Roxana Pope)

Full review

Barber's Dozen

Review preview for Barber's Dozen

Entertaining, amusing, like a humorous conversation overheard on the train.

Andrew Robertson · 3 out of 5
The tales of people who frequent a barber's shop chair.

(Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Tara Manandhar, David O'Neill) , Official site

Full review

The Battle For Barking

Review preview for The Battle For Barking

The documentary team here are to be congratulated on getting so close to their subjects, on inspiring so much trust, even if there are moments when they agree to turn the cameras off.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A documentary following Margaret Hodge's campaign against the BNP in Barking at the 2010 general election.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Laura Fairrie; Stars: Margaret Hodge, Nick Griffin)

Full review

Behind This Sea

The stories of boat people who have made a perilous journey from Libya to Italy only to find themselves segregated from the local population.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Lottie Gammon)

Coppers

Call centre operators try to distinguish genuine emergency calls from hoaxes in this documentary about police officers' attitudes to modern society.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Tim Wardle)

Donor Unknown

Review preview for Donor Unknown

Donor Unknown never quite pushes hard enough on the big ethical and philosophical questions involved in the notion of fatherhood by proxy.

Robert Munro · 3 out of 5
A young woman born via donor insemination advertises in search of her biological father, meets half-siblings and subsequently explores her feelings for the surprised stranger who reads about her quest.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Jerry Rothwell) , Official site

Full review

Don't Give Up Your Guns

A look at the experiences of young Latvian immigrants in London struggling to earn money they can send home to their families.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Juris Kudeiko)

Exit Through The Gift Shop

Review preview for Exit Through The Gift Shop

Every bit as quirky, engaging and rebellious as the artwork it aims to celebrate. Sadly, it also shares graffiti's tendency to be energetic but scattergun and ephemeral.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
A documentary about a French shopkeeper who tracked down the famous graffiti artist Banksy... or a very clever piece of performance art.

(Country: US, UK; Year: 2010; Director: Banksy; Stars: Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Rhys Ifans, Space Invader) , Official site

Full review See: Sundance Film Festival 2010: Day Four

Elgar: The Man Behind The Mask

A documentary portrait on the composer, exploring his wary fascination with celebrity and class.

(Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: John Bridcut)

Marathon Boy

Review preview for Marathon Boy

We have to ask ourselves whether we are watching a child being exploited or whether we are ourselves guilty of exploitation.

Val Kermode · 4 out of 5
A portrait of the competitive interests and corruption surrounding a child with an extraordinary gift for distance running.

(Country: UK, US; Year: 2010; Director: Gemma Atwal; Stars: Budhia Singh)

Full review

Meet The Sceptics

Meet some sceptics.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Rupert Murray)

My Kidnapper

Former ELN hostages return to the Sierra Nevada mountains to meet one of their kidnappers, with whom the director has been talking in email for five years.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Mark Henderson, Kate Horne; Stars: Mark Henderson)

The New Kings Of Nigeria

The grandson of captured Nigerian King Jaja returns to his homeland - as a reality TV presenter.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Elizabeth Stopford)

Now As It Was Then - Heaven 17 The Story of Penthouse & Pavement

The story of Sheffield band Heaven 17 and their struggle to record their first album against a background of poverty.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: James Strong)

No Easy Time

A group of prisoners in Devon run their own prison and work hard to change their lives, but have difficulty moving into the outside world.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Will Woodward)

Old Man In The Sea

One of the Britain Swimming Club's last surviving members takes his therapeutic daily dip in the sea and suggests everybody should do likewise.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Katrina Mansoor)

On The Streets

The stories of London's homeless people challenge the stereotypes.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Penny Woolcock)

Pink Saris

Review preview for Pink Saris

Sampat is a subject so complex and compelling, so fearless and flawed, that in the end the documentary itself is drawn into her irresistible orbit no less than she dominates all the people and situations around her.

Anton Bitel · 3.5 out of 5
Low-caste women in Uttar Pradesh fight back against social injustice in this documentary.

(Country: UK, India; Year: 2010; Director: Kim Longinotto)

Full review

The Playboy Murderer

Review preview for The Playboy Murderer

Sadly this documentary manages to miss the mark despite a lot of quality material.

Jennie Kermode · 2 out of 5
The story of flashy businessman and conman Thanos Papalexis, who dazzled his friends and lovers yet harboured a dark secret.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Rachel Williams)

Full review

Robin Hood Gardens (Or Every Brutalist Structure For Itself)

A documentary about the battle over the Robin Hood housing estate in Tower Hamlets, between those wanting to preserve its architecture and those wanting to build better homes for its residents.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Martin Ginestie)

Scenes From A Teenage Killing

A chance to meet the families of teenagers killed in violent incidents across the UK, asking what terms like 'gang violence' really mean.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Morgan Matthews)

Shooting Blind

England's blind football team demonstrate their skills.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Adalean Coade, Andrew Whitehouse)

Skateistan: To Live And Skate Kabul

Teenagers in war-torn Afghanistan learn to use skateboards and discover a new lust for life.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Orlando von Einsiedel)

Small Protests

Rabbit intends to change the world one protest at a time, and starts by camping outside the unused home of an MP caught up in the expenses scandal.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Zillah Bowes)

Suburbia In Therapy

An animated documentary in which couples talk to relationship therapists.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Zac Beattie)

This Chair Is Not Me

A man with cerebral palsy uses technology to restore his agency and take back his place in the world.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Andy Taylor Smith)

Waste Land

Review preview for Waste Land

Walker's documentary is moving, life-affirming and challenges what you think you might know about these people who pick through the rubbish.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Portrait of garbage pickers in Rio who participated in a project with artist Vik Muniz.

(Country: UK, Brazil; Year: 2010; Director: Lucy Walker)

Full review

What a Girl Wants

A recovering drug addict struggles over what to do about the fact the man she loves can't quit his habit.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Will Woodward)

When China Met Africa

An exploration of the relationship between China and Zambia, as the former develops projects ostensibly aimed at lifting the latter out of poverty.

(Country: France, UK; Year: 2010; Director: Marc Francis, Nick Franci)

Windows

An art project gives homeless Londoners the chance to express themselves.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Ruth Cook)