The Sheffield Doc/Fest 2014 awards, presented by Jeremy Hardy, were announced this morning at The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. The awards for 2014 announced today were: Special Jury Award, Sheffield Innovation Award, Sheffield Green Award, Sheffield Youth Jury Award, Sheffield Student Doc Award, Sheffield Short Doc Award, The Tim Hetherington Award and the first ever Peter Wintonick Award which celebrates activist filmmaking, in honour of the late Canadian documentary filmmaker and friend of the festival Peter Wintonick.

This year the Inspiration Award was awarded to Laura Poitras. Poitras sent a message dedicating her award to Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald, Jacob Appelbaum, William Binney, Julian Assange and Sarah Harrison.

The Sheffield Doc/Fest 2014 award for Lifetime Achievement was presented to Roger Graef. Accepting the award Roger said “it’s true that when we take people’s pictures, we capture their souls and that is a great responsibility” and paid tribute to “those souls who have been brave enough to let us capture them.” He continued: “the privilege of fifty years of working in this industry has been to share the private lives of a great many people.”

Roger also praised Sheffield Doc/Fest and the community spirit of the documentary festival, commenting that the loneliness that can come with documentary filmmaking is “mitigated by the chance to come to together at a festival like this.” He dedicated his award to CEO and Festival Director Heather Croall.

Special Jury Award

Sheffield Doc/Fest’s Special Jury prize was awarded to Attacking The Devil: Harold Evans and the Last Nazi War Crime (directors Jacqui Morris & David Morris, United Kingdon/Canada, 2014, 99mins) 

On behalf of the Special Jury Dawn Porter said: “We unanimously found this film to be an elegant examination of complex themes. We appreciated his film on all levels - it is a work approached with relevance and rigor, a historical film that feels contemporary and engaging, blossoms like a novel, and is surprising when least expected, epic in its scope, traversing decades and exploring big themes while revealing intimate details.” For the jury, Attacking the Devil is “a call to arms inviting us to examine our past as it celebrates and reminds us of the critical value of journalism.”

The Special Jury also gave honourable mention to Night Will Fall (dir. Andre Singer, United Kingdom/Unites States/Israel, 2014, 75mins), which Dawn praised saying, “This intellectually bracing film reveals the power of documentary and why it matters. It challenges us to never take anything for granted. With skill and grace this film is a remarkable achievement reminding of the need to never forget.”

The Special Jury:

Mark Cousins - Filmmaker, UK
Eugene Hernandez - Film Society of Lincoln Center, USA
Kate Kinninmont - MBE, Chief Executive of Women in Film & TV, UK
Karolina Lidin - Film Consultant, Denmark
Dawn Porter - Director / Producer, USA

Nominated Films
All This Mayhem
Attacking The Devil: Harold Evans and the Last Nazi War Crime
The Case Against 8
Concerning Violence
In the Shadow of War
Last Days in Vietnam
Life Itself
Night Will Fall
Non Fiction Diary
The Overnighters
Regarding Susan Sontag

Sheffield Innovation Award

The Sheffield Innovation Award was awarded to A Short History of the Highrise (Dir. Katerina Cizek, Canada/United States, 2013, 17mins)

Speaking on behalf of the jury of international film and interactive media industry experts, filmmaker Laurence Topham commented that the jury had unanimously agreed “all of the work in this category demonstrated quality and innovation – it was a strong field combining risk-taking, strong storytelling and interactivity across multiple platforms.”

One of a few such awards in the documentary world, the Innovation Award recognises cutting edge documentary practise, rewarding the project that exhibits originality in approach to form, storytelling and delivery. Laurence praised the director Katerina Cizek, saying “Cizek demonstrates a clear understanding of audience in an adaptable and accessible platform where imagination, exploration and participation/engagement is effortless.  This emotionally intelligent film connects the user to its people and stories and enables the user to find their place within it and is a perfect balance of technical innovation and compelling storytelling.”

Accepting the award, Katerina said it was “an honour to accept the innovation award from the most innovative documentary film festival in the world.” She dedicated her award to Peter Wintonick, who she described as “a dear friend and huge inspiration to so many of us in terms of understanding and thinking through how documentary can be innovative and how it can change the world.” She said, “This one’s for you Peter.”

Jury:

Kamal Ackarie - Curator / Producer, Germany
Daisy Asquith - Filmmaker, UK
Christilla Huillard Kaan - Radio France, France
Kim Streets - Museums Sheffield, UK
Laurence Topham - Filmmaker, UK

Nominated Films
Burn Out
Choose Your Own Documentary
Iranorama
Killing Kennedy
Last Hijack Interactive
The Measure of All Things
Offshore
 A Short History of the Highrise

Sheffield Youth Jury Award

The Sheffield Youth Jury Award was awarded to The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz (Dir. Brian Knappenberger, United States, 2014, 105mins)

Speaking on behalf of the Youth Jury of six exceptional young documentary lovers chosen from hundreds of applicants, Rachel Watts said "the film that we have chosen this year stood out for its contemporary relevance. It deals with an issue that we feel will resonate with young people around the world. It is a story that needs sharing, and one that has the potential to inspire change and debate.”

The Youth Jury also gave a special mention to Happiness (Dir. Thomas Balmès, France/Finland, 2013, 76mins) and thanked Hussain Currimbhoy and Sheffield Doc/fest for the “unique and life-changing” experience of sitting on a festival jury.

