The winners of the 30th Sheffield DocFest 2023 were announced June 18 during the award ceremony at Sheffield’s Crucible Playhouse.
The festival saw international and UK delegate attendance rise by 17% compared to 2022, organisers underline. More than 2550 delegates from more than 60 countries attended the five-day festival – up from 2188 delegates attending in 2022. This year the festival presented 37 world, 20 international, 10 European and 47 UK premieres, as well as 8 retrospective films. from 52 countries of production.
More than 190 Industry representatives from 93 companies and 19 countries took in-person meetings with selected projects and talents over the course of the festival’s market days, write organisers. DocFest will continue to engage with the documentary community in Sheffield with the monthly DocNights screening Programme, which is “dedicated to championing the work of documentary filmmakers and bringing documentary cinema to audiences all year round.” The festival also announced a new collaboration with Bertha Dochouse, supported by Bertha Foundation, to expand its programme for London audiences from July.
2023 WINNERS
Grand Jury Award for the International Competition: In the Rearview directed by Maciek Hamela (Poland, France, Ukraine, 2023). The Award is Academy Award® accredited. Jury citation (in part): “As jurors, we are both deeply honored and keenly aware of our privileged position. We would like to take this moment to ask: what is the meaning of the art of non-fiction today? As we journeyed through this cohort of films, we found vulnerable, beautiful visions that hold both craft and story close, opening windows into the heart of our shared humanity. If documentaries matter, if they are to be relevant and important at all, they must connect us to the lives of others. Crafted with intimacy and delicate respect, we as a jury were stunned by the brilliant simplicity of this film [about] passengers upon a universal odyssey of survival and exodus.” A Special Mention was given to Stone Town directed by Jing Guo and Dingding KE (China, 2023).
Grand Jury Award for the International First Feature Competition: Q by Jude Chehab (USA, Lebanon, 2023). Jury citation (in part): “From the first frame this story engrosses the viewer cinematically and emotionally, bringing with it the sense that we are witnessing the birth of a powerful new filmmaking voice. The audience is invited to become an intimate witness to a filmmaker’s – and a daughter’s – enquiry, as we see three generations of women coming to terms with the impact of their involvement with a secretive Islamic movement on their family. As a very specific story unravels the universal truths of love and loss, Chehab’s deft direction shows how an ultimately destructive devotion has entwined itself in the lines and legacy of her family.”
The Grand Jury Award for the International Short Film Competition: The Takeover by Anders Hammer (USA, Afghanistan, Norway, 2023). This award is Academy Award®, BAFTA and BIFA-accredited. Jury citation (in part): “The Takeover is an unflinching look at the many forces working against women trying to maintain their rights in the aftermath of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s seizure of power. The jury admired the film’s rawness, immediacy and ability to capture the life and death stakes for those women willing to confront the regime as they continue to demand their rights.” A Special Mention was given to A Maiden Sings directed by Max Torrés Altés (Spain, 2023).
The Tim Hetherington Award: 20 Days in Mariupol by Mstyslav Chernov (Ukraine, 2023). The award recognises a film and filmmaker that best reflects the legacy of photojournalist and filmmaker Tim Hetherington and is presented in association with Dogwoof. Jury citation (in part): “The winner of 2023 Tim Hetherington award, the film that most embodies the spirit and legacy of the journalist for which its named, is a work of astonishing courage and moral clarity, which brings moving context to familiar images in a way that only long-form documentary filmmaking can. For his unflinching, cogent, and deeply immersive reportage, the Tim Hetherington jury congratulates Mstyslav Chernov, director of 20 Days in Mariupol.” Special Mention was given to Total Trust directed by Jialing Zhang (Germany, Netherlands, 2023).
International Alternate Realities Competition: The Man Who Couldn’t Leave by Singing Chen. This programme combines advances in technology with creativity and imagination to find new ways of exploring non-fiction. Jury citation (in part): “For the sheer level of craftsmanship in using the form to engender palpable empathy in its audience. We applaud the level of detail employed to support the audience in the challenging position in which they are necessarily located. We engage with the story not just because it is so devastating, but because the sheer poetry of its delivery leaves us with a seed of hope.” Special Mentions were given to Surfacing, by Rosa Rossella Schillaci (Italy, Portugal, 2022) and Within Touching Distance, produced by ZU-UK (UK, 2023).
The Youth Jury Award: Anhell69 by Theo Montoya (Colombia, Romania, France, Germany, 2022). Jury citation (in part): “To us, The Youth Jury Award means the future of documentary filmmaking – films that push the boundary of the form, are inclusive and diverse, and champion voices left out of the conversation. We’re at a time in which documentary filmmakers are self-reflexive in their approach, and the films in our selection do just that. They interrogate the struggles for young filmmakers and the lack of representations of voices within our industry and show the future of documentary filmmaking as exciting and innovative. One film encompasses exactly what the award represents to us as a generation. It is boundary breaking, it is unique, it’s visually stunning and genre defying. The film is an act of resistance against documentary conventions.” Special Mention was given to 1001 Days directed by Kethiwe Ngcobo & Chloe White (UK, South Africa, 2023).
PITCH SESSION WINNERS 2023
The Whickers Pitch, Film & TV Funding Award 2023 (£100,000) went to Women of My Life directed by Zahraa Ghandour (Karada Film, Iraq). The Development Prize of £20,000 went to I Want to Kill My Grandfather, co-directed by Lilyana Torres & Carlos Morales (The Lift, Mexico). The award recognises original and innovative documentary – and uses the generous legacy of its namesake, pioneering broadcaster Alan Whicker, to support emerging, international directors working on their first feature-length documentaries.
Channel 4 First Cut Pitch saw five short-listed directors present and discuss a 3-minute micro-documentary on the themed brief “Brave New World”. This was won by Catherine Harte, securing a commission from Channel 4 for their first 60-minute film, and one month of fully paid development with an indie to support the development of their idea. Synopsis: An anti-Natalist takes to his megaphone to publicly challenge people about why they want children. He believes that living brings about inevitable suffering and he encourages people to stop procreating. Despite all of this, he approaches people with humour and one massive contradiction emerges – he has 3 children of his own.
BBC Storyville Development Pitch (£3000) was won by With Woman by Mia Harvey and Ayo Akinwolere and Kashpirovsky by Lukasz Konopa. Emma Hindley and Lucie Kon, Storyville commissioners, said: “It was very difficult to decide between the projects. They were all so different and inspiring. We were really delighted with the atmosphere in the room. Everyone was so enthusiastic and supportive. In the end, we decided we couldn’t just give development funding to just one project because the two that won were so great. We are looking forward to working with these up-and-coming filmmakers to help them to develop their projects”.
The Podcast Pitch Frst Prize (£5000) went to Time, Paper, Bone by Catherine Boulle and Bongani Kona and the Second Prize (£2000) went to Breathing Lyrically by Taqwa Sadiq. The winners were chosen for being the most creative and promising pitches, and the prizes were funded by the Whickers foundation.
