Monday 20 June 2011

Bombay Beach/Alma Har'el Interview

http://www.vimeo.com/25341232


An insightful interview with director Alma Har'el about her debut documentary 'Bombay Beach', a beautifully lyrical tale of ordinary people facing the struggles of existence, set in the melancholic rural-Californian wastelands. Filmed at Sheffield Doc/Fest 2011.


by Alex Keegan

Friday 17 June 2011

Exclusive Youth Jury interview with Daniel Lucchesi and Alex Ramseyer-Bache...

*SHEFFIELD DOC/FEST 2011 YOUTH JURY AWARD WINNERS*


A fantastic interview with Daniel Lucchesi and Alex Ramseyer-Bache, directors of 'We Are Poets'. The film is the pair's first feature-length documentary and focuses on a community group based in Leeds called Leeds Young Authors. After premiering at this year's Sheffield Doc/Fest, the film was chosen as the winner of the Youth Jury award.


Go to http://vimeo.com/25201610 to watch the interview and all the others from this year's Doc/Fest.


Enjoy!


Jack Ranson

Thursday 16 June 2011

Exclusive Youth Jury interview with Robb Leech...

A very interesting and in-depth interview with tree surgeon-cum-filmmaker Robb Leech, whose first feature-length documentary, 'My Brother the Islamist', aired on BBC Three in April and was met with fantastic reception at a screening at this year's Doc/Fest.

Go to http://vimeo.com/25194635 to watch the interview - enjoy!

Another exclusive interview, with the directors of We Are Poets, coming soon!

Love,
Jack Ranson

Exclusive Youth Jury interview with Morgan Spurlock...

A hilarious insight into the world of Morgan Spurlock, director, producer and all-round entertainer; he made a name for himself globally with 'Supersize Me'. His latest film, 'POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold', was the opening night film at this year's Sheffield Doc/Fest.

Go to http://vimeo.com/25177058 to watch the full interview.

And there's plenty more where that came from so watch out!
With love,
Jack Ranson

Wednesday 15 June 2011

Memorable moments from this year’s festival.

So what do members of a Youth Jury get up to when equipped with a delegate pass and let loose to experience the U.K's most important documentary and digital media festival
Besides watching as many documentaries as possible, below you'll discover more about what we wild young things accomplished over the course of 5 action-packed  days and nights....


