Gotham Alumni at Sheffield Doc/Fest 2021
by Gotham on June 3, 2021 in Alumni on Screen
Sheffield Doc/Fest is an international documentary film and arts festival and marketplace with a mission to spark imaginations and empower our capacity for change by celebrating, championing and debating documentary film and art as a collective form of engagement. We’re thrilled to see a total of eight Gotham-supported films participating at Sheffield this year, including three films screening at the festival and five participating in Sheffield’s Industry Program. Congrats to all eight Gotham-supported projects at this year’s festival and MeetMarket!
Charm Circle
Charm Circle is a cinéma vérité portrait of an eccentric New York family navigating the chaos that divides them. After uncovering a treasure trove of home videos documenting the moments of love, laughter, and musical expression that punctuated an otherwise tumultuous upbringing, filmmaker Nira Burstein returns to her childhood home – now crumbling from the inside out – to explore whether she and her two sisters can reconnect with her parents. Catalyzed by the announcement of her younger sister’s polyamorous wedding, refueling tensions threaten to sever what’s left of the family bond. Burstein’s brave, wryly amusing first feature is a tender, unpredictable study of a family struggling against an array of issues with honesty and a steely sense of humour. Going beneath the surface of the social struggles of its subjects, the film reveals people as more than the problems they experience and the labels applied to them.
Directed by Nira Burstein and produced by Betsy Laikin.
Screening in the International Competition.
Gotham Alum: Charm Circle is an alumnus of the 2018 Documentary Feature Lab.
Lydia Lunch – The War is Never Over
Underground filmmaker Beth B’s Lydia Lunch: The War Is Never Over is the first in-depth documentary on the titular no wave artist. A plethora of rare archives takes viewers into the 1970s New York underground scene where the magnetic, unapologetic Lydia takes to the stage to sing about sex, desire, violence, and her refusal to be a victim of male oppression.
Directed and produced by Beth B.
Screening in the Rhyme & Rhythm section.
Gotham Alum: Lydia Lunch – The War is Never Over is an alumnus of the 2019 Gotham Week Project Market.
North by Current
After the inconclusive death of his young niece and the incarceration of his brother-in-law, filmmaker Angelo Madsen Minax returns to his rural Michigan hometown, preparing to make a film about a broken criminal justice system. Instead, he pivots to excavate the depths of generational addiction, Christian fervour, and trans embodiment. Lyrically-assembled images built from decades of home movies combine with ethereal narration, to form an idiosyncratic and poetic undertow, which guides the viewer through different lives and relationships. As Michigan’s seasons relentlessly shift, so does the meaning of family, as Madsen, his sister and his parents strive tirelessly to accept each other. Purposefully inviting internal searching, rather than providing clear statements or easy answers, North By Current dives head-first into the challenges of creating identity, the agony of growing up, and the ever-fickle nuances of family.
Directed and written by Angelo Madsen Minax, produced by Felix Endara, and executive produced by Charlotte Cook, Chris White, and Justin Nagan.
Screening in the Ghosts & Apparitions section.
Gotham Alum: North by Current is an alumnus of the 2019 Gotham Week Project Market.
Gotham Alumni at the Sheffield MeetMarket
The 16th edition of Sheffield DocFest’s flagship pitching forum, the MeetMarket, will host fifty-five projects, including three Gotham-supported films:
Q
Q takes us deep into the unspoken of world of a Muslim women’s cult through the filmmaker, her mother and grandmother’s relationship to the group.
Directed and produced by Jude Chehab.
Gotham Alum: Q is a current participant in the 2021 Documentary Feature Lab.
The Tuba Thieves
From 2011-2013 tubas were stolen from Los Angeles high schools. The Tuba Thieves is not about thieves or missing tubas. Instead, it asks what it means to listen.
Directed by Alison O’Daniel and produced by Rachel Nederveld.
Gotham Alum: The Tuba Thieves is an alumnus of the 2020 Gotham Week Project Market.
Untitled Death Row Memory Film
After failing to expedite his execution, Scott Dozier takes his life—and sets a filmmaker on a journey across landscapes of memory to reckon with their friendship.
Directed by Alex Morelli, produced by Daniel Garber, and executive produced by Sierra Pettingill.
Gotham Alum: Untitled Death Row Memory Film is a current participant in the 2021 Documentary Feature Lab.
Gotham Alumni at Chicken & Egg Pictures’ 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab Pitch
The (Egg)celerator Lab is a Chicken & Egg Pictures program focused on identifying and supporting nonfiction directors working on their first or second feature-length documentary. This program brings together ten projects, with a special focus on self-identifying women and gender nonconforming directors. The 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab participants will pitch their projects to a panel of international decision makers and industry representatives taking part in Sheffield DocFest’s online marketplace. Ten documentaries will pitch, including three Gotham-supported films: Robie Flores’ The In Between (2018 Documentary Feature Lab); Jude Chehab’s Q (2021 Documentary Feature Lab); Brittany Shyne’s Seeds (2020 Gotham Week Project Market); and Alison O’Daniel’s The Tuba Thieves (2020 Gotham Week Project Market.)