Sheffield Doc/Fest Announces Award Winners 2017

The award winners of the 24th edition of Sheffield Doc/Fest have been announced on Tuesday at the official award ceremony at the Crucible Theater in Sheffield. Among the prize winners are Mathew Heineman, who won the top award for his documentary 'City of Ghosts' and Pailin Wedel, who took home the Funding Award of Whicker's World Foundation for her documentary project 'Hope Frozen' which previously took part in the Crossing Borders programme, a joint initiative by EDN and Documentary Campus.

The award ceremony, which was for the first time hosted by a local radio presenter (Paulette Edwards of BBC Radio Sheffield), saw a variety of documentary films and projects being recognized for their compelling narratives, their artistic and filmic quality and their innovative approach to storytelling. This year’s Grand Jury Award went to Matthew Heineman’s City of Ghosts (USA, 2017), which takes a closer look at the covert citizen journalist group RBSS (Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently) who are intent on exposing the horrors of life under ISIS rule via the only weapon they have: the media. Jury member Paul Mason said, "City of Ghosts is a passionate portrayal of people who took their lives in their hands to fight an evil that looms over the world. In our discussions we wanted the film makers to answer: who created ISIS and who sustains it today? A compelling and vital film."

The top prize of the Whicker's World Foundation, an £80,000 funding award aimed at young filmmakers looking to make their first full length documentary, was given to Pailin Wedel from Bangkok for her project Hope Frozen. The story, a tale of grief and scientific progress, follows a father's visionary dream to make a two year old girl the youngest human ever to be cryopreserved. The award aims to allow a project, which deserves to be realised, to reach as wide an audience as possible. "Who knew that a little story from Thailand could make it this far", said Wedel during the award ceremony. The project Hope Frozen previously took part in Crossing Borders 2016, a joint initiative by EDN and Documentary Campus. The jury included British investigative journalist Seyi Rhodes, Liz McIntyre (CEO Sheffield Doc/Fest), Jane Ray (Artistic Director of Whicker’s World Foundation), Harriet Armston-Clarke (Head of Sales, TVF) and independent filmmaker Mak CK, who is also a former Crossing Borders participant.

Looking back at the 24th edition of Doc/Fest, CEO & Festival Director Liz McIntyre said: “The Festival feels like a stellar edition. I am so proud to be celebrating an exceptional year of talent, creativity and storytelling across the Doc/Fest Film and Alternate Realities programmes, including new talent and new projects seen in Marketplace. This creative documentary community is part of a wonderful global movement looking to tell and share empathetic and extraordinary stories and it is inspiring to be part of this”.

The award winners of Sheffield Doc/Fest 2017 are:

GRAND JURY AWARD

City of Ghosts | D: Matthew Heineman | USA

SPECIAL MENTIONS

The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson | D: David France | USA

The Work | D: Jairus McLeary, Gethin Aldous | USA

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD

A River Below | D: Mark Grieco | Brazil

SPECIAL MENTION

The Last Animals | D: Kate Brooks | UK, USA, Chad, Democratic Rep. of Congo, Czech Rep., Kenya, Myanmar, Singapore, Vietnam

TIM HETHERINGTON AWARD

Strong Island | D: Yance Ford | USA, Denmark

ILLUMINATE AWARD

Unrest | D: Jennifer Brea | USA, UK

ART DOC AWARD

City of the Sun | D: Rati Oneli | USA, Georgia, Netherlands, Qatar

SPECIAL MENTION

Brimstone and Glory | D: Viktor Jakovleski | USA

NEW TALENT AWARD

Artemio | D: Sandra López Barroso | Mexico, USA

SPECIAL MENTION

Ubermensch | D: Jesper Dalgaard | Denmark

YOUTH JURY AWARD

69 Minutes of 86 Days | D: Egil Håskjold Larsen | Norway

SPECIAL MENTION

Rat Film | D: Theo Anthony | USA

SHORT DOC AWARD

The Rabbit Hunt | D: Patrick Bresnan | USA, Hungary

SPECIAL MENTION

Edith + Eddie | D: Laura Checkoway | USA

ALTERNATE REALITIES VIRTUAL REALITY AWARD

Unrest VR | D: Jennifer Brea | UK, USA, France

ALTERNATE REALITIES INTERACTIVE AWARD

My Grandmother's Lingo | Angelina Joshua, Gina McKeon, Boris Etingof | Australia

WHICKER’S WORLD FOUNDATION AWARDS (Funding Award)

Hope Frozen | D: Pailin Wedel | United Kingdom

WHICKER’S WORLD FOUNDATION AWARDS (Funding Award: Runner Up)

Silent Men | D: Duncan Cowles | UK

WHICKER’S WORLD FOUNDATION AWARDS (Sage Award)

My NHS | Steven Carne | UK

WHICKER’S WORLD FOUNDATION AWARDS (Sage Award: Runner Up)

The Bard's Wife | Roy Delaney | UK

DOC/DISPATCH AWARD

The Fight | D: Violeta Ayala, Daniel Fallshaw | UK

 

 

 

Further links at edn.network

Search among 900+ film festivals in the EDN Festival Calendar

See Upcoming EDN Activities

Follow EDN on and