Sheffield
Doc Fest 2014
This year’s Sheffield Doc Fest brought together a
collection of interesting and often inspiring factual films from around the
globe. I was fortunate enough to attend the festival this year and I managed to
see about three films each day. I feel disappointed that I didn’t actually see
more, because with good planning you would be able to view about six or seven films
each day. However I was not disappointed at all with the films that I was able
to view. In fact I felt quite privileged to have the opportunity to see them.
Many of the films that I saw were world premiers. The films ranged from the
story of an Iranian girl, struggling to achieve her dreams whilst growing up in
an un-accepting Iran, to the first look at the Chris Sievey documentary, the
man behind Frank Sidebottom. There was a staggering range of films which would
appeal to a wide ranging audience. The festival kicked off with a documentary about
the band Pulp who are from Sheffield.
This show was sold out and I was lucky enough to get one of the last tickets. There
was a very special atmosphere that resonated around the City Hall where I
watched the film, and I felt it set the tone for the rest of the festival.
I arrived at the festival not knowing what to
expect. I had checked out the website before hand however I didn’t realise how
vast it would be. In all honesty I was expecting a fairly small event. I had
mainly arrived at this assumption because I had heard that there would only be
3000 people attending. Compare this to a music festival and it’s a tiny figure.
However this festival is designed for media professionals and real film
enthusiasts. This meant that virtually every screening was full. The choice of location
for screening was fantastic. Most of the locations were in Sheffield City centre,
where they used cinemas, theatres and large grand buildings such as the City
Hall. However the best locations were outside of the city centre and involved
going for a bus ride. The first journey I went on took me to the Devil’s Arsehole, which was actually a
beautiful cave just outside of Sheffield. Here I watched the Oscar winning documentary 20 Feet From Stardom. This film was about
backing singers from the sixties who had never made it as lead singers. However
their vocal talent far surpassed many of their contemporaries. I had wanted to
watch this film since I had heard about it a few month previous, but watching
it in the cave made it a far more special occasion. The destination of the second
bus ride was Chatsworth House, which is a breathtaking location about 40
minutes away from Sheffield. Here I was fortunate to see the world premier of All is Love, which was a film funnily enough
about all things love. The film was made using only archive footage provided by
the BFI. It was truly incredible to watch and what made the film so enjoyable
was the phenomenal soundtrack which accompanied the moving images.
Doc Fest had so much to offer that I should carry on
much longer to attempt to do it justice. Perhaps I should mention the cool freebies
and daily wine receptions as well as the awesome networking opportunities, oh
and the Art Gallery that they turned into a Night club! Instead I will merely just
say check it out for yourselves next year. I promise if you’re passionate about
film you will not be disappointed. Finally I want to thank Sarah Haynes and
LJMU for providing the opportunity to attend this event and I sincerely hope that
I can attend next year’s Sheffield Doc Fest.
