In 2021 Sheffield Doc/Fest wants to spotlight and celebrate the history of Black British screen culture - a wide and diverse filmography that has been largely overlooked and undervalued in film discourse. We want to find connections between past and present, and to spark a conversation about how this filmography resonates with contemporary filmmakers and artists, and how it can inspire and inform the ways in which we conceive our own communities.
 
Doc/Fest is excited to announce that for the first time, we have invited guest curators, with a range of perspectives that will transcend the idea of a singular, complete narrative. The guest curators come with a breadth of experience: as filmmakers, film programmers, broadcasters, photography curators, film students and historians.
 
With such an abundant, complex and diverse filmography, which has a contested history of visibility and access, we felt it essential to present programmes curated by people who inhabit this history through their work, their existential pursuits, and their curiosity and care. We will present works by voices that could multiply, intersect, and together bring a rich spectrum of work. 
 
This is the beginning of an ongoing series that we want to bring back in the following editions, as a place for reframing history and building access.
 
The Retrospective: Films belong to those who need them - fragments from the history of Black British Cinema will include work chosen by the following guest Curators:
 
●        Anthony Andrews & Teanne Andrews (We Are Parable)
 
●        Campbell X (writer/filmmaker)
 
●        David Olusoga (historian, broadcaster and filmmaker)
 
●        George Amponsah (filmmaker)
 
●        Judah Attille (filmmaker)
 
●        Mark Sealy (curator and cultural historian)
 
●        a group of Film Studies / Screenwriting & Film students from Sheffield Hallam University as part of a partnership project led by Dr Chi-Yun Shin (Principal Lecturer in Film Studies).
 
From today, Online Industry Passes are available to filmmakers, artists, freelancers and members of the film, digital art and related communities from all over the world to engage with the artistic and industry programmes online. An early bird offer is available until 10 May. Additional discounts are available for those who are self-employed, under 30, receiving benefits or residing in countries receiving Official Development Assistance.
 
The full programme will be announced on 11 May at which point individual tickets for the film programme, in Sheffield and online – including the Retrospective – will be available.