Two of our 2013 Directing Documentaries graduates’ films - Sodiq directed by Adeyemi Michael (pictured above) and Boys directed by Marc Williamson - will both have their World Premieres at the Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival in June.
This festival is recognised as one the most important documentary festivals so it is a huge achievement to have films from two out of eight of our 2013 graduates selected in the student section. The announcement was made at a London press conference by Festival Director Heather Croall and Film Programmer Hussain Currimbhay and the Doc/Fest Awards will be announced at an Awards Ceremony on June16.
Congratulating both directors, NFTS Head of Documentaries Dick Fontaine said the films were both significant achievements.
The first version of Sodiq was made by Adeyemi Michael when he was 19. It features his friend from a London housing estate called Sodiq Adeojo, then aged 14, and the football team they started to keep younger boys out of trouble with gangs. At that time Sodiq’s ambition was to become a lawyer. That film got Adeyemi into the NFTS. The final version of the film catches up with Sodiq 5 years later and finds that while Adeyemi has graduated, Sodiq is serving 30 years in prison convicted under the law of joint enterprise for murder. The film questions how this happened.
Dick Fontaine said: “The film Sodiq represents a tragic landmark in the young life of London teenager Sodiq Adeojo, as well as a landmark for the NFTS filmmaker, Adeyemi Michael, who was his friend and mentor. “This is a moving and uniquely personal film about the tragic outcomes of so many young men of African heritage in our society, which has also been shown at the House of Commons to inform the crucial debate about how to transform the lives of young people in the inner cities.”
Sodiq Director Adeyemi said: "We are proud as a team that our efforts to say something that we feel is important is having its World premiere at one of the top documentary film festivals in the world to an international audience. Being at Sheffield Doc/Fest will help to speak to many more people about the tragic loss of young people's lives caught up in gang culture."
Marc Williamson's film Boys follows the lives of two children at a school for boys with behavior problems. Dick Fontaine said it was a real achievement for Marc who was only able to make the film due to trust he gained from the staff, parents and students.
“This trust resulted in an extraordinarily intimate and moving portrait of two of these young men through intense observation without interviews or intervention. For an emerging filmmaker to achieve this in a short time is a real achievement,” he added.
Boys Director Marc Williamson has now partnered with Minnow Films and is in discussions with Channel 4 about making an hour-long film at the school.
Marc said: “We're delighted to premier at Sheffield Docs Festival and that there's been such a positive reaction to the film. We think its a very important and often misunderstood subject and are really pleased that it will have the chance to reach a wider audience.”
(Pictured is a still from the film 'Sodiq')
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List of Alumni involved in Sheffield Docs Fest.
The Act of Killing- Editor Charlotte Munch Bengtsen; Co-Editor Ariadna Fatjo-Vilas
Bravehearts - Producer Tone Grøttjord
Mirage Men - Director John Lundberg; DoP Zillah Bowes; Sound Recordist Emma Meaden
The Moo Man - Composer Stephen Daltry
The Murder Workers- Composer Miguel d'Oliveira
Rafea: Solar Mama - Sound Editor/Mixer Adrian Rhodes
Salma - Director/Producer/Camera Kim Longinotto; Sound Recordist Sara Lima
The Stuart Hall Project - Editor Nse Asuquo
Reindeer - [Short] Director Eva Weber; Editor Fiona DeSouza
Sodiq - [NFTS] Director/Producer/DoP Adeyemi Michael; DoP/Production Manager Derek von Sternick; Editor Carmela Iandoli;
Sound Recordists Thomas Marwick; Vytas Kizala & JJ Benson; Title Sequence Adam Arnot;
Sound Designer/Dubbing Mixer Tom Lock Griffiths; Composer Matt Kelly;
Online Editor/Grade Kevin McDonald; Motion Graphics Ram Tripathib (current student)
Boys - [NFTS] Director/Producer/DoP Marc Williamson; Production Manager Georgia Orwell;
Sound Recordist Amee Simpson; Sound Designer/Dubbing Mixer Peter Warnock;
Composer Finn McNicholas; Online Editor/Grade Ruochen Wang; Producer Emma Lamont
