Reading this makes me feel ambivalent about attending... I've had great times at Doc/Fest but I'm uneasy about supporting a festival with poor labour practices - although obviously, this is an industry-wide issue.
Not sure if this is relevant, but I've not noticed any outreach being advertised this year, such as the Door to Doc programme that ran in the past. This seems to lend support to the idea that the festival is becoming more commercial in focus...
the connection Doc/Fest has to Sheffield has historically been poor - the Door to Doc scheme was good, and there was some noticeable local outreach a few years ago (pre-pandemic), but much like its delegates, DocFest just lands in Sheffield for a week and then disappears for another year (it's no good just tapping everyone on the shoulder a month ahead of the event and saying 'hey look we're here').
No connection to the city at all, despite 'Sheffield' being in the title.
And yes, their reputation within the local film and events community around how they treat staff is terrible (and it has been for over a decade).
Surprised the incident of racism at the Stacey Dooley Q&A at the Crucible in 2019 (just a year before BlackLivesMatter) wasn't mentioned here, but as the article suggests people can forget things quickly (or that's what they hope).
Yeah, speaking as a native Sheffielder it's a bit odd when you realise the extent to which it's an international festival. I've sometimes felt a bit unwelcome despite it being my home city, although of course I don't expect to feel welcome everywhere - it's a film festival and I don't make films!
Not aware of the 2019 Dooley incident - I haven't attended properly in years. Cost of living and all that.
Well that's the thing - as a native Sheffielder, you should feel welcome/comfortable to attend any part of it (it's all taking place in your city).
But it is essentially a London event, that just takes place in Sheffield.
And yeah an audience member asked Stacey Dooley during the Q&A about the "White saviour" photo (Google it) that came out a while before the event, she got defensive and said she didn't care about any criticisms. People of colour in the audience sadly experienced hostility from others there during this exchange and after, including from some who were with Stacey Dooley - all this just 12 months before she and DocFest posted statements of 'in solidarity' with BlackLivesMatter in 2020.
They had to drop that Bill Wyman documentary as well (Google that too) in the same year as Stacey Dooley's appearance after the public backlash (why they programmed it in the first place I've no idea) - just really poor desicion making historically.
But the problems with DocFest run deep, going back at least 10 years (there are far more unhappy former staff members than just those in this article - the treatment of some people has actually been abusive).
"They put on lots of work that is politically motivated or is trying to expose injustice,” he tells me. “But their working practices sometimes fall short of the films that they show."
Reading this makes me feel ambivalent about attending... I've had great times at Doc/Fest but I'm uneasy about supporting a festival with poor labour practices - although obviously, this is an industry-wide issue.
Not sure if this is relevant, but I've not noticed any outreach being advertised this year, such as the Door to Doc programme that ran in the past. This seems to lend support to the idea that the festival is becoming more commercial in focus...
the connection Doc/Fest has to Sheffield has historically been poor - the Door to Doc scheme was good, and there was some noticeable local outreach a few years ago (pre-pandemic), but much like its delegates, DocFest just lands in Sheffield for a week and then disappears for another year (it's no good just tapping everyone on the shoulder a month ahead of the event and saying 'hey look we're here').
No connection to the city at all, despite 'Sheffield' being in the title.
And yes, their reputation within the local film and events community around how they treat staff is terrible (and it has been for over a decade).
Surprised the incident of racism at the Stacey Dooley Q&A at the Crucible in 2019 (just a year before BlackLivesMatter) wasn't mentioned here, but as the article suggests people can forget things quickly (or that's what they hope).
Yeah, speaking as a native Sheffielder it's a bit odd when you realise the extent to which it's an international festival. I've sometimes felt a bit unwelcome despite it being my home city, although of course I don't expect to feel welcome everywhere - it's a film festival and I don't make films!
Not aware of the 2019 Dooley incident - I haven't attended properly in years. Cost of living and all that.
Well that's the thing - as a native Sheffielder, you should feel welcome/comfortable to attend any part of it (it's all taking place in your city).
But it is essentially a London event, that just takes place in Sheffield.
And yeah an audience member asked Stacey Dooley during the Q&A about the "White saviour" photo (Google it) that came out a while before the event, she got defensive and said she didn't care about any criticisms. People of colour in the audience sadly experienced hostility from others there during this exchange and after, including from some who were with Stacey Dooley - all this just 12 months before she and DocFest posted statements of 'in solidarity' with BlackLivesMatter in 2020.
They had to drop that Bill Wyman documentary as well (Google that too) in the same year as Stacey Dooley's appearance after the public backlash (why they programmed it in the first place I've no idea) - just really poor desicion making historically.
But the problems with DocFest run deep, going back at least 10 years (there are far more unhappy former staff members than just those in this article - the treatment of some people has actually been abusive).
"They put on lots of work that is politically motivated or is trying to expose injustice,” he tells me. “But their working practices sometimes fall short of the films that they show."
Much like many trade unions...