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Sheffield DocFest · 2011

Sheffield DocFest 2011

Doc/International

Exceptional documentaries from around the world.

Programme

36 films · 15 reviews

Jump to a film

The Art Of Remembrance

A documentary looking at the creation of sculptures in honour of lost loved ones for Mexico's Day of The Dead.

(Country: US; Year: 2010; Director: Raul Paz Pastrana)

Bob And The Monster

Review preview for Bob And The Monster

Bob And The Monster takes an affectionate look at rock and a fresh look at drug addiction.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Musician Bob Forrest talks about his days with Thelonius Monster and his struggle with heroin addiction.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Keirda Bahruth; Stars: Bob Forrest, Steven Adler, Courtney Love, Flea, Iris Berry)

Full review

Bombay Beach

Review preview for Bombay Beach

This is a tough but beautiful landscape and it has bred tough but beautiful people as director Alma Har'el's film goes on to elegantly illustrate.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
Experimental documentary about residents who live on the shores of the Salton Sea.

(Country: US; Year: 2010; Director: Alma Har'el)

Full review See: Interview with director Alma Har'el about documentary Bombay Beach , Tribeca Film Festival 2011: Daring documentary: Bombay Beach and The Bully Project

Beats, Rhymes And Life

The story of the rise and influence of one of the most innovative and influential hip hop bands of all time, the collective known as A Tribe Called Quest.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Michael Rapaport; Stars: Michael Rapaport, Mos Def, Ludacris, Common, Q-Tip, Pharrell Williams, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Ghostface Killah, Angie Martinez, Ahmir-Khalib Thompson, Phife Dawg, De La Soul, Pete Rock, Jarobi White)

Becoming Chaz

Review preview for Becoming Chaz

It's the emotional insights, and the laughter, that lift Becoming Chaz above the average observational documentary and give it wide-ranging appeal.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Born with a female anatomy, the child of musicians Sonny and Cher, Chaz Bono is now transitioning to live as a man, and he discusses his experiences in this very personal documentary.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato; Stars: Chaz Bono, Cher)

Full review

Cave Of Forgotten Dreams (Caves of Forgotten Dreams)

Review preview for Cave Of Forgotten Dreams

If there is anybody who can provide insight into the lives of those long-vanished it must be Herzog.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
An exploration of the Chauvet caves in Southern France where the oldest known human paintings can be found.

(Year: 2010; Director: Werner Herzog; Writer: Werner Herzog; Stars: Charles Fathy, Werner Herzog)

Full review

The Chair

A fly on the wall look at a lawyer desperately trying to save his client's life with only a few hours to go before the time set for execution.

(Country: US; Year: 1962; Director: Robert Drew)

Cinema Palestine

A documentary exploring the work of generations of Palestinian artists and filmmakers, especially those involved with political protest.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2011; Director: Tim Schwab)

Client 9 (Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer)

Review preview for Client 9

It’s hard to feel too much pity for Spitzer as the clichéd ‘man who had it all and threw it away’, but the film shows his virtues and faults, and presents a compelling, if occasionally anecdotal, case for there being conspiracy.

Daniel Hooper · 4 out of 5
A profile of the man who, potentially, could have been president, and the scandal that bought about his downfall.

(Country: US; Year: 2010; Director: Alex Gibney; Writer: Alex Gibney; Stars: Eliot Spitzer, Kim Allen, Wrenn Schmidt, Michael Schwendeman, Laura Somma) , Official site

Full review

Ecumenopolis: City Without Limits

Istanbul is developing at a startling rate, with little regard for hygiene or safety. 70% of its buildings are considered unsafe, and it's situated on top of a fault line.

(Country: Turkey, Germany; Year: 2011; Director: Imre Azem)

Encounters At The End Of The World

Review preview for Encounters At The End Of The World

What he’s talking about and looking for is oddity masquerading as normality.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4.5 out of 5
The infamous director Werner Herzog visits the Antarctic, determined not to make a movie about penguins.

(Country: US; Year: 2007; Director: Werner Herzog; Stars: Werner Herzog) , Official site , Trailer

Full review

Give Up Tomorrow

Echoes of Errol Morris in the case of Paco Larrañaga

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Michael Collins) , Official site

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

A documentary about branding, advertising and product placement is financed and made possible by branding, advertising and product placement.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Morgan Spurlock)

Grey Gardens

A portrait of two ageing, reclusive New York socialites, members of the Kennedy clan.

(Country: US; Year: 1976; Director: Albert Maysles, David Maysles , Muffie Meyer, Ellen Hovde)

Guerrillera

A cleaner talks about her past working with Colombian guerrillas, educating peasants about human rights.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Elle Sillanpaa)

Gun Fight

Review preview for Gun Fight

Kopple makes room here for opponents to state their case, although it's clear throughout which side she's on.

Val Kermode · 4 out of 5
An exploration of the politics of gun control in the US.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Barbara Kopple)

Full review

Hit So Hard: The Life And Near Death Story Of Patty Schemel

A portrait of the Hole drummer featuring extensive video diary material and exploring her addiction to heroin.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: P. David Ebersole; Stars: Patty Schemel, Courtney Love)

The Hollywood Complex

Review preview for The Hollywood Complex

The team did build quite strong emotional ties with these families.

