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Festival coverage

Sheffield DocFest

13 June – 17 June 2012

Marina Abramovic The Artist Is Present
Marina Abramovic The Artist Is Present

Back with more fascinating films in 2012, Sheffield DocFest looks set to continue its tradition of promoting great talent, offering vital industry networking opportunities and giving the public a chance to get closer to the action. This year's programme features 120 films with 300 speakers, and opened with Penny Woolcock's From The Sea To The Land Beyond. We'll be bringing you news and reviews throughout.

Other years (14)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • Fire In The Blood
    Review preview for Fire In The Blood

    Showing a remarkably firm hand for a first-time director, Gray skilfully guides us through a sea of statistics concerning those dying from the disease and archive footage and recollections of the time, while building a cast-iron case against Big Pharma.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
    A look at the struggle to make anti-retroviral ADS drugs available to infected people worldwide, no matter their financial resources. Read what Dylan Mohan Gray told us about making the film.
  • Grandma Lo-Fi: The Basement Tapes Of Sigríður Níelsdóttir
    Review preview for Grandma Lo-Fi: The Basement Tapes Of Sigríður Níelsdóttir

    Sigríður is the kind of spontaneous interviewee documentarians dream of.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    The true story of the elderly woman who, by chance, started making experimental music with ordinary household objects, and became a cult star.
  • The Globe Collector
    Review preview for The Globe Collector

    DeRoche has created a documentary that's both heart-warming and illuminating.

    Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
    Meet Andrew and his amazing collection of lamps.
  • How To Survive A Plague
    Review preview for How To Survive A Plague

    This is not just a piece of history, it's a how-to guide with lasting relevance.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    The story of Act Up and the ordinary people who transformed the tratment of AIDS.
  • Undefeated
    Review preview for Undefeated

    There are fights between players, season-threatening injuries, bashful romance and inspirational team talks, but none of it feels false.

    Robert Munro · 4 out of 5
    Meet the coach who is determined to help Mannassas High School football team overcome their 110 year losing streak.
  • Call Me Kuchu
    Review preview for Call Me Kuchu

    Despite its grim subject, this is a film full of fight, with all the energy you'd expect from that.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    The story of the Ugandan campaigners who have spoken out against the country's proposed Anti-Gay Bill.
  • Big Boys Gone Bananas!*
    Review preview for Big Boys Gone Bananas!*

    The talking heads from the media world - PR execs, former journalists, other filmmakers - provide some of the more troubling yet fascinating insights in the documentary as to how modern corporate entities can react when they come under the spotlight.

    Owen Van Spall · 3 out of 5
    The story of how Dole food corporation tried to suppress a documentary about them.
  • The Other Dream Team
    Review preview for The Other Dream Team

    A real slam dunk.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
    The 1992 Lithuanian National Basketball Team went from the clutches of Communism to the Summer Olympics in Barcelona – a testament to the powerful role of sports as a catalyst for cultural identity.
  • Searching For Sugar Man
    Review preview for Searching For Sugar Man

    A delightful experience for musos and the uninitiated alike, Searching For Sugar Man deserves to reach as wide an audience as its underdog hero eventually did himself.

    David Graham · 4 out of 5
    The true story of a brilliant yet forgotten musician and the revolutionaries he inspired on another continent.
  • Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
    Review preview for Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

    Weiwei is such a fascinating subject that even a documentary that never seems to stray into the experimental is compelling, but white text on a black screen does not a revolution make.

    Andrew Robertson · 3 out of 5
    Renowned Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has garnered international attention as much for his ambitious artwork as his political provocations and increasingly public clashes with the Chinese government.

A–Z of Sheffield DocFest 2012 reviews

Features

  • Fired up about inequality
    Fire In The Blood's Dylan Mohan Gray talks about HIV/AIDS in the developing world and the problems of Big Pharma.
  • Unbroken
    Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi talk with Jeremy Hardy about 5 Broken Cameras.
  • A study in scarlet
    Catherine Scott and Rachel Wotton on Scarlet Road.
  • Viva Italia!
    Luca Ragazzi discusses his new doc, Italy: Love It, Or Leave It
  • Snail story
    Director Seung Jun-Yi on Planet Of Snail
  • All at sea
    Sheffield DocFest launches with From The Sea To The Land Beyond.

News