News

Abba: Against All Odds, directed by James Rogan and produced for BBC/Netflix to mark the 50th anniversary of the quartet’s 1974 Eurovision victory, frames its narrative entirely through archival material. Spanning the watershed moment in Brighton when “Waterloo” vaulted Sweden onto the pop stage through the group’s gradual withdrawal by the early 1980s, the documentary invites viewers into a time capsule of sequined jumpsuits and television broadcasts.

Rogan’s choice to forgo new, on-camera interviews underscores the film’s role as a living scrapbook: viewers sense the electricity of live performance and press clippings exactly as they appeared. This approach foregrounds how historical artifacts can speak across decades, offering both immediacy and distance.

As the doc unfolds, it quietly asks why remembering Abba’s inception matters now—when globalization has remixed cultural exchange into instantaneous digital streams, Rogan’s film reminds us that even pop sensations emerge from...

Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths, Peter Cattaneo’sThe Penguin Lessons and Dylan Southern’sThe Thing With Feathers are among the 14 titles to receive the latest round of UK Global Screen Fund award (Ukgsf) totalling £448,330 through its international distribution fund.

Administered by the British Film Institute (BFI), 111 awards totalling over £3.1m have now been given out by this strand, financed through the UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Dcms).

Support for international distribution provides sales agents and producers with funding via two tracks – prints & advertising (P&a) and festival launch.

The Penguin Lessons,starring Steve Coogan, has received the...

Exclusive: The BBC and Dartmouth Films are marking five years since the death of George Floyd with a feature doc that will be given a theatrical release.

Backlash: The Murder of George Floyd [working title] will feature interviews with members of Floyd’s family, Chief Medaria Arradondo, the Minneapolis Police Chief who took the bold step of testifying against one of his own officers, and then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s closest advisor on race Samuel Kasumu.

The doc comes five years after Floyd was murdered by a white police officer, which was the catalyst for the Black Lives Matter protests of summer 2020.

At a time when diversity initiatives in the U.S. are being scrapped by President Trump’s decree, and Elon Musk is retweeting Ben Shapiro’s call for the police officer who murdered Floyd to be pardoned, the film explores how Floyd’s death became one of the...

Netflix and British docs producer Rogan Productions are to attempt to “connect the long and disturbing chain of events” that led to the disastrous Grenfell Tower fire in London.

The pair are teaming on a Grenfell [working title] doc feature that will air later this year and was revealed last night at the Next on Netflix event in London.

The feature will give a voice to survivors, bereaved families and firefighters, while “tracing the chain of events that led to the disaster,” according to Netflix. In 2017, the Grenfell Tower fire claimed the lives of 72 people and has led to a huge deal of introspection for the past eight years including a major national inquiry.

Netflix UK boss Anne Mensah said last night: “From pure entertainment to the most important stories – this year you will see a number of big British documentary series and films on Netflix UK. These are the important stories that demand to be told.

Exclusive: Nearly 35 years on from his release, Channel 4 has made a definitive documentary series charting Nelson Mandela’s journey.

In Free Nelson Mandela [w/t], the man who was arguably the most famous political prisoner of all time will have his story told by Rogan Productions, the indie behind Stephen: The Murder that Changed a Nation and Abba: Against All Odds, along with GroupM Motion Entertainment.

The South African politician and freedom fighter, who died in 2013, was imprisoned for 27 years during the apartheid era and the campaign for his release was one of the biggest in history. He was let out of prison in February 1990 and the image of him walking free immediately became iconic. Channel 4’s doc will explore how a fierce political struggle and cultural battle was waged to bring about his freedom, as it charts Mandela’s journey from activist to revolutionary to prisoner to negotiator. With access...

Exclusive: The upcoming Abba feature, which will air on 14 broadcasters including the BBC and CW, is an attempt to give the global superstars the Asif Kapadia-style doc treatment for the first time while combatting “Anglo-American” snobbery, according to its director.

James Rogan said previous docs about Abba have been “lovely, full of joy and in the style of the arts programing of the late nineties and noughties,” while his team wanted to hand the show a modern narrative treatment, seen in the work of auteurs like Amy and Senna director Kapadia.

Produced by Rogan Productions, Abba: Against the Odds is a documentary first in that it has been funded by 14 broadcasters including the BBC, CW and Scandinavian networks to help take on the might of the streamers, organized under the auspices of the European Broadcasting Union (Ebu), which runs Eurovision. The 90-minuter will launch a week before the 50th...

Netflix has pulled the curtain back on a slate of UK unscripted originals, including reality competition series Bear Hunt, starring Bear Grylls and Holly Willoughby.

Announced at the Next on Netflix showcase in London, Bear Hunt (working title) will feature survival expert Grylls preying on an unlikely group of British celebrities in the Central American jungle.

