Maciek Hamela’s documentary, In the Rearview, has won the Grand Jury Award for International Competition at the 30th Sheffield DocFest. The film is about Ukrainians fleeing war in their homeland. It premiered in May at the Millennium Docs Against Gravity Festival in Poland before heading to Cannes and then to Sheffield, where it entered competition with eight other documentaries. Hamela, a Polish filmmaker, promptly volunteered to help evacuate Ukrainian civilians who had become the target of Russian bombing and artillery attacks when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. He bought a van for the purpose, and later began filming refugees as he transported them to safety across the Polish border. In the Rearview was shot almost exclusively inside the van, and consists of Ukrainians – young, old and in between – reflecting on all they have experienced.
The Tim Hetherington Award
Twenty Days in Mariupol, directed by Mstyslav Chernov, won Sheffield’s Tim Hetherington Award. The award is named for the British photojournalist and Oscar-nominated filmmaker who was killed while covering the Arab Spring uprising in Libya in 2011. Twenty Days in Mariupol documents the initial stages of Russia’s brutal siege of the Ukrainian port city, which resulted in thousands of civilian deaths. Director Mstyslav Chernov accepted the award by remote from Ukraine, where he continues to report on the war for the Associated Press. His work for the AP in Ukraine recently won him the Pulitzer Prize.
International First Feature Competition
Q, directed by Jude Chehab, won the prize for International First Feature. The film is about Al-Qubaysiat, a women’s religious order born of Syria’s Islamic revivalist movement. For Jude Chehab’s family, it is a wedge that has divided loyalties and caused antagonism between those wedded to the faith and everyone else. In particular, it created an irrevocable distance between the filmmaker, her mother, and her grandmother. Weaving together the memories of these three generations, Chehab’s impressive feature-length debut is a heart-wrenching portrait of a domestic environment pushed to breaking point.
International Short Film Competition
The Takeover, directed by Anders Hammer, won the International Short Film Competition. In the 35-minute long film, the Norwegian filmmaker and journalist captures the rapidly changing situation in Afghanistan as the Taliban retake control of the country. Amid all the uncertainty, Hammer documents the female-led protests, the supporters and enforcers of Taliban rule, and the mixed response of people across the country, as one regime comes to end and another takes power. Winning the International Competition, likewise qualifies In the Rearview for Oscar consideration.
International Alternate Realities Competition
The Man Who Couldn’t Leave, directed by Singing Chen, won the International Alternate Realities Competition. The program combines advances in technology with creativity and imagination to find new ways of exploring non-fiction. The jury hailed “the sheer level of craftsmanship in using the form to engender palpable empathy in its audience. We applaud the level of detail employed to support the audience in the challenging position in which they are necessarily located. We engage with the story not just because it is so devastating, but because the sheer poetry of its delivery leaves us with a seed of hope.”
The Sheffield DocFest awards ceremony revealed the winners of pitch competitions, including the recipient of The Whickers Pitch, a film and TV funding award that is one of the most lucrative honors in the documentary field. The award of £100,000 went to Women of My Life, directed by Zahraa Ghandour. This is the full list of Sheffield DocFest competition winners, special mention honorees, and pitch winners:
International Competition Honoring films that best display strong artistic vision and courageous storytelling. This award is Academy Award accredited.
WINNER – In the Rearview – Ukraine, Poland – Maciek Hamela – 2023 (International Premiere)
Special mention was given to Stone Town directed by Jing Guo and Dingding KE (China, 2023).
International First Feature Competition (supported by Netflix) This competition honours the future of non-fiction film and celebrates promising new talent.
WINNER – Q – USA, Lebanon – Jude Chehab – 2023 (International Premiere)
International Short Film Competition This Academy Award, BAFTA and BIFA-accredited award honors the best creative approaches in documentaries under 40 minutes.
WINNER – The Takeover – USA – Anders Hammer – 2023 (World Premiere)
Special mention was given to A Maiden Sings directed by Max Torrés Altés (Spain, 2023).
Youth Jury Award
WINNER – Anhell69 – Colombia, Romania, France, Germany – Theo Montoya – 2022 (UK Premiere)
Special mention was given to 1001 Days directed by Kethiwe Ngcobo & Chloe White (UK, South Africa, 2023).
Tim Hetherington Award (presented in association with Dogwoof) Photojournalist and filmmaker Tim Hetherington was committed to humanitarian and social concerns throughout the world. This award recognizes films that best reflect his legacy.
WINNER – 20 Days in Mariupol – Ukraine – Mstyslav Chernov – 2023 (UK Premiere)
Special mention was given to Total Trust directed by Jialing Zhang (Germany, Netherlands, 2023).
International Alternate Realities Competition This programme combines advances in technology with creativity and imagination to find new ways