Sheffield DocFest Podcast

This year The BBC Interview invites choirmaster, presenter and populariser of choral singing, Gareth Malone to join them for an exclusive interview. Explore Gareth’s extraordinary rise to fame, and hear how his passion for music has reignited interest in choral music through the BAFTA and RTS award-winning BBC 2 series The Choir. His 2011 follow-up series The Choir: Military Wives led Gareth to not only beat the annual X Factor winner’s single to Christmas Number 1, but the single is the most pre-ordered music item of all time on Amazon in the UK

Taken from Doc/Fest 2012

In the changing world of print journalism, newspapers and magazines have to adapt quickly to the increasing demand of readers on television, on the net, and even on their phones. In order to address this widening gap between news and technology, traditional print media have begun to incorporate video and film work to heighten, enhance and even stand for their work. This panel will discuss how media outlets are commissioning and incorporating video and how filmmakers can find a place, and a voice in this medium.

Recorded at Doc/Fest 2011.

A Masterclass with Bedlam Productions' Gareth Unwin, Simon Egan and Simon Breen as they celebrate the success of The Kings Speech (2010) and discuss their latest documentary projects. They will also examine how the demand for history films often results in documentaries that become dramas.

Taken from Doc/Fest 2011.

Adam Curtis is a documentary maker with one of the most distinctive visual styles. Prolific in his blogging about some of the world’s most pressing issues, his films often reflect the opinions and arguments he has developed through meticulous research and rigorous planning. In various series commissioned by the BBC, Curtis has made extensive and imaginative use of their archive footage, often employing it as a visual accompaniment to his informative narrative. Recipient of Doc/Fest's inaugural Sheffield Inspiration Award and the winner of numerous other accolades, Curtis has built a reputation for consistently producing innovative output across different spectrums. His films can be broadly characterised by their thought provoking content, carried by twists of irony and laconic humour. His credits include The Living Dead, The Century of the Self and The Power of Nightmares, and span across a career stretching 25 years.

In this session from Doc/Fest 2011, Adam will be discussing the inspiration behind his latest documentary, All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace. The Three-part series questions that altruistic nature of the human species, and explores the philosophical parallels that can be drawn between machines and ourselves.

Want to know the tricks of the trade for making your first documentary? Well this is the place to start. This session will cover the crucial areas for making your first feature documentary, looking at how to put your crew together, creative ways to raise a budget, how to make that all important taster video and how to gain access to that amazing story and pitch it. Hear firsthand from a range of young filmmakers who have managed to break through the industry.

This session was part of the Film Nation: Shorts scheme, a competition that invites young people to make, and vote for, films celebrating the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Recorded at Doc/Fest 2011.

British feature documentary hot shots come together to debate the space for docs on the silver screen. Every panellist will bring something different, from highlighting the importance of a story's international appeal, to enlisting a solid key crew, to using an authentic stylistic approach-feature producers, directors and distributors will be sharing their experiences with the audience.

Recorded at Doc/Fest 2011. The mass media of the past century have been restrictive by nature, with audiences confined to a passive role- but that has now completely changed. The inclusive nature of the Internet invites open participation amongst storytellers and audiences alike, and that means putting the audience right and the centre of the action in a game-like fashion. Storytellers of every stripe will now have to learn a new grammar of storytelling, one that is only now being invented. The challenge for those working within the media industry is to keep up with these changes- and the question becomes, how can storytellers use the new possibilities at their disposal to their advantage?

What does it take to be a successful indie? How to stay around long term? Come and hear from some different companies. KEO Films, Storyvault Films and Century Films work mainly in the UK and World of Wonder works mainly in the USA> All have been making prime time TV for years and have chosen to remain independent rather than get bought by a super indie. What are the pros and cons of not selling to a studio or a super indie? Hear how they stay alive and thrive in today's landscape. From Doc/Fest 2014.

Join film legend Albert Maysles of Maysles Films in a conversation featuring selections from his unsurpassed body of work, which spans over 55 years of filmmaking. This masterclass is from Doc/Fest 2011. The inaugural recipient of The Sheffield Docfest Lifetime Achievement Award will take questions about his iconic work — from Gimme Shelter and Grey Gardens to Muhammad and Larry and current projects — and share his philosophy as a documentary filmmaker. He was the guest of honor at the Friday Night Gala Dinner.

Join legendary journalist and presenter Jon Snow for this Conversation session from Doc/Fest 2014. Jon will discuss his extensive career in television and share some highlights with the audience.