Reviews from Sheffield Doc/Fest 2022, the largest documentary film festival in the UK.
Love, Deutschmarks and Death #SheffDocFest2022: Fascinating look at the history of the Turkish community in Germany through music. Challenges from homesickness and harsh working conditions to persistent racism are explored with care and even humor. Thoroughly enjoyable!
— Andrew Tompkins (@a_s_tompkins) June 24, 2022
The Happy Worker #SheffDocFest2022: Slick film arguing office work has been “sabotaged” in late capitalism, pushing employees to burnout. Reinforced by clever visualizations and expert interviews (D. Graeber, C. Maslach), but could have more depth. Fun but preaching to the choir.
— Andrew Tompkins (@a_s_tompkins) June 24, 2022
Moonage Daydream #SheffDocFest2022: Creative exploration of David Bowie’s work, showing the transformations of pop music’s chameleon through archive footage (interviews, concerts, appearances). Primarily for fans and the Bowie-curious, but a heavy dose (2+ hours) nonetheless.
— Andrew Tompkins (@a_s_tompkins) June 24, 2022
14 Days in May #SheffDocFest2022: 1987 doc of the last weeks of death row inmate Edward Earl Johnson, a Black man executed in Miss. despite evidence of false conviction. Follows Johnson through agony of waiting for clemency that never comes. A moving indictment of white supremacy
— Andrew Tompkins (@a_s_tompkins) June 24, 2022
1341 Frames of Love & War #SheffDocFest2022: Photographer Micha Bar-Am documented war, politics and everyday life for 50+ yrs of Israel’s existence. Stunning archive photos enhanced by interviews with Bar-Am and family reveal ambivalence, silences & complexity of Israeli history
— Andrew Tompkins (@a_s_tompkins) June 24, 2022
A Story of Bones #SheffDocFest2022: BBC Storyville documentary about graves of Liberated Africans uncovered during construction of St. Helena airport. Utterly compelling story of inspiring activism to highlight the transatlantic slave trade on an island still under colonial rule.
— Andrew Tompkins (@a_s_tompkins) June 24, 2022
Garçonnières #SheffDocFest2022: Anthropological exploration of contemporary masculinity, with director Céline Pernet asking different men about attraction, sex, love, etc. Entertaining and serious by turns, often with varied answers that challenge monolithic masculinity.
— Andrew Tompkins (@a_s_tompkins) June 24, 2022
Four Journeys #SheffDocFest2022: Intergenerational trauma and Chinese history intersect in this autobiographical story about a challenging family dynamic shaped partly by the One Child Policy. The pacing is slow in places, but creates meditative, revealing moments in others.
— Andrew Tompkins (@a_s_tompkins) June 24, 2022
Ladies Only #SheffDocFest2022: Casual conversations in the women-only compartment of Mumbai trains about marriage, pregnancy, education, women‘s frustrations & aspirations provide glimpses into changing gender relations in contemporary India. Intellectually & visually worthwhile.
— Andrew Tompkins (@a_s_tompkins) June 25, 2022
Business of Birth Control #SheffDocFest2022: Film on the history and health risks of hormone-disruptive birth control for women (i.e. The Pill) that celebrates women’s self-empowerment as an antidote to Big Pharma and patriarchal medical authority.
— Andrew Tompkins (@a_s_tompkins) June 25, 2022
Our Bodies are Your Battlefields #SheffDocFest2022: Buenos Aires trans activists fight for inclusion and solidarity in the face of relentless violence. Film is somewhat dialog-heavy at times, but best moments show energetic, articulate protagonists in action.
— Andrew Tompkins (@a_s_tompkins) June 25, 2022
Fragile Memory #SheffDocFest2022: Partly decomposed photos found in a personal archive serve as a fitting metaphor for the fading memories of dementia-afflicted director Leonid Burlaka. A moving, personal film by B.‘s grandson about ageing, cinema, and history in Ukraine today.
— Andrew Tompkins (@a_s_tompkins) June 26, 2022
Nothing Compares #SheffDocFest2022: Great film following the dizzying early (80s/90s) career of musician Sinéad O’Connor. The protagonist‘s fierce intelligence and determination are on display throughout the film—as is the abuse she suffered both as a child and in the spotlight.
— Andrew Tompkins (@a_s_tompkins) June 26, 2022
Lyra #SheffDocFest2022: Hommage to Lyra McKee, the 29-y.o. N. Irish investigative journalist killed during a 2019 riot. Film covers her childhood, life, coming out, work and death, but the outstanding parts show the audience a much-loved and gifted young woman silenced too soon.
— Andrew Tompkins (@a_s_tompkins) June 27, 2022
All Man: The International Male Story #SheffDocFest2022: Underwhelming doc about defunct crypto-gay fashion catalog. Padded with semi-celebrity interviews, lacking in depth. Touches briefly on important issues (racism, internalized homophobia) but only to more fully ignore them.
— Andrew Tompkins (@a_s_tompkins) June 27, 2022
The Territory #SheffDocFest2022: Thrilling documentary about defense of indigenous land from slash-and-burn small farmers in Brazil. Communicates the real violence of conflict in the Amazon, with scenes from settler perspective as well as footage shot by indigenous people. Wow!
— Andrew Tompkins (@a_s_tompkins) June 27, 2022