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Sheffield DocFest · 2011

Sheffield DocFest 2011

Short Docs

Shortness is greatness

Programme

20 films · 4 reviews

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5 Pictures of a Father (5 fortællinger om en far)

What does your father mean to you? In this contemplative exploration of paternity, director Nadia Josefine El Said asks five daughters of different ages to talk about their fathers.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2010; Director: Nadia Josefine El Said)

Born in USSR (Gimę SSRS)

Review preview for Born in USSR

A nice idea which could have been better executed, even on a low budget.

Val Kermode · 2 out of 5
Animated allegory about the USSR.

(Country: Lithuania, Turkey; Year: 2010; Director: Simona Zemaityte)

Full review

Camden Calling

A musical documentary about Camden Calling: a collective of homeless, ex-homeless and vulnerable people from across London who have come together to turn their lives around. Produced in partnership with BBC Storyville and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

(Country: UK; Year: 2011; Director: Anna Edwards)

The Day We Danced on the Moon

On Ireland’s rugged West Coast, a reggae band from London make their way to play in an arts festival. Long-term mental health sufferers, they share their tales of psychosis, the wrestling between reality and an imaginary world which can seem all too real.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2011; Director: Tristan Daws)

Eighty Eight

Meet Mr Ralph Settle, CMBHI. Known as Mr. Banjo, he’s been a champion roller skater, cyclist and swimmer in his time. Now 88 and a widower, he spends his days playing music and looking back at a life fully lived.

(Country: UK; Year: 2011; Director: Josh Bamford, Seb Feehan, Hannah Bone)

Guerrillera

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

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

Holiday of Hope

(Country: UK; Year: 2011; Director: Jez Lewis)

Humanoids

Mo is a loveable little robot, who can recognise your face, answer your questions and satisfy your desire for a good kick around...as the numbers of service robots explodes globally, at the University of Edinburgh’s Department of Informatics they’re hoping to perfect the robotic footballer.

(Country: UK; Year: 2010; Director: Mariana Oliva)

I'll Get You (J'AURAI TA PEAU)

A hidden little masterpiece of the Striptease series, ‘I’ll Get You’ reveals how a well loved pet, stuffed and mounted on the mantle for ever more, slowly reveals the pain and mistrust between parents and children in a seemingly ordinary family.

(Country: Belgium; Year: 1993; Director: Richard Olivier)

Inbetweener (Dagar emellan)

As a child Erik Bafving enjoyed holidays with his father, but learned to dread their home life together. When he was fifteen years old, his greatest fear became a reality, and Bafving’s new life, harbouring a terrible secret, began. Through sketches and photographs he tells his story...

(Country: Sweden; Year: 2011; Director: Erik Bäfving)

Jimmy

Review preview for Jimmy

Smith's restraint and Jimmy's drive combine to make a powerful portrait of a man and his work.

Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
A documentary about a disability rights campaigner who suffers from cerebral palsy.

(Country: UK; Year: 2011; Director: Martin Smith; Stars: Jimmy MacIntosh)

Full review

Messenger of the Great River

This is a story of one of Mali’s musical sons, Afel Bocoum, who has a special connection with the Niger River. Afel believes his ancestors dwell within the river, which is Mali’s lifeline and backbone. But now it is dying, threatening all. Come with us on a poetic and musical journey to save it.

(Country: Mali; Year: 2011; Director: Noble Fox)

Minka

American journalist John Roderick was the first foreigner that Yohshihiro Takishita had ever met. He later he became Roderick’s adopted son. When they came across an old Japanese farmhouse, they moved it to a hillside turning it into a beautiful and peaceful living space. Takishita looks back on a great adventure.

(Country: United States, Canada; Year: 2011; Director: Davina Pardo)

Needle Exchange

They’ve been through plenty of tough times together and helped each other exchange their heroin habits for a passion for tattoos. Now Glenn’s got a job and Spencer’s got a girl. As their lives stabilize, will their friendship survive?

(Country: Ireland; Year: 2010; Director: Colm Quinn)

Over to you, Trygve (Over til deg, Trygve)

He’s not keen on small dogs, or refugees and don’t get him started on city dwellers. Retired construction worker Trygve Hoiseth is happy with his life in a remote Norwegian valley, where he can do whatever he wants. Amused filmmaker Havard Fossum tries to find out what makes him tick.

(Country: Norway; Year: 2010; Director: Håvard Fossum)

The Perfect Fit

Review preview for The Perfect Fit

It takes a special kind of documentarian to look behind the right curtain.

Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
A look at the craft of making ballet shoes and the damage done in the pursuit of art.

(Country: UK; Year: 2011; Director: Tali Yankelevich)

Full review

Radiostan

On the long road from Kyrgyzstan to Moscow, people speak what’s on their mind, from the intrusion of immigrants to living in a yurt. Like changing frequencies on the radio, we roam the terrain, gaining an insight into the thoughts of people rarely portrayed in the media.

(Country: Russia; Year: 2010; Director: Tomás Sheridan)

Rat's Island

Eddie has built a basic shack on a river estuary in Ireland, not far from a motorway. He and his son Andrew fish the waters and prepare for the winter, in this spare observational portrait of life on the margins of society.

(Country: Ireland; Year: 2011; Director: Mike Hannon)

UK Uncut

Review preview for UK Uncut

Some forms of forceful police tactics against demonstrators are captured directly and make quite striking viewing.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A look at the development of the UK Uncut protest group, which is dedicated to challenging corporate tax avoidance.

(Country: UK; Year: 2011; Director: Gemma Atkinson, Fred Grace) , Official site

Full review

Vertical City

In a remote suburb of Mumbai lies Santosh Nagar, a high rise apartment building. Built by commercial developers with the promise of improving the quality of life of slum dwellers, its infrastructure is now crumbling, as are the hopes of its inhabitants for better lives.

(Country: India; Year: 2011; Director: Avijit Mukul Kishore)