Val Kermode · 3 out of 5
A visit to a special apartment complex and training centre for would-be child stars.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Dan Sturman, Dylan Nelson)

Full review

If A Tree Falls: A Story Of The Earth Liberation Front

The Earth Liberation Front is a radical environmental group that the FBI calls America's 'number one domestic terrorist threat'. Daniel McGowan, an ELF member, faces life in prison for two multi-million dollar arsons against Oregon timber companies. But who is really to blame?

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Marshall Curry; Writer: Marshall Curry)

Inside Job

Review preview for Inside Job

Charles Ferguson's documentary - unlike the subject matter he is broaching - makes a virtue of economy.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
Documentary examining the US economic meltdown, which suggests it was no accident.

(Country: US; Year: 2010; Director: Charles Ferguson; Writer: Chad Beck, Adam Bolt; Stars: Matt Damon) , Official site

Full review

The Interrupters

Review preview for The Interrupters

Fascinating, haunting and often very tense, The Interrupters is a solid piece of social comment that gets the camera intimately into the action, and it suffers only in that such an issue demands more be brought into the camera's scope.

Owen Van Spall · 4 out of 5
A story of ex-gang members who are now protecting their communities from the violence they themselves once employed.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Steve James; Writer: Alex Kotlowitz) , Official site

Full review

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never

A documentary following the young star in the run-up to a Madison Square Garden concert.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Jon M Chu; Stars: Justin Bieber)

Life In Movement

Review preview for Life In Movement

This carefully crafted and wonderfully edited documentary stands as a warm and absorbing tribute to Tanja Liedtke's work, her impact on the dance scene around her and as a testimony to the joys of creativity itself.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A look back at the career of a talented dancer and choreographer tragically killed at the age of just 29.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2011; Director: Bryan Mason, Sophie Hyde; Stars: Tanja Liedtke) , Official site

Full review See: Interview with Bryan Mason about Life In Movement for Film Fest Australia

Louisiana Story

A study of Robert J Flaherty and Richard Leacock's remarkable filmmaking technique.

(Country: US; Year: 1948; Director: Robert J. Flaherty)

Mrs Carey's Concert

Review preview for Mrs Carey's Concert

Connolly and Raymond capture both the pressure and exhilaration of practice and performance and include plenty of footage of the teenagers simply going about the process of growing up and learning to work together.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
The determined Mrs Carey prepares her pupils to deliver the concert of a lifetime at the Sydney Opera House.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2010; Director: Bob Connolly, Sophie Raymond; Stars: Karen Carey) , Official site

Full review

Muhammed & Larry (Muhammed And Larry)

A documentary exploring the relationship between two famous boxes, with its elements of mentoring and rivalry.

(Country: US; Year: 1980; Director: Albert Maysles, Bradley Kaplan; Stars: Muhammed Ali)

Page One: A Year Inside The New York Times

Unprecedented access to the New York Times newsroom yields a complex view of the transformation of a media landscape fraught with both peril and opportunity.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Writer: Kate Novack, Andrew Rossi)

Peace

The personal story of an ageing Japanese couple dedicated to helping others and of one of their clients, a former soldier with lung cancer who still smokes Peace cigarettes.

(Country: Japan, United States, South Korea; Year: 2010; Director: Kazuhiro Soda)

POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Review preview for POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Spurlock is mesmerising in his pitches.

Val Kermode · 4 out of 5
The filmmaker sets out to finance a documentary about product placement in the movies by making his own product placement deals with major companies.

(Country: United States; Year: 2011; Director: Morgan Spurlock; Stars: Morgan Spurlock)

Full review See: Article about Sheffield DocFest and Morgan Spurlock

Reagan

The enigmatic career of one of the revered architects of the modern world – icon, screen star, and two-term president Ronald Reagan.

(Country: US, UK; Year: 2011; Director: Eugene Jarecki)

Resurrect Dead: The Mystery Of The Toynbee Tiles

An urban mystery unfurls as one man pieces together the surreal meaning of hundreds of cryptic tiled messages that have been appearing in city streets across the US and South America.

(Country: US; Year: 2010; Director: Jon Foy)

Running Fence

Two artists endeavour to build a miles-long fence of white fabric across northern Canada.

(Country: US; Year: 1978; Director: Albert Maysles, David Maysles)

Salesman

Following four door-to-door salesmen around the States in the late Sixties.

(Country: US; Year: 1969; Director: Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin)

Full review

Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure

Review preview for Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure

The movie also has much to say about this none-too-subtle take on voyeurism, and the nature of unexpurgated creativity uninhibited by copyright.

Scott Macdonald · 4 out of 5
Two men record their loudmouthed neighbours, share their foul ramblings, and accidentally make them into underground stars.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2011; Director: Matthew Bate; Writer: Matthew Bate; Stars: Mike Mitchell, Daniel Clowes, Henry S. Rosenthal, Mitchell Deprey, Eddie Guerriero, Ivan Brunetti, Peter Haskett, Raymond Huffman) , Official site

Full review

Siddehshwari Devi

A portrait of the famous singer, exploring her childhood influences and her dedication to Krishna.

(Country: India; Year: 1990; Director: Mani Kaul)

Wiebo's War

A look at devout Christian Wiebo Ludwig's battle against gas and oil companies, his retreat from society and the mysterious death that occurred on his land.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2010; Director: David York; Stars: Wiebo Ludwig)