BBC at Sheffield Documentary Film Festival 2015
Hannah Khalil
Digital Content Producer, About The BBC Blog
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Today, Thursday 10 June, marks the close of this year’s Sheffield Documentary Film Festival. As part of the festival there were events with two BBC channel controllers, BBC One’s Charlotte Moore and BBC Two and Four’s Kim Shillinglaw.
Kim spoke on Monday with the makers of the new BBC Two series The Detectives, which follows a Greater Manchester Police specialist unit investigating sex offences. She also talked about her wider ambitions for narrative and storytelling across BBC Two and BBC Four.
To tie-in with the event Kim announced a host of new films from acclaimed documentary directors and producers, including Jane Treays, Robb Leech, Sarah Hardy, Blue Ryan, John Battsek, Stephen Bennett, Colin Barr and Clare Johns. She said:
“BBC Two is a fantastic showcase for the some of the most exciting and acclaimed documentary film-makers working in the UK; alongside the incredible drama writers and producers we have on the channel, they make BBC Two a real platform for the best of British creativity. I'm very proud of the documentaries we are announcing today and the remarkable talent, often tackling difficult subjects, that we are able to support.
"Using a range of story-telling techniques, from self-shooting to fixed rigs, these films have unique and privileged access to many different aspects of modern British life, from David Lammy’s tough Tottenham constituency to the rarefied world of Country Life magazine and from the private world of the divorce clinic to the community Dunblane, 20 years on from the shattering massacre at Dunblane Primary School.
"I’m also pleased to announce today that following the success of the first series of The Detectives, Executive Produced by Colin Barr at Minnow Films, I have commissioned another series from the same team.”
Then, on Tuesday, Charlotte Moore was interviewed by Doc/Fest Chair Alex Graham about her priorities for the channel and also announced new documentary commissions to broaden the range of subjects and perspectives on BBC One. Charlotte said:
"From singles to series, these documentaries have gained extraordinarily intimate access to four distinctive worlds that will move, provoke and challenge the BBC One audience.
“From Brett's inspiring story of triumph over adversity to capturing what it means to live with cancer today, from exploring racial tensions in Burnley through the eyes of two cab companies to a window into the world of Britain's new aristocracy in Longleat."
There were many other BBC events and screenings at the festival including the BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra Pitch Stories, an chance to witness BBC Radio 1’s first ever documentary public pitch opportunity, as a set of filmmakers competed for a commission worth £2000; and a ‘Meet the Makers event’ with the creators and presenters of BBC Three's satirical comedy The Revolution Will Be Televised, Jolyon Rubinstein, Heydon Prowse and Joe Wade. There were also a series of Meet The Commissioners events featuring a number of BBC speakers.
You can see a full schedule of events on the Sheffield Doc Fest website.
Hannah Khalil is Digital Producer, About the BBC Website and Blog.
