The 28th edition of the Sheffield DocFest, which concluded on Sunday, has announced the list of movies that were honored at the festival. Brazilian film “Nũhũ Yãg Mũ Yõg Hãm: This Land Is Our Land!” was declared as the best film in the International Competition section at the DocFest. The film, which is directed by Brazilian indigenous director duo Isael and Sueli Maxakali, explores the loss of their own land to local farmers.
The Special Jury Award in the International Competition section was given to Equatorial Constellations (Silas Tiny, Portugal, São Tomé, and Príncipe). Movies like “Summer” (Vadim Kostrov, Russia) and “Double Layered Town / Making a Song to Replace Our Positions” (Komori Haruka and Seo Natsumi, Japan) were honored with special mentions. In the UK Competition section, “Ali and His Miracle Sheep” (Maythem Ridha, Iraq/U.K.) was named as best film, and “Portrait of Kaye” (Ben Reed, U.K.) earned the Special Jury Award. Under the same section, “The Battle of Denham Ford” (Bradley and Bradley, U.K.) was honored with a special mention.
The Tim Hetherington Award, which recognizes a film and filmmaker who reflects journalist Tim Hetherington’s legacy, was awarded to “The Silence of The Mole” (Anais Taracena, Guatemala) with a special mention for the best movie winning “Nũhũ Yãg Mũ Yõg Hãm: This Land Is Our Land!”. The winner of this year’s Youth Jury Award was “If God Were a Woman” (Angélica Cervera, Colombia).
“Fixed barricade at Hamdalaye Crossing” (Thomas Bauer, Guinea/France) won the award for Best First Feature Film. A special mention was honored to “Charm Circle” (Nira Burstein, U.S.), which also won the Audience Award. Barataria was named as the winner of the festival’s Best Short Film Award and qualifies for the Academy Awards. The short movie “Homage to the Work of Philip Henry Gosse” (Pablo Martin Weber, Argentina) was honored with a special mention.