Wednesday 8th June: The Grand Opening Night.
© Jacqui Bellamy 2011
Following the Youth Jury’s participation in DFG’S DocDay 101, one of several engaging Doc/Fest workshops aimed at up-and-coming documentary filmmakers, we all highly anticipated the festival's opening night film - the U.K première of Spurlock's lastest documentary blockbuster: POM Wonderful Presents: The Greated Movie Ever Sold. Alas, one member of the jury of youth (not naming names) had not been lucky enough to get their name featured on 'The List' in order to obtain a rather snazzy pink ticket to the sell-out event.  
And so our work began, the first Youth Jury mission : succeed in getting all of us into the screening.
Here's a breakdown of the series of events that occurred within the 30 minutes leading up to the opening of screens that recall the tale of one youth juror's quest to gain access into the doc film première.
  • 18:30: Four out of the five members of the Youth Jury are in possession of a golden ticket to the evening's event. The buzz surrounding Spurlock's film soars and crowds waiting to enter Screens 3 and 4  begin to assemble. The other two potential documentaries of the opening night decidedly loose their appeal as the minutes go by. 
  • 18:46: A moment of intense deliberation for the aforementioned, unfortunate jury member - should they honourably join the already lengthy stand-by queue or should they take a chance and make a run for either screen 3 or 4 as soon as the doors are announced open? 
  • 18:55: Hesitation and uncertainty on the rise. Moments before ticket holders are allowed to be seated, a mini Youth Jury reunion and last minute discussion takes place - a plan of action urgently needed!
  • 18:58: Desperately seeking advice, a ray of hope comes in the form of the following suggestion given by a certain member of the Doc/Fest team : 'act important, act like you are meant to be there, that way you will get in.' (Thanks Joe!) 
  • 18.59: Several queues of doc lovers and delegates assemble to watch Spurlock's film, the Youth Jury approach the stairs leading down to screens 3 and 4. Volunteer ticket checkers appear to flustered about what they are meant to do/where they are supposed to stand.  
  • 18.59 and 30 seconds: THE GOLDEN, OPPORTUNE MOMENT. The jury of youth each grab a complimentary bottle of POM juice (FYI now available in you nearest Tesco store) and make their descent towards Screen 3 (ultimately the superior screen of the night due to the fact Spurlock had his Q&A there.) 
  • 19:00: After a brief separation and a split-second moment of panic, all members of the Youth Jury are successfully and comfortably seated in Screen 3. Mission accomplished.
Thursday 9th June.
Tweet meet with Alma Har'el, director of Bombay Beach
Never mind recycling but with Twitter, the possibilities are certainly endless. For the benefit of the Youth Jury blog, I decided to embrace the almighty power of this particular social network in order to organise an interview with the wonderful director Alma Har'el who was promoting her first documentary feature film. This was definitely my first tweet meet, and I'm pretty certain it was her's too.  
My interview with Alma Har'el shall be posted in the not too distant future so keep your eyes peeled on the blog! In the meantime, all I can say is long live the Tweet Meet and the Twitterlution!  
What happens when you give a bunch of documentary fiends some skates, an oyster bar and vodka? 
A very surreal, merry and eventful evening is bound to be expected when you take read the mélange of this soirée! Proudly representing the Youth Jury on the festival's second night, I plucked up the courage to swap my shoes for some skates and dared to brave the dancefloor and bust some moves to the best collection of 80's disco classics! (This only occured of course after having acquired a bit of dutch courage.)
The most memorable shenanigans of the evening involve the following incidents: trying my first oyster with acclaimed documentary critic, Jennifer Merin who helped me opt for the hotsauce rather than the lemon, skating against the Swedish director Michel Wenzer of At Night I Fly and of course revelling in the sights of drunken skaters fall - priceless comedy!  
So muchos gracias TFI Madame Ivana, the Zorokovich Vodka Company and of course Skate Central Sheffield for hosting this extraordinary and unique Doc/Fest party.
Saturday 11th June.
Outdoor screening of Grey Gardens.
In spite of the typical British weather that Sheffield braced on the fourth day of the festival, the 'Documentaries on Devonshire Green' event, a brand new addition to this year's programme, proved itself to be a great success (indeed, this was before the outdoor screen decided to conveniently brake during the latter course of the afternoon.)
The film highlight of the day was without doubt the well attended screening of Grey Gardens which was shown after the Edie-attired parade in celebration of Albert Maysles drew to an end. This truly historical moment for Doc/Fest was heightened by the presence of the legendary director himself who introduced his film in front of an audience comprised of both festival delegates and the general public.  This special screening was made even more enjoyable thanks to the generosity of the Fancie Cupcake crew who provided everyone with yummy cupcake goodness!
Albert Maysles Masterclass, Lyceum Theatre. 
© Jacqui Bellamy 2011
It's fair to describe Saturday as a day-long celebration of Albert Maysles. The experience of being sat metres away from one of the most important and respected documentary directors in the world was enough to give me goosebumps. As soon as Maysles graced the Lyceum Theatre stage, you  instantly perceived the entire audience become awestruck by the director's  presence. This unanimous feeling that united the audience was maintained throughout the duration of his entertaining and informative masterclass as every documentary critic, director and the like held on to each word and sentence that Maysles so elegantly expressed. 
It was certainly remarkable to witness how at his great age, Maysles continues to convey to the world the same amount of zeal and enthusiasm for the documentary film genre as he has done throughout his career as a director. Suffice to say, this masterclass reinforced the fact that Albert Maysles is an outstanding role model and inspiration for budding documentary filmmakers. Furthermore, after being privileged enough to watch an exclusive preview, I'm certain that everyone is now eager to know the release date of his new documentary in which, after more than 40 years, we see the return of Maysles filming and working with Paul McCartney
Other notable highlights of the festival include.....
  • Perfecting the art of flattery and schmoozing.   
  • Attending the alternative Friday night party – Sheffield Fringe.
  • Watching French artist Calvet create his painting in the Showroom Café 

© Jacqui Bellamy 2011
  • Tweeting on a computer in the Workstation whilst sat next to Rudolph Herzog. 
  • Having Tom, our appointed co-ordinator and P.A kindly fetch you coffee/water in times of severe tiredness and thirst - big up to Tom!!
  • Writing our award speech at 12.30am in the Mercure hotel lobby surrounded by a throng of highflying people from the doc industry, including a merry looking Spurlock. 
  • The moment when Nick Broomfield introduced himself to the Youth Jury before his masterclass.
Gina Willis. 

Exclusive Youth Jury interview with Dan Gordon...

An insightful and interesting interview with Dan Gordon, from VeryMuchSo Productions, director and producer of 'Match 64: The Final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup' at this year's festival. 

