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Sheffield DocFest · 2021

Sheffield DocFest 2021

Rhyme & Rhythm

Programme

14 films · 1 review

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Alone Together

A pop star in quarantine embarks on a whirlwind creative and romantic journey while making an album in 40 days that unites a community around the world.

(Year: 2021; Director: Bradley Bell, Pablo Jones-Soler)

Call Me Human (Je m'appelle humain)

This tender portrait of Innu poet, writer, filmmaker, and storyteller Joséphine Bacon follows her from the snowy streets of Montreal to the region along the coastal mouth of the Saint-Laurent river, occasionally accompanied by Ilnu-Québécoise poet Marie-Andrée Gill.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2021; Director: Kim O'Bomsawin; Writer: Nathalie Gressin, Kim O'Bomsawin; Stars: Joséphine Bacon, Joséphine Bacon)

Firestarter - The Story of Bangarra

Documentary to mark the Bangarra Dance Theatre’s 30th anniversary.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2020; Director: Wayne Blair, Nel Minchin; Stars: Wesley Enoch, David Page, Stephen Page, Hunter Page-Lochard, Wesley Enoch, David Page, Stephen Page, Hunter Page-Lochard)

Gallant Indies (Indes galantes)

The story of what happened when filmmaker Clément Cogitore agreed to stage Jean-Philippe Rameau’s baroque masterpiece Les Indes galantes at Opéra national de Paris, working with acclaimed choreographer Bintou Dembélé.

(Country: France; Year: 2020; Director: Philippe Béziat)

King Rocker

Documentary goes in search of Robert Lloyd, best known for fronting cult bands The Prefects and The Nightingales, who has survived under the radar for over four decades.

(Country: UK; Year: 2020; Director: Michael Cumming; Writer: Stewart Lee; Stars: Stewart Lee, Frank Skinner, Robert Lloyd, Robin Askwith, Stewart Lee, Frank Skinner, Robert Lloyd, Robin Askwith)

Lift Like A Girl

Review preview for Lift Like A Girl

Has a visual energy that is spurred on by Marian Mentrup's percussively dynamic score, which arrives at key moments.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
In a dilapidated corner of Alexandria, an exceptional community of young female weightlifters is trained by the grumpy yet charismatic Captain Ramadan.

(Country: Egypt, Denmark, Germany; Year: 2020; Director: Mayye Zayed)

Full review

Lydia Lunch: The War Is Never Over

The first in-depth documentary on the titular no wave artist.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Beth B; Stars: Ron Athey, Bob Bert, Tim Dahl, Nicolas Jaar, Richard Kern, Lydia Lunch, Thurston Moore, Kembra Pfahler, Henry Rollins, Donita Sparks, J.G. Thirlwell, Weasel Walter, Ron Athey, Bob Bert, Tim Dahl)

Maisie

After 50 years in the business, David Raven is still shaking his sequins as ‘Maisie Trollette’, Britain’s oldest drag artist.

(Country: UK; Year: 2021; Director: Lee Cooper; Writer: Lee Cooper)

Men Who Sing

Portrait of an ageing male voice choir in north-east Wales.

(Country: UK; Year: 2021; Director: Dylan Williams)

No Straight Lines: The Rise Of Queer Comics

The story of the queer comic.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Vivian Kleiman; Stars: Alison Bechdel, Jennifer Camper, Rupert Kinnard, Howard Cruse, Alison Bechdel, Jennifer Camper, Rupert Kinnard, Howard Cruse)

Raymonde El Bidaoia

Armed with a camera, Yaël Abecassis – a famous actress who has worked with Amos Gitai, among other renowned filmmakers – follows her mother, the legendary singer Raymonde El Bidaoia, and steps into a world where she had always been a stranger.

(Country: Israel; Year: 2020; Director: Yaël Abecassis; Stars: Raymonde Abecassis, Raymonde Abecassis)

Roses. Film-Cabaret

From the Ukrainian uprising came the Dakh Daughters, a punk cabaret performance act - this film follows their first stage show.

(Country: Ukraine; Year: 2021; Director: Irena Stetsenko; Writer: Irena Stetsenko; Stars: Dakh Daughters, Vlad Troitskiy, Ruslana Khazipova, Dakh Daughters, Vlad Troitskiy, Ruslana Khazipova)

Soy Cubana

The Vocal Vidas are an all-female a cappella group from Santiago de Cuba. In 2017, the ensemble were invited to perform in the US for the first time, just as diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba began to falter...

(Year: 2021; Director: Ivaylo Getov, Jeremy Ungar; Writer: Jeremy Ungar; Stars: Koset Muñoa Columbié, Maryoris Mena Faez, Ana Josefina Hernández, Annia Leyva del Toro, Koset Muñoa Columbié, Maryoris Mena Faez, Ana Josefina Hernández, Annia Leyva del Toro)

The Witches Of The Orient (Les Sorcières de l'Orient)

The former players of the Japanese women’s volleyball team, all now in their 70s, reunite to eat, talk, and share their memories.

(Country: France; Year: 2021; Director: Julien Faraut; Writer: Julien Faraut; Stars: Hirofumi Daimatsu, Yuko Fujimoto, Yuriko Handa, Sata Isobe, Masae Kasai, Maseko Kondo, Katsumi Matsumura, Yoshiko Matsumura, Emiko Miyamoto, Setsuko Sasaki, Ayano Shibuki, Yoko Shinozaki, Kinuko Tanida, Hirofumi Daimatsu, Yuko Fujimoto)