Here’s the logline: “Bear believes there’s an action hero inside us all – even the celebs – but how strong is their will to survive? As Bear puts them through their paces, those who fail to impress will face the dreaded ‘Bear Hunt’ – a brutal game of cat and mouse where they’ll be hunted down by Bear himself and, if captured, eliminated from the show.”

The series will premiere next year and will be co-produced by Grylls’ The Natural Studios; Workerbee, the Banijay-backed outfit behind Discovery’s Idris Elba: Fighter; and Fremantle’s Talkback,...

Commission

The BBC has commissioned feature documentary “Abba: Against The Odds” to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the iconic Swedish group winning the Eurovision Song Contest, which takes place this year in Sweden. The documentary will be produced by multi-award winning documentary makers Rogan Productions (“Freddie Mercury: The Final Act”) and directed by James Rogan. It will tell the story of Abba’s greatest period of musical achievement framed between the albums “Arrival” (1976) and “Super Trooper” (1980).

The film is funded by several European broadcasters including BBC, Ard/Wdr, France Télévisions, Svt and Dr. It will feature access to Svt (Swedish public television) archives including rare footage that captures the band’s rise to fame and the negativity they faced at home.

In the U.K. the film will be shown on BBC One and iPlayer in May. BBC Studios will distribute the film internationally and will present it to buyers at BBC Studios Showcase,...

Frankie Corio becomes youngest-ever Bafta Scotland nominee.

Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun leads the nominations for the Bafta Scotland Awards 2023, recognised in five categories: actor film, actress film, director fiction, feature film and writer film/television.

The UK-us co-production has acting nominations for Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio, with Corio becoming the youngest-ever nominee at Bafta Scotland.

Scroll down for the full list of nominations

Wells receives the other three nominations, with producers Mark Ceryak, Amy Jackson, Barry Jenkins and Adele Romanski nominated alongside her for feature film.

Aftersun previously received four nominations at the Bafta Film Awards earlier this year, winning...

Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on the key executives and companies outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week, we’re talking with James and Soleta Rogan, the founders of prolific UK documentary indie Rogan Productions, with past credits including Black Power, Stephen: The Murder that Changed a Nation and Netflix’s My Daughter’s Killer. The pair discuss a rollercoaster 10 years in which they have secured multiple BAFTAs, worked with Steve McQueen and are now winning big business from the streamers.

The 2018 Grierson Awards – Britain’s most prestigious ceremony in the documentary-making calendar – will be remembered for a heartwrenching moment when Baroness Doreen Lawrence spoke beautifully about the legacy of her son Stephen, as she collected two gongs for BBC documentary Stephen: The Murder that Changed a Nation.

Lawrence was introduced on stage by softy spoken Stephen director James Rogan,...

Criterion begin this year (or just go into their fourth month) with a bang. Three 4K releases will mark April: The Seventh Seal (what black levels your Oled will register), The Fisher King, and Triangle of Sadness, surely the fastest theatrical-to-4K pipeline Criterion’s yet managed. Do whatever you will with arguments about Bergman as a still-standing pillar of the canon, try processing the information that Terry Gilliam is one of very few filmmakers to get multiple such releases from Criterion, or grouse that, like seemingly everybody else, you didn’t much enjoy Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winner––it’s nice seeing this many 4K outings in one fell swoop.

But of something like actual historic note is a Blu-ray set for Steve McQueen’s five-film Small Axe, which until now had been relegated to Amazon Prime, a service I can’t navigate because its interface design...

Exclusive: The Euro 2020 Final, which featured a dramatic England penalty defeat to Italy and chaos as thousands of un-ticketed fans attempted to storm Wembley Stadium, is to be charted in a Netflix feature documentary from My Daughter’s Killer producer Rogan Productions.

Airing later this year, Netflix’s as-yet-untitled doc will examine one of the biggest days in English football history through the eyes of those who were there via user-generated content, archive and interviews.

The game was England’s first major football final since winning the World Cup in 1966 and took place on home turf, with the majority of the delayed tournament played in the UK.

And while on the pitch a dramatic match ended in a heartbreaking penalty defeat to Italy, there was plenty of drama off it. Thousands of people without tickets tried to storm the national 90,000-seater stadium and more than 2,000 gained access to Wembley without tickets.

Exclusive: My Daughter’s Killer producer Rogan Productions has signed Passion Pictures’ Nicholas Franklin as Head of Production. Franklin replaces Viv Steele, who has exited after seven years.

Across a two-decade career, Franklin has worked on the likes of Netflix’s Catching Killers, the BBC’s David Harewood: Psychosis and Me and Channel 4’s Charlie Hebdo: Three Days That Shook Paris.

He joins Soleta and James Rogan’s outfit that is in a period of growth, having won a string of commissions during the past 12 months and recently expanded to Scotland.

