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Sheffield DocFest · 2012

Sheffield DocFest 2012

Resistance

The spirit of rebellion is alive in this powerful collection of protest docs.

Programme

14 films · 3 reviews

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1/2 Revolution

Two documentary makers offer their footage of the Egyptian revolution of 2011, from the thrill of participating in mass protests to the dismay and fear at realising their movement has been infiltrated.

(Country: Denmark, Egypt; Year: 2011; Director: Omar Shagawi, Karim el Hakim; Stars: Omar Shagawi, Karim el Hakim)

Ali - The Student Revolutionary

Ali was a student in Manchester when a nationwide rebellion broke out in his native Libya. He headed back home to take up the fight – and soon found himself holding a gun for the first time, determined to do his part to end 42 years of misery for his people.

(Country: UK; Year: 2011; Director: Fil Kaler)

The Arab World In Revolution(s)

The ongoing, unpredictable change in the Arab world represents fertile ground for cross-platform programming. Arte’s online project highlights the revolution’s many different perspectives. In addition to Generation Revolution, which profiles the young movers and shakers of the movement, Journal 2.0 provides blogs, cartoons and other related content.

(Country: France; Year: 2011; Director: Julien Félix, Gildas Corgnet, Marc Ghostine, Charlotte Bienaimé, Alexandre Grellier, Yann Le Gléau, Sébastien Mesquida)

The Betrayal

A woman looks back on her youth and her astonishing betrayal of the left wing anti-Nazi friends with whom he shared her home.

(Country: UK, Norway; Year: 2011; Director: Karen Winther)

High Tech, Low Life

Citizen journalists in China risk the wrath of the authorities to put the news they feel is important on the internet.

(Country: United States; Year: 2012; Director: Steve Maing; Stars: Zhou Shuguang, Tiger Temple)

The Island President

Review preview for The Island President

Shenk gets almost unfettered acccess to Nasheed, who is refreshingly honest about the tactics he is employing to get other countries onside

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
The story of President Mohamed Nasheed, of the Maldives, and his attempts to save the country by brokering global agreement on climate change.

(Year: 2011; Director: Jon Shenk; Stars: Mohamed Nasheed) , Official site

Full review

Mark Lombardi - Death-defying Acts Of Art And Conspiracy (Mark Lombardi - Kunst und Konspiration)

The true story of Mark Lombardi, who dedicated his life to mapping out the connections between powerful people around the world, and who died in mysterious circumstances.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2011; Director: Mareike Wegener)

My Neighbourhood

“My father built that house and an Israeli judge came and closed it.” Angry young Mohommed lost his innocence when his family’s home was violently taken over by Israeli settlers. But support for their plight comes from an unlikely corner: Israelis, horrified at what is being done in their name.

(Country: Israel, Palestine, United States; Year: 2012; Director: Julia Bacha, Rebekah Wingert-Jabi)

Not A Carwash (S'eshte Lavazh)

Students battle to save their film school in Tirana when the government wants to sell off the land where it stands to foreign investors.

(Country: Albania; Year: 2012; Director: Gentian Koçi)

Putin's Kiss

Review preview for Putin's Kiss

There are complex machinations at work here - but there's always a sense of the surface being skimmed in favour of telling Drokova's story.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
A leading light of Russia's nationalist youth movement, begins to question what they really stand for.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2011; Director: Lise Birk Pedersen; Stars: Oleg Kashin) , Official site

Full review

The Reluctant Revolutionary

Filmed over a period of one year, this documentary reveals the tension present in Yemen three months prior to the first protests – a result of thirty-three years of Ali Abdullah Saleh’s dictatorship. Director Sean McAllister takes a seemingly unobtrusive protagonist and turns him into a genuine hero who experiences his country’s revolution at first hand and, in doing so, makes events tangible for the viewer.

(Country: UK / Ireland; Year: 2011; Director: Sean McAllister; Stars: Quais Al-Qalisi)

Shadows Of Liberty

Jean Phillippe Tremblay examines how the media in the US is in the controlling hands of a handful of commercial enterprises exercising extraordinary political, social, and economic power.

(Country: UK; Year: 2012; Director: Jean-Philippe Tremblay)

We Are Legion: The Story Of The Hacktivists

The story of hacker group Anonymous, their battles against Scientology and their contribution to the Arab Spring.

(Country: United States; Year: 2011; Director: Brian Knappenberger)