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Posted Sunday, November 8th, 2009 - Comments Off on [PR] Sheffield Doc/Fest Awards 2009
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[PR] Sheffield Doc/Fest Awards 2009

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The Sheffield Doc/Fest, one of the premiere confabs for documentarians to meet, announce the 2009 Award winners: “Hosted by filmmakers Roger Graef OBE and AJ Schnack, six awards were presented: the Sheffield Green Award, the Wallflower Press Student Doc Award, the Sheffield Innovation Award, the Sheffield Youth Jury Award, the new Special Jury Award and also, presented for the first time, the Sheffield Doc/Fest Inspiration award, which went to filmmaker Adam Curtis. The Sheffield Green Award honours the documentary from the Doc/Fest programme which best addresses major environmental challenges, such as global warming. The award went to The Blood of the Rose, directed by Henry Singer. The film investigates the life of filmmaker and conservationalist Joan Root.
The Sheffield Innovation Award honours a documentary which exhibits originality in approach to form and delivery of its story. The award went to LoopLoop, directed by Patrick Bergeron. The film combines images, sounds and encounters captured on a train journey through Vietnam. An Innovation Special Mention went to The Big Issue, directed by Olivia Colo and Samuel Bollendorff. The Big Issue invites users to confront the multiple factors causing the modern obesity epidemic.


The Wallflower Press Student Doc Award, introduced last year, honours the best student-made documentary as part of coursework from UK and International Universities. The award went to Arsy-Versy, directed by Slovakian student, Miro Remo. The film looks at a subject that decides to escape a world full of people and elects to live in harmony with nature.
The Jury was impressed with the quality and innovation of all the nominated films, and were excited that a new generation of filmmakers with their own ideas is emerging.
The Sheffield Youth Jury Award was given to the film that is most engaging for young audiences, and is chosen by a jury of young people ages 16-21. The award went to Sons of Cuba, directed by Andrew Lang. The film follows boys of the Havana City Boxing Academy who are learning to become communist fighting machines and fight in the Under 12s National Championships.
The Youth Jury said, “It was a tremendously difficult decision, all the nominated films had their own merits and we debated for many hours. We chose Sons of Cuba because we all loved it the first time we saw it and that didn’t change on a second viewing. The film evoked a range of emotions which stayed with us long after the film had ended.”
Director, Andrew Lang commented, “It is such an honour to win this award, talking to the Youth Jury was a highlight of Doc/Fest for me. To be awarded by such a discerning group is really gratifying.”
The Special Jury Award, new for this year, honoured a film selected from highlights of the Doc/Fest programme that displayed excellence in style, substance and approach. The Doc/Fest Special Jury was made up of leading filmmakers AJ Schnack, Kim Longinotto, Nick Broomfield, RJ Cutler and Vice President of Programming at ITVS, Claire Aguilar.
The award went to Videocracy, directed by Erik Gandini who exploits his position as an insider and ex-pat to make incisions into the new consciousness of Italy under Berlusconi, pointing a lens at three stories that centre on the country’s obsession with fame, a sardonic new sexuality and greed.
Jury member, RJ Cutler (The September Issue), said, “This category had an extraordinary group of films to choose from. We admired the craftsmanship, boldness, courage and memorable moments of I’m Dangerous with Love which we gave an honourable mention. We chose Videocracy as our winner because it was entertaining, masterfully made and featured some awesome characters.”
The Sheffield Inspiration Award, introduced for 2009, celebrates a figure in the industry who has championed documentary and helped get great work into the public eye. The award went to Adam Curtis who is embracing the digital future – most recently in the news for his collaboration with Punchdrunk, on It Felt like a Kiss – an interactive live multiplatform project.
Alex Graham (Wall to Wall) who presented the award said, “I was transfixed by Pandora’s Box seventeen years ago and have followed Adam’s work with excitement ever since. It is impossible to be neutral watching his work as it evokes a range of emotions. I think Adam sits in the great British tradition of TV, with savage wit and passion, while embracing the digital world and the future. It is more important than ever to have truth-seekers like Adam working in our industry.”
Adam commented, “For a long time I told people I was a journalist and not a filmmaker as I saw journalism as a more focused discipline. I’ve found journalism has now become more fantasy-like and a semi-truth. Documentaries have a real role to play. I am now proud to say that I’m a documentary maker, I just do journalism in a documentary way.”
Heather Croall, Doc/Fest Festival Director said, “This year’s film programme was the best selection of films we have ever had at Sheffield. Our Jury deliberators all had a very big challenge and I know they were debating for many hours, long into the night. It reflects the high standard of nominees in each category.”
The Channel 4 Pitch winner was also revealed at the ceremony as Lucy Bennett with One Under. Jen Botting form Channel 4 said, “The pitch gets bigger and better each year. Five of last year’s finalists went on to make the First Cuts stand. Lucy Bennett said, “I am really looking forward to making this film and I hope to bring it to Doc/Fest next year, so see you then!”
Ciaran Deeney from El Zorrero films won the NFB Crossover pitch with Thilafushi: Lost in Paradise.
The Sheffield Doc/Fest Audience Award is voted for by the delegates and public that attend the screenings. Votes are cast after each screening and the winner will be announced on Monday 9 November.
About Doc/Fest
The Sheffield International Documentary Festival (Doc/Fest) is the UK’s premier event for international documentary professionals. It comprises of a film festival, industry session programme and marketplace, offering pitching opportunities, controversial discussion panels and in-depth filmmaker masterclasses, for both established and debut filmmakers.
Now in its 16th year, Doc/Fest will be held 4-8 November 2009 and for the third year running, will be partnered with The Independent.
This year Doc/Fest presents films produced in 21 countries, with 19 World premieres, 2 International premieres, 8 EU premieres and 45 UK premieres.
The festival, which runs from 4-8 November, will boast more than 100 films from some of the world’s most acclaimed directors, including RJ Cutler, Chris Hegedus & D.A. Pennebaker, Nick Broomfield, Penny Woolcock, Michel Negroponte, Franny Armstrong and Leslie Woodhead, among others.
The festival attracts around 1200 filmmakers, executives, critics and entrepreneurs from all over the world, and screens over one hundred new international documentaries during the five intense days.
As a major highlight of Sheffield’s cultural scene, all films are open to the public and a limited number of free standby tickets are available to students and senior citizens on all screenings (excluding opening night). Some industry sessions and masterclasses will also be available to the public.
Doc/Fest has teamed up with Carbon Planet and for the fourth year running Doc/Fest will be CO2-free.
www.sheffdocfest.com

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