| Sheffield International Documentary Festival | |
|---|---|
| Location | Sheffield, England |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Hosted by | Sheffield Doc/Fest |
| Festival date | 13-17 June 2012 |
| Language | International |
| Official website | |
The Sheffield Doc/Fest, short for Sheffield International Documentary Festival (SIDF), is an annual documentary and digital media event that is held in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England at the Showroom Workstation and other venues around Sheffield. The festival is one of the biggest events in the international documentary calendar[1].
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First held in 1994, Sheffield Doc/Fest has grown to become the United Kingdom's leading event for the factual film and television industry. Each year the festival is a forum for producers, distributors, commissioners, filmmakers and emerging talent. It offers a wealth of inspirational documentary films from across the globe, pitching opportunities, controversial discussion panels, in-depth filmmaker masterclasses and unique parties and provides opportunities to build the creative and business relationships that drive the factual genre.
The first Sheffield Doc/Fest (formally Sheffield International Documentary Festival) was held in 1994. The festival was launched as both an international film festival and a conference for all professionals working in documentary production. The first Doc/Fest consisted of all the observational American trailblazers, including Robert Drew, Richard Leacock, DA Pennebaker.
Sheffield Doc/Fest was the vision of Peter Symes of BBC TV Features Bristol. He felt that it was incredible that there was no festival in the UK celebrating the work of documentary makers and no forum at which the makers could meet to argue and debate their craft, especially considering that Britain has a long tradition of making some of the very best documentaries in the world.
In 1990 with the support of John Prescott Thomas and Peter Salmon at BBC Bristol, a working party was set up to see if a documentary festival would be a viable proposition. Originally the festival was to take place in Bristol. Over three years Peter and others worked to raise money to support the festival. By 1993 Channel 4, United Artists, Discovery Channel, Central TV, and Granada TV all had representatives sitting on the Festival Board and generously agreed to provide funding.
In the same year, filmmakers and academics in Sheffield suggested the city as a venue. In 1993 Sheffield was developing its media production base and its cultural industries quarter was expanding. It also had at the two universities, strong film, journalism and media schools with a growing centre of postgraduate education at the Northern Media School, a large student population and venues for offices, screenings and debates. Being outside the magic circle of London was seen as a positive advantage.
The festival attracts key industry figures. Past guests and speakers include Louis Theroux, Kevin MacDonald, Nick Broomfield, Robert Thirkell, Penny Woolcock, Stephen Lambert, Mark Cousins, Kim Longinotto, Danny Cohen, Joan Rivers, Rolf Harris, D. A. Pennebaker and Franny Armstrong.
Year on year, Sheffield Doc/Fest achieves record levels of attendance - the 2010 Festival saw 2200 delegates, 10,000 general public admissions, 300 speakers, 175 decision makers, 120 films, 80 director Q&As and 60 sessions - a true indication that the Festival is one not to be missed.
Previously held in November, as of 2011 the festival moved to the summer. Sheffield Doc/Fest 2012 will take place from 13-17 June.
Doc/Fest hosts regular events in different cities across the UK throughout the year. The year-round programme includes:
MeetMarket is the UK’s largest documentary pitching initiative at Sheffield Doc/Fest, designed to match documentary makers’ most innovate project ideas with UK and international buyers.
The MeetMarket is a scheme that has been set up to bring filmmakers together with experienced buyers both in the UK and internationally. MeetMarket will run from the 9–10 June in 2011.
“MeetMarket was a great experience. Meetings are very focussed because the commissioners/buyers have had a chance to view or read over your project, so in some ways, you can skip the preliminaries and start at level 2. It was very well organised, extremely effective and efficient use of time. Everyone was well informed. I loved the way, producers sat down and commissioners came to us. Kind of turning the tables!” Lalita Krishna, Insync Video
The digitised Videotheque at Doc/Fest has been designed to speed up and simplify selection and viewing for decision-makers to maximise chances of world cinema and TV sales.
The Videotheque is used by the festival industry delegates, television programme buyers, distributors, sales agents and festival programmers. The Videotheque consists of individual monitors which enable you to watch a film privately.
Sheffield Doc/Fest continues to honour the best of its film programme. The films are judged by a collection of industry professionals.