Go to http://vimeo.com/25127846 to see the interview and learn more about Dan's work.

Look out for more exclusive interviews in the coming days!

Jack Ranson

Tuesday 14 June 2011

Doc/Wonderful (for Now, Then magazine/ July 2011)


Doc/Wonderful

Little did anyone know that the most sought-after commodity at this year’s Sheffield Doc/Fest – now one of the world’s leading documentary film festivals – was not an aged cinema master nor a hype-fuelled debut but in fact a curvaceous bottle of concentrated pomegranate juice. No, the documentary world has not given up the distribution of films to instead pursue interests related to high anti-oxidant drink sales; the drink in question was POM Wonderful, the ‘official sponsor’ of Morgan Spurlock’s latest film POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. Recognised as the man behind Super Size Me, Spurlock is every bit the showman and his film enthusiastically bounds through the world of Hollywood marketing, attempting to create a film about product placement which itself is entirely funded by product placement. The drink is questionable, tasting a bit like sour undiluted Ribena; the film - entertaining, at times missing the mark as a scathing critique of consumerism, but the director’s unashamed eagerness for knowingly selling-out is hilarious.

            After the madness that was the opening night, delegates and the public were subject to some of the most exciting documentaries around. Alma Ha’rel’s Bombay Beach was amongst the most poetic films in competition; the melancholic lives of rural-California’s inhabitants are interwoven with choreographed dance sequences to create a beautifully lyrical tale of ordinary people facing the struggles of a banal existence. The Special Jury prize went to The Interrupters, which follows a number of Chicago’s ex-cons as they attempt to intervene in gang conflicts in order to stop violence and was receiving unanimous praise for its assured and intimate style. One of Britain’s leading experimental documentary filmmakers, John Akomfrah was at the festival screening his latest gem The Nine Muses, an idiosyncratic look at the experiences of immigrants first coming to the UK in the 70s. The film blends archive footage, serene shots of the Alaskan landscape, poetry, philosophy and innovative sound design to try to come to terms with the alienation and insignificance many immigrants feel when arriving on our shores. A staggering ‘drama of becoming’ Akomfrah continues to singularly attempt to engage with notions of black British identity and memory.  

            The Doc/Fest Lifetime Achievement award went to much-loved veteran cinematographer Albert Maysles, one of the founders of ‘Direct Cinema’ – a movement in the early 60s dedicated to documenting life in its purest form, filming events as they unfolded in long uninterrupted takes. His documentary debut Salesman is a classic and held by many as the definitive portrait of the American spirit; and he has made films about The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Muhammad Ali and John F Kennedy whilst they were in their prime. Another masterful presence was that of Martin Scorsese whose A Letter to Elia is a loving paean to director Elia Kazan, who practically discovered Marlon Brando and James Dean as well as creating some of the most powerful actor-orientated films of the 50s. Scorsese’s intimate portrait of a man who so sharply divided his contemporaries’ opinion (he was a communist sympathiser) is clearly cathartic and sees a director whose films are so often associated with masculinity & the expression of violence much more emotionally candid.

            Talk of ‘revolutions in technology’ was once again on everyone’s lips as the ominous presence of Twitter made itself known (at any point in the festival the socially-empty phrase: ‘add me on Twitter’ was never far away). The ever-provocative Adam Curtis was milling about and made his thought on the subject clearly known, stating in a masterclass that the phenomenon is a ‘self-aggrandising, smug pressure group’. He was at the festival to promote his latest television triptych All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace, which joyfully denounces the majority’s faith in technology as a means to its moral salvation - another cynically polemical message.

            Another far more promising advancement is that of the humble DSLR camera which is set to revolutionise documentary filmmaking. Its unbelievable lightness, cheapness and fantastic image quality means filmmakers no longer have to compromise on quality if they want to make a film under extreme, challenging circumstances. No one could argue that this is what was demanded of Dangfung Dennis whose employment of a DSLR in Hell and Back Again meant he could join foot soldiers deep behind enemy lines in Afghanistan. A war photographer whose growing frustration at the morally indifferent reception his photos were receiving inspired him to start filming his experiences. The finished result is disorientating, brutally honest and a stark reminder to all those who feel apathetic towards the conflicts in the Middle East that people are still caught up in the horrors of warfare.

            With a wealth of quality films, the documentary world has never tasted so fine and with more delegates, masterclasses, sessions and films than ever before, Doc/Fest is quickly becoming an assured Sheffield institution. Now all that’s left to do is try and get the gustatory bitterness of POM Wonderful out of our mouths.


Alex Keegan