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Ones to Watch at Doc/Fest 2012.

(US, 2011)
Showroom , 13th June , 11am / 16th June , 10.30am

The poetic potential of this Oscar-nominated film makes the revisiting of Japan's ordeal on March 11th last year worth revisiting. "Amidst the apocalyptic landscape (..) the cherry blossoms are blooming (...). Their ability to thrive, even after being submerged in salt water, points the way to the lost victims, giving them the courage to rebuild their lives."

Sector Zero.

(Lebanon, 2011)
Showroom, 13th June, 4.15pm / 15th June, 10.30am

"This stylish and cerebral film takes us deep into one of Lebanon's darkest corners: the derelict neighbourhood of Karantina." Director Nadim Mshlawi employs the specifics of the film's setting to create a case study for Lebanon's troubled cultural identity. The tension between the 'insightful' and the 'impartial' should add a good deal to it.

Planet of Snail.

(South Korea, 2011)
Showroom, 14th June, 12.45pm

Promising observational feature about an unusual couple's life together - him, a deaf/blind writer; her, a woman afflicted with a spinal deformity which makes her half his height. Their highly-sensory existence is underlined by Director Seungjun Yi's sensuous camera resulting in a lifeaffirming piece that avoids sentimentality.

straight 8.

(UK, 2012)
Article X, Sidney Street, 16th June, 2.15pm

As far as experiments go, straight 8's invitation to doc directors from around the world to make a film on a single, hallowed cartridge of Kodak super 8 film is just about as healthy as you can get. No cuts or retakes. Unprocessed and unseen, until screened in premieres such as this one, there's an overall sense of nostalgia about it.

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(Australia, 2011)
Showroom, 16th June, 3.45pm

Revolving around Rachel, a sex worker with half of a client-base made of people with disabilities, and John, whose deteriorating MS left him in a chincontrolled wheelchair, Scarlet Road will challenge audiences' perpectives on sexuality, sex work and the disabled.

Glastopia.

(UK, 2012)
Showroom, 16th June, 7.45pm

Countercultural goings-on in the periphery of Glastonbury Festival from Director Julien Temple. "Fuelled by the sights, sounds and music of tomorrow and the insights of the past, Glastopia is thrilling and provocative entertainment for the dangerous crossroads of today."

The Story of Film : An Odyssey.

(UK, 2011)
Odeon, 17th June, 9am

Set to feature prominently in an upcoming Filmreel dedicated to Reviewing The Critics, Mark Cousins's series, which was made over six years, is compulsory viewing. Epic in scale, yet personal in tone, this 900 minutelong reflective cinematic journey is one of the most refreshing on the nature of filmmaking.

Lullaby.

(Russia, 1937)
Showroom, 17th June, 11am

One of three Dziga Vertov films showing at the festival, which include the outstanding Man with a Movie Camera (1928). A film about women in the USSR, which he struggled to get made and ended up marking the end of his creative career. Although neglected by western audiences for decades, this is a must-see for those who like their cinema pure and undiluted. These films will be reviewed by João Paulo Simões in the next Filmreel.

These films will be reviewed by João Paulo Simões in the next Filmreel. For the full Doc/Fest 2012 programme, visit sheffdocfest.com

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