Nicholas Franklin

The company most recently made Netflix’s My Daughter’s Killer and the likes of Made in the 80s: The Decade that Shaped Our World, and is currently working on a BBC documentary following Strictly Come Dancing winner Rose Ayling-Ellis. Past credits include the BAFTA-nominated Black Power: A British Story of Resistance, Putin: A Russian Spy...

Purin Pictures Cash

Purin Pictures, a non-profit Asian film financier, is to give grants to two Burmese, two Cambodian, two Thai, and one Indonesian project in its latest funding round. “We are excited to support multiple projects from Myanmar and Cambodia, two countries that have less developed film industries than their Southeast Asian neighbors,” said Purin Pictures co-director Anocha Suwichakornpong. Production grants worth 30,000 each go to “The Beer Girl in Yangon,” by Sein Lyan Tun, “Fruit Gathering,” by Aung Phyoe, both debut featuring new voices in Burmese cinema, and “9 Temples to Heaven,” the debut fiction feature of Sompot Chidgasornpongse.

Post-production grants of 35,000 each go to documentaries “Tongue of Water,” by Polen Ly and “Double Jeopardy,” by Phally Ngoeum, both shining a light on the struggle of Cambodian individuals against the larger forces of the state, and documentaries “Monisme ,”by Riar Rizaldi and “Breaking the Cycle,” by Akeaphong Saransate and Thanakrit Duangmaneeporn.

Exclusive: BAFTA-winning Uprising producer Rogan Productions and Electric Shadow Company are forging Original Sin, a documentary miniseries exploring South African alleged murderer Gerhard Jansen van Vuuren and his trial.

After allegedly violently murdering his girlfriend Andrea Venter, when she was 25, in front of witnesses and CCTV cameras, and escaping prison twice, van Vuuren evaded the authorities across two continents for years, assumed three different identities and started families with several different women, before he was caught in 2020.

His trial was filmed as part of the doc and sentencing is due next month, while producers gained access to many of the major characters in the case along with reams of archive from both van Vuuren and Venter’s family.

The producers are forging as a mini-series but have the option to craft into a feature film. African producer MultiChoice Studios is also on board and Original Sin is being made in association...

Channel 4 and HBO’s lauded drama It’s a Sin missed out in several major categories at the BAFTA TV Awards this evening, as the BBC and ITV emerged as the big winners. Scroll down for the full list.

Russell T Davies’ Red Production Company-created drama was up for Best Mini-Series, with Olly Alexander in contention for Leading Actor and Lydia West competing for Leading Actress.

However, BBC prison drama Time won the Mini-Series category, Sean Bean won Leading Actor for the same drama and Jodie Comer’s performance in Channel 4’s Help pipped West and Kate Winslet in the Leading Actress Category.

Compounding a disappointing evening for the hotly-tipped show, Callum Scott Howells, Omari Douglas and David Carlyle lost out to Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen in the Supporting Actor category. It’s a Sin writer Davies, who earlier today unveiled Sex Education’s Ncuti Gatwa as Doctor Who’s next Time Lord,...

The CW is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the star-studded Freddie Mercury tribute concert with a new documentary.

The network has acquired BBC doc Freddie Mercury: The Final Act, which tells the story of how the legendary Queen frontman’s friends mounted a tribute concert in his honor to raise awareness and fight shame around HIV/AIDS.

The doc will launch on the linear network on April 20 and will be followed by an extended cut of the special featuring additional footage airing on The CW’s digital services.

The concert features performances from the likes of Elton John, George Michael and David Bowie. It features interviews with Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen as well as The Who’s Roger Daltrey and Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott as well as the concert’s promoter, Harvey Goldsmith. It also features the first major interview with Kashmira Bulsara, Freddie’s sister.

Cinema Eye Honors, an influential bellwether in the race for documentary awards, kicked off its 15th year with non-fiction award-winners announced at its annual Los Angeles lunch attended by many top filmmakers. Steve James’ five-part Chicago series “City So Real,” and Spike Lee’s filmed portrait of David Byrne’s Broadway show “American Utopia” lead the Cinema Eye Honors broadcast nominations list with three nods apiece. “David Byrne’s American Utopia” is one of five films up for Outstanding Broadcast Film, while “City So Real” joins five other series in the Nonfiction Series category. Both projects were nominated for Outstanding Broadcast Editing and Cinematography.

“It is notable that both of this year’s most nominated Broadcast entries are part of the creative legacy of Diane Weyermann,” said Cinema Eye Founding Director Aj Schnack. The beloved documentary veteran, who died last week, was an Executive Producer on both “City So Real” and “American Utopia.

