Sheffield's Doc/Fest is a film festival you should attend. A quick flick through the programme shows topics as diverse as the consequences of oil exploration, dance (on the side of buildings), interactive comic-books, Syria and same-sex marriages. It's billed as the world's most exciting documentary and digital media festival and if day one is anything to go by it lives up to that hype.
As an example of what to expect, this year's Doc/Fest has only been going a few hours and already I have experienced a world premiere, a Q&A with Martin Scorsese, the European premiere of PULP: A film about life, death & supermarkets and a post-film discussion with Jarvis Cocker and the rest of his Sheffield supergroup. That already counts as a successful first day, and there is still the opening night party to go – with Jarvis on the decks.
The Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi directed and produced The Fifty Year Argument received its world premiere at the Showroom. A portrait of the New York Review of Books the film picks moments from literary, political and cultural history, showing the development of the intellectual publication led by Bob Silvers. Started during a newspaper strike when book sellers had nowhere to advertise, the Review is not frightened of argument and disagreement. The film is uncritical and full of admiration for the Review's achievements. Joining the screening by Skype afterwards Martin Scorsese revealed he had been a reader for years, though still has piles of unread copies, owing to the small matter of moviemaking taking up most of his time.
PULP: a film about life, death and supermarkets was shown in the grand setting of Sheffield City Hall. Green concert-style lasers flashed around the room before the film – as though the band would soon appear with instruments, witty lyrics and trademarked awkward dancing. Florian Habicht's film did start with almost a full rendition of the famous anthem Common People, but it is a film as much about Sheffield as the famous band. Fans are interviewed and there are no famous talking heads reminiscing about the time Jarvis did this or that. The filmmakers have taken the Common People side of PULP to heart, seeking out not famous friends or the sort of people who Common People was written about, but Sheffield locals. This is refreshing, although some of the interviews come close to mockery, as when an old lady confuses who Jarvis's father is (it's not Joe Cocker) and when a woman interviewed (for some reason) in a swimming pool admits to having made her own PULP pants.
So Sheffield Doc/Fest is up and running for the 21st time. It runs until 12th June, with speakers including Jon Snow and Grayson Perry, a roller disco and films in a cave. Not to forget 21 world premieres and many more films from around the globe. Cannes may have been the place to be a fortnight ago, but now the film industry has moved on. Sheffield's where it's at this week.
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