It's all change at this year's Sheffield Doc/Fest, with the event, now one of the foremost in the industry, moving from its traditional autumn slot to a new one in June. But one thing that hasn't changed is the festival team's commitment to providing fresh perspectives on the world of documentary filmmaking. We spoke to four of this year's Youth Jury members to find out how they got involved and what they hope to contribute and learn.
Alex, Stefan, Lucy and Jack are all from different backgrounds but share a passion for film. 21 year old Alex figures it's partly this passion that got his application for the jury noticed, though he's certainly shown commitment to the festival, having attended for the last two years and reported on the last one as a journalist for local magazine Now Then. A philosophy student at Sheffield University, he's particularly interested in the events side of the festival and the opportunities this provides to meet documentary makers.
"Watching documentaries made me want to get involved in making them," he says. "This is a good opportunity to network, have drinks with producers and make contacts."
"Young people are already at the forefront of factual filming, for example using camera phones to capture stories and posting the footage on YouTube. It's just that they often don't call it documentary. This is about harnessing that enthusiasm and potential, and giving these young people rare access to industry professionals and training. Sheffield Doc/Fest is intent upon supporting the industry and filmmakers, whatever their stage of development," says festival director Heather Croall.
Some of the Youth Jury members already have filmmaking experience. Stefan, 18, got involved in a project through his school which led to him directing council-funded promotional documentary This Is Sheffield "basically about how good Sheffield is for students and businesses and why it's a good place to relocate to." He sees himself as a bit of an all-rounder with interests in many different aspects of film, and he's looking forward to starting a course in Film Production at Bournemouth University in September.
"I ended up on the jury accidentally," he says. "I got called up last year but I never applied. Then one of my friends was asked to be involved and passed on my number. I like all kinds of different films and I'm keen to see where this takes me."
Lucy, 20, who is just finishing a science degree at King's College London, has been interested in film for many years but has only just decided that it's something she'd like to get involved with directly. "I had heard about DocFest before but I hadn't been," she explains. "I saw the Youth Jury positions advertised on Twitter and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to experience the festival in all its glory, with access to everything.
Lucy likes a variety of different sorts of films but says that what she really looks for is a strong story. Stefan agrees and says that if a story is well told then it can hold his attention even if he wasn't interested in the subject to begin with, sometimes completely changing his point of view.
"People ask what young people look for in films and that's a difficult question to answer," says Lucy, "but I think basically we're more likely to look at a film as a whole, because we don't have as much technical experience."
"The programmer, Hussein, is very enthusiastic about our viewpoints," says Alex. "I think having a youth jury brings a new perspective. It's always useful to have fresh perspectives when you're very involved in doing your thing."
Alex is particularly interested in political documentaries and admires the work of Michael Moore, Adam Curtis and Nick Broomfield. "I like documentaries with an innovative approach that probe their subjects in an interesting way."
He's also looking forward to a strong music strand at this year's festival, as is 16 year old Jack, the team's youngest member, who plays in local band Two Weeks' Notice. "I'd never heard of the festival before but I'm interested in film so I thought I'd give it a go." he says. "I'm also looking forward to the Sensoria music film festival in May."
All are delighted to be part of the jury and looking forward to helping choose Doc/Fest's prize winners. The full slate of films screening at the festival will be announced shortly, so watch this space.