The Sheffield Inspiration Award
The Sheffield Inspiration Award celebrates a figure in the industry who has championed documentary and helped get great work into the public eye. The 2010 Sheffield Inspiration Award was awarded to Britain’s own Kim Longinotto for her outstanding contribution to the documentary form. Longinotto is one of the pre-eminent filmmakers working in both broadcast and theatrical documentary today, widely revered for her incisive, compassionate portraits of female oppression and injustice. Her credits include Sisters in Law (2005); Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go (2007) and Rough Aunties (2009) which screened at Sheffield Doc/Fest 2009.
The Special Jury Award
The Special Jury Award honours a film selected from highlights of the Doc/Fest programme that displays excellence in style, substance and approach. A jury of documentary specialists from the UK and around the world will view selected highlights of the programme, awarding the prize to the best of the bunch. The 2010 Special Jury Award was awarded to Kim Longinotto’s Pink Saris with special mention to Patricio Guzman’s Nostalgia for the Light.
The BT Vision Sheffield Innovation Award
A jury of peers award one documentary from the Doc/Fest programme that exhibits originality in approach to form and radical manifestations in the delivery of its story. The 2010 BT Vision Sheffield Innovation Award was awarded to Clio Barnard for The Arbor, a biography of Yorkshire playwright Andrea Dunbar. The Jury also gave special mention to Philippe Brault and David Dufresne’s Prison Valley, an investigation into the American penal system through the example of Canon City, Colorado, which is home to no less than 13 prisons. Prison Valley was selected for Sheffield Doc/Fest’s MeetMarket in 2009.
The Sheffield Green Award
Honours one documentary from the Doc/Fest programme that best addresses major environmental challenges such as global warming. The 2010 Sheffield Green Award was awarded to Floris-Jan van Luyn’s Rainmakers, which was selected for Sheffield Doc/Fest’s MeetMarket in 2008. A special Mention went to Michael Madsen’s Into Eternity.
The Sheffield Youth Jury Award
The Sheffield Youth Jury Award is given to the film that is most engaging for young audiences and is chosen by a jury of young people ages 16-21. The 2010 Sheffield Youth Jury Award was awarded to Laura Fairrie’s The Battle for Barking The jury described Laura’s film as “challenging, relevant and entertaining”. A special mention went to Gemma Atwal’s Marathon Boy.
The Sheffield Student Doc Award
Films made as part of tertiary course work from UK and International universities are eligible and are judged by a panel of industry experts. The 2010 Sheffield Student Doc Award was awarded to Will Woodward’s No Easy Time, which focuses on Therapeutic Community, a prison programme run by prisoners themselves.
The Sheffield Doc/Fest Audience Award
The winning films of the 2010 award were Father, Son and the Holy War by Anand Patwardhan and Scenes from a Teenage Killing by Morgan Matthews.
Sheffield Doc/Fest presents a programme of new media development in partnership with Crossover – an international programme designed to explore the creative and commercial challenges of developing content and services for digital media. The programme includes:
The Crossover Summit
Held on the first day of the Festival, the summit provides delegates with the opportunity to network and exchange ideas with representatives from the film and TV industry. Doc/Fest welcomes many highly regarded speakers to the Summit, such as BBC North’s Richard Deverell (keynote speaker 2009), which feed into breakout sessions and round table discussions throughout the day. Following the Summit, the Festival embraces a strong strand of Crossover panels throughout the Sheffield Doc/Fest conference programme – including sessions, commissioning editor panels, workshops, project showcasing, cross-platform pitching competitions and specially commissioned projects which can be experienced by delegates and general public alike.
Crossover Business Labs
Sponsored by Screen Yorkshire, Northwest Vision and Media, Northern Film and Media and Northern Net, the labs are run in conjuntction with Sheffield Doc/Fest. Crossover Labs are a unique series of creative ‘laboratories’ in which experienced and talented professionals from different sectors of the audio-visual industries work alongside international experts and mentors to develop ideas for innovative cross-platform programmes, products or services.
Crossover North Business Programme
Designed to help small to medium sized businesses based in the North of England who are interested in corporate growth, to explore new business models, extend beyond their current markets and develop new partnerships and collaborations.
Crossover New Entrants Programme
A seven month placement where participants learn about cross-platform production and programming from producers, commissioners and industry experts on a course supported by Skillset’s TV Freelance Fund.
Sheffield Doc/Fest organises regional pitch workshops throughout the year and across the UK, offering preparation for getting factual projects funded internationally, including at Doc/Fest’s Marketplace. The Engine Room Pitch Workshops, presented in partnership with Wide Eye Pictures return again in 2011. See http://sheffdocfest.com/view/pitchworkshops for details.