Jury:
Lucy Edmondson
Nyasha Mangera-Lakew
Felix Renshaw
Chris Small
Christian Villarba
Rachel Watts

Nominated Films
Happiness

The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz
The School of Babel
Sepideh
Web Junkie

Sheffield Green Award

The Sheffield Green Award was awarded to Unearthed (Dir. Jolynn Minnaar, South Africa, 2014, 90mins)

Spokesperson for the jury, Jillian Creasy (Sheffield Green Party) commented “as a jury of ranging disciplines (only two of us are filmmakers), we arrived at our decision from very different angles. But we were in no doubt of the frontrunner.”

She continued, “We chose the winning film for three reasons: We felt the film imparted an important message; It was well told, and in such a way that engages audiences not necessarily involved with or educated in the issues it addresses. And thirdly…of all the messages across all the films nominated, we felt this one to be the timeliest, because there is still opportunity to do something about it. For that reason, we’d like it to be seen by as wide an audience as possible.”

Accepting her award Jolynn Minnaar said “I dedicate this award to filmmakers out there who are telling stories that matter. No matter how hard it is, keep going – it is worth it, I promise!”

Jury:

Joe Berlinger - Filmmaker, USA
Jillian Creasy - Sheffield Green Party Councillor, UK
Ben Jackson - Now Then Magazine, UK
Claire O'Neill - Co-founder, A Greener Festival, UK
Roger Ross Williams - Filmmaker, USA

Nominated Films
Beaverland
A Dangerous Game
Ecocide - Voices from Paradise 
The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came To Eden 
Goodbye Gauley Mountain: An Ecosexual Love Story
Last Call
Unearthed

Student Doc Award

The Sheffield Student Doc Award was awarded to Our Curse (Dir. Tomasz Sliwinski, Poland, 2013, 28mins)

Sponsored by London Film Academy, the Student Doc Award recognises the student films of today and the great filmmakers of tomorrow. On behalf of the jury, Cherie Frederico said “we all agreed, watching the films you wouldn’t have known they were student productions, the standard was so high.”

Dr. Clifford Shaw, who has attended all 21 editions of the festival said “I found this quite a remarkable film with a very special quality.” The film’s message, he said, was ultimately that “life, despite it’s problems, still has something to offer.”

Jury:

David Brindley - Channel 4, UK
Cherie Frederico - Filmmaker, UK
Pawel Kloc - Filmmaker, Poland
Anna MacDonald - London Film Academy, UK
Dr Clifford Shaw - Cineaste, UK

Nominated Films
Hello Stranger
Honey on Wounds
I
Love Me Tender
Our Curse
Perpetual Ed
Rebel Menopause
 

Short Award

The Sheffield Short Doc Award, sponsored by the London Short Film Festival, was awarded to Amanda F***ing Palmer on the Rocks (Dir. Ondi Timoner, United States, 2014, 18mins)

Speaking on behalf of the jury, Philip Ilson (London Short Film Festival) commented “Amanda Palmer has succeeded in music through an amazing talent coupled with a 'fuck you' attitude to gain a legion of dedicated fans across the world who love her independence and bloody mindedness. Ondi Timoner's documentary brilliantly captures Palmer's unique take on the world by being as high energy and as hyper as Palmer herself. Timoner is clearly a fan, but this is not just a fan film, but also a perfect introduction to a unique performer.”

Jury:

Sheila Curran Bernard - Producer, USA
Avi Grewal - Nowness, UK
Briony Hanson - British Council, UK
Philip Illson - LSFF Director, UK
Andy Samsom - Aeon Film, UK

Nominated Films
3 Acres in Detroit
Adrift
AMANDA F---ING PALMER ON THE ROCKS
The Claustrum
David Hockney IN THE NOW (in six minutes)
Inside the Mind of Colin Furze
The Last Days of Peter Bergmann
The Lion's Mouth Opens
Michael S., re-collected
OBEY THE ARTIST
RUSSELL BRANDS THE BIRD
Still Can't Hear Her Mouth
Unlocking the Truth
Wandering Rocks
When Loud Music Turned Deadly 
Where Are You Coming From?
Winter
Xenos
 

Tim Hetherington Award

The Tim Hetherington Award was awarded to Profession: Documentarist (Directors: Shirin Barghnavard, Firouzeh Khosrovani, Farhnaz Sharifi, Mina Keshavarz, Sepideh Abtahi, Sahar Salahshoor and Nahid Rezaei, Iran, 2014, 80mins)

Presented by Tim’s mother Judith Hetherington and Oli Harbottle (Dogwoof), the award celebrates the life and legacy of photojournalist and humanitarian Tim Hetherington, whose objectives as a filmmaker were to highlight the plight of people so often ignored by the world and mainstream media.

Accepting the award Sharin Barghnavard declared it an honour “to accept this precious award from Tim’s mother” and remembered Tim’s legacy as someone who “dedicated his own life to pass beyond the borders.”

The Wintonick Award

The first ever Peter Wintonick Award, celebrating activist filmmaking, was awarded to Vessel (Dir. Diana Whitten, United States, 2014, 88mins)

 
Presenting the award, Martin Rosenbaum read a message from Peter Wintonick’s daughter Mira who said of Peter, though “he often wore a sceptical gaze, he was an optimist at heart” and that she was very happy to see the award go to “a filmmaker who embodies his activist spirit.”

Sheffield Doc/Fest Audience Award

The Audience Award will be announced on Monday 16^th June 2014.

Now in it’s eighth year, the Sheffield Doc/Fest Audience Award gives Sheffield's public audience and delegates the chance to honour their favourite film of the festival.

See sheffdocfest.com for details