True Soul
This year’s edition of Sheffield Doc/Fest might now be in the rearview mirror, but 2021 still has plenty of gems to offer in terms of stimulating, inspiring non-fiction releases. Three of the festival’s youth jurors share their top picks with Storyboard Editor Ella Kemp, looking ahead, notably, to the UK release of Summer of Soul.
The movies, in every shape and size, are finally back. It took a hot minute and a little pandemic, but the big screen is welcoming us back with open arms once more and stories so bold and brave are reaching out as if they’d never been gone. This feeling has never felt so potent than during the 2021 edition of Sheffield Doc/Fest, celebrating the best and brightest documentaries this year has to offer – and so it feels fitting to look back on it in order to look forward this week, for the long-awaited UK release of Questlove’s majestic debut jawn, Summer of Soul.
The musician-turned-filmmaker set his sights on the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, in order to excavate some of the greatest musical performances of all time from the relegated archives. It’s part-restoration and part-revolution – a piece of art wrestling with the political context of the time and our present responsibility to elevate it. It’s not about a forgotten phenomenon per se, which would imply something of a monolithic centre of attention. It’s simply about turning the volume up, and looking the revolution straight in the eye.
All of these feelings – daring to look closer, choosing to spotlight vibrant communities doing their own thing away from the traditional hubbub, changing the way you define joy and community – align with those of Sheffield Doc/Fest. And so, to wave goodbye to one of the UK’s finest celebrations of films and say hello to this week’s tremendous release, I asked several members from the 2021 Youth Jury for their top picks from the festival – documentaries for us to look out for and take into the rest of the year, where more music, more stories, always more movies await. – Ella Kemp
Gethin Morgan
The perfect place to start is Summer of Soul. It’s mind-blowing (yet simultaneously predictable) that such an event has been largely left out of modern history. Questlove is the perfect voice to finally tell
this story, and what a joyous tale it is. Two hours of spirit and celebration that will have you itching to see live music again.
Then there’s the aptly named Charm Circle, a gorgeous portrayal of director Nira Burstein’s eccentric family in Queens. It’s so warm and non-judgemental, even though she tackles the sometimes uncomfortable truths of her family dynamic, it never feels critical. This is a tough film, an honest one, but also an utterly beautiful one, which really captures the humanity of its subjects thanks to Burstein’s intimate cinematography and masterful edit.
Finally, as a Welshman, I simply have to mention Men Who Sing. Director Dylan Williams follows his father’s ageing male choir in North Wales as they attempt to recruit some “young” members. A gentle probing of old age, family and community but, more importantly, plenty of cute old men wearing farmers caps and speaking Welsh. Hook it directly into my veins.
Nafsika Hadjichristou
The Sheffield Doc/Fest 2021 programming took us all on a journey, and I was fortunate enough to watch a lot of films that took me on a lot of different stops, but all weaved to one another. Summer of Soul kickstarted the festival, dynamically introducing us to a number of themes that were relevant throughout the program; a sense of community, BLM, creative ways to fight oppression, ways of seeing the world, hope.
Out of the whole selection, it’s hard to choose those that stood out the most. To start with, as a member of the Youth Jury, I hold the Youth Jury-nominated films really close to me – Delphine’s Prayers, The Silence of Mole, If God Were a Woman ,The Inheritance, Splinters. Then, the strand Some Magic to Fight Oppression – including the short films Kalsubai, Finding Aline, Saudade, and Under the White Mask: The Film Haesaerts Could Have Made – was probably my favourite, juggling with a lot of difficult issues concerning colonial oppression through beautiful stories of resistance and magic.
The short film When We Were Bullies was also an essential watch, as a reflection on what makes one – or a whole group – a bully, examined through a very playful and unique form of creative collage.
Tomorrow We’ll See offered a very intimate insight of a family in Italy during the start of a pandemic, with themes of family life and community resonating to many of us. From the UK Competition, Almost Liverpool 8 was a favourite, as an inclusive portrait of a city. Last but certainly not least, The Monopoly of Violence and Narcissus Off Duty were two powerful films meditating on state violence in very unique ways and forms, offering food for thought that I will be pondering on for a while.
Natalie Peteranna
One of the standout films to come out of Sheffield Doc/Fest 2021 for me was one I saw three times... by accident. David O’Reily’s Everything (2017) has undoubtedly stayed with me as the festival buzz faded. As part of the Exchange strand, this succinct short film was paired with a variety of features. The film uses inventive and perplexing video game visuals to take you through every level of life under the microscope. It eases viewers in with the dulcet tones of Alan Watt as he speaks philosophy about life, environment and the ultimate game we are all playing - living.
From a bacteria to a bear to a mountain or galaxy, Everything leaves a small but mighty impact on unsuspecting viewers. Overall, it’s a sure festival favourite to me and not one to be overlooked in the grand cosmos of the many festival strands.
Head on over to a free Massive preview of Summer of Soul here
