Greetings from rainy Sheffield. Yesterday saw the kick-off of the 21st Sheffield Doc/Fest with screenings, premieres and parties galore. Here’s our highlights of the first day of the festival.
Sue Perkins My Life in Television
The ever brilliant Sue Perkins was at Sheffield Doc/Fest to give the audience into an insight into how she got started in television and what decisions led her to the uber-hit that is The Great British Bake Off. Starting from when she left college and knowing “I could never do any form of formal work” the presenter says she has been very fortunate to have much cleverer people than her around always telling her what to choose after she invariably turns a project down. She ran through her early career on Light Lunch with Mel Giedroyc, the decision to quit that show which had her out of television work for 7 years, and the beginning of her TV come-back on the BBC reality show Maestro. The show took famous amateurs with a passion for classical music (“I could read a score”) and trained them how to conduct an orchestra in order to compete for the chance to conduct the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Last Night of the Proms. Perkins went on to win the show and doing so changed her completely.
A foray into historical eating followed as she teamed up with Giles Coren in Supersizers Go to re-construct the weekly eating habits of various historical time periods whilst wearing period clothing. Of the decision to do the show Perkins was hilariously frank, explaining “They had me at the word corset. If I had know there was alcohol involved too I would have run all the way to London.” Fast forward to 2010 and the concept of a BBC baking show was offered to the presenter several times, which she continually turned down thinking it would be no good. All we can say is it’s a good thing she changed her mind as The Great British Bake Off would not be the same without Mel & Sue’s humour cascading through the screen in every episode. A highly entertaining conversation with one of Britain’s funniest presenters.
ECOCIDE – VOICES FROM PARADISE
ECOCIDE – VOICES FROM PARADISE is an interesting documentary about the total and utter devastation to local communities caused by the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Filmmaker Juliet Brown spent two years in the tiny South Louisianan fishing community Grand Isle as they try and piece life back together after not only the damage done by the oil spill itself but by the dispersants sprayed by BP’s aircrafts to sink the oil out of sight. What was once a vibrant and thriving fishing community has now seen its’ ecosystem collapse and marketplace failing.
The documentary highlights a bleak state of affairs as one school child asks a marine biologist “this is what’s happening now? Right now?” in utter disbelief. Brown has brought the issues of a seemingly all-but-forgotten problem for the Government back into the light through the stories told by this local community and its’ visitors. One to leave you thinking.
PULP: A FILM ABOUT LIFE, DEATH AND SUPERMARKETS
The European Premiere of PULP – A FILM ABOUT LIFE, DEATH AND SUPERMARKETS took place at Sheffield’s City Hall to officially open Sheffield Doc/Fest; fittingly as so much of the band’s history, inspiration and culture stems from the city where they grew up. The film is a remarkable achievement in that it’s Pulp, through the eyes of the city, yet we still gain an insight into the characters that is far greater than should we sit through endless rehearsal footage or back-stage preparations. Whether you’re a Pulp fan, and be assured the hits are in there, or not this is more than just a documentary about the band. If you need a little more convincing read our 5* review.
HAPPINESS
One of the great things about Sheffield Doc/Fest is their commitment to providing fully immersive cinema experiences and using the city and its’ surroundings to its’ full potential. There may not be another festival you can go to and watch a film like HAPPINESS in a cave in the Peak District late at night with the sound of bats adding an unexpected dimension to the films’ soundtrack.
HAPPINESS is a beautifully shot, unexpectedly sombre look at eight-year-old Peyangki, whose tiny village is finally getting electricity and the possibility of the locals being able to watch television in their homes for the first time is about to become a reality. From the moment he is taken to the local monastery because his mother can’t afford his schooling the intense cinematography highlights the isolation that comes with his sense of abandonment as he tries to adapt to his new environment. It’s not surprising the film won an award for its’ cinematography at Sundance earlier this year.
HAPPINESS is a beautiful and intriguing look at the fantasy of happiness vs the reality of what we don’t even realise. The final montage of the villagers embracing their first experience of watching television in their homes, in what they believe is happiness, is a bleak commentary on the power of media in even the remotest of societies. A must-see.
Be sure to follow THN on Twitter for our round the clock coverage of the festival and check back for more highlights tomorrow.