Cinema Eye Honors, an influential bellwether in the race for documentary awards, kicked off its 15th year with non-fiction award-winners announced at its annual Los Angeles lunch attended by many top filmmakers. Steve James’ five-part Chicago series “City So Real,” and Spike Lee’s filmed portrait of David Byrne’s Broadway show “American Utopia” lead the Cinema Eye Honors broadcast nominations list with three nods apiece. “David Byrne’s American Utopia” is one of five films up for Outstanding Broadcast Film, while “City So Real” joins five other series in the Nonfiction Series category. Both projects were nominated for Outstanding Broadcast Editing and Cinematography.

“It is notable that both of this year’s most nominated Broadcast entries are part of the creative legacy of Diane Weyermann,” said Cinema Eye Founding Director Aj Schnack. The beloved documentary veteran, who died last week, was an Executive Producer on both “City So Real” and “American Utopia.

Steve McQueen’s 2020 anthology film series “Small Axe” grew out of a desire to shed light on Black resistance movements in Britain, between the 1960s and 1980s. So, too, does a complementary new franchise of individual documentaries, executive produced by McQueen, which chronicle pivotal stories from recent British history largely ignored by media. Viewed collectively, the films make it clear that McQueen almost single-handedly aims to disrupt the preferred timeline with films that detail tumultuous crusades for change that cross borders, and still very much resonate today.

“When I was growing up, we did not learn about our own history unfortunately, which is why ‘Roots’ was so popular,” McQueen said, referring to the multiple Emmy-winning 1977 television miniseries. “Anything about any kind of Black history, even if it wasn’t great, or even if it wasn’t necessarily positive, Black people would flock to the television. I remember the streets were...

Director Steve McQueen has followed up on “Small Axe,” last year’s narrative anthology series about West Indian immigrants in London, with another series about Black British history: “Uprising,” a three-part documentary series about three related events in 1981 — the New Cross house fire, Black People’s Day of Action and the Brixton riots.

The series, which he co-directed with James Rogan, is now streaming on Amazon Prime, along with two companion documentaries that McQueen executive produced: “Black Power: A British Story of Resistance” and “Subnormal: A British Scandal,” the latter about British education of Black children.

The first episode of “Uprising,” “Fire,” begins with interviews of people present at the party where the New Cross house fire broke out, a tragedy that killed 13 Black teenagers. While it almost feels related to the fictional house party in the “Small Axe” film “Lovers Rock,” McQueen says that they’re completely unrelated, besides...

September is shaping up to be a great month for fans of Steve McQueen. Amazon announced on Monday that three of the Academy Award-winning filmmaker’s new documentaries will premiere on the Prime Video streaming service in September. McQueen co-directed one of the three films and produced each one.

All three documentaries — “Uprising,” “Black Power: A British Story of Resistance,” and “Subnormal: A British Scandal” — explore key themes and events depicted in McQueen’s award-winning “Small Axe“ anthology, which is currently streaming on Prime Video. Each documentary features first-hand interviews with key participants in the events, many of whom are telling their stories for the first time. McQueen is an executive producer on all three documentaries alongside James Rogan, Tracey Scoffield, and Soleta Rogan. The documentaries will premiere on September 17.

Per Amazon, “Uprising” is a vivid and visceral three-part documentary series (comprised of three hour-long episodes) examining three events from...

"The Black community cannot just stand by and allow this to happen." Amazon has released an official US trailer for the BBC documentary series by Steve McQueen & James Rogan called Uprising. This first premiered in the UK in July, and arrives on Prime Video in the US + Canada this September. Uprising is a 3-part doc series made for the BBC by McQueen (fresh off of making the fantastic Small Axe anthology of films) and Rogan. The series is about the tragedy and aftermath of events in 1981 which it argues would go on to define race relations in the United Kingdom for a generation. There's three Uprising episodes: one about the New Cross house fire which took the lives of 13 black teenagers in January 1981; one about the day in March 1981, Black People's Day of Action, which saw more than 20,000 people join the first organized mass protest by black British people; one...

Steve McQueen will premiere three new documentaries — “Uprising,” “Black Power: A British Story of Resistance” and “Subnormal: A British Scandal” — on Amazon Prime Video on Sept. 17.

Directed by McQueen and James Rogan, “Uprising” is a three-part docuseries that examines three events from 1981 in the U.K. — The New Cross Fire, which killed 13 Black youths; the Black People’s Day of Action, which saw over 20,000 join the first organized mass protest of Black British people; and the Brixton riots, a series of clashes between Black youths and the Metropolitan Police. “Uprising” will explore how these events are intertwined and how they defined race relations for a generation.

Helmed by George Amponsah, “Black Power: A British Story of Resistance” tells the story of the Black Power movement in Britain. Featuring rare archival footage of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael’s activities in the U.K. — along with footage...

The BBC has ordered a raft of factual and arts programming, including three-part BBC Two docu-series Frida & Diego, an exploration of the personal and political life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and her relationship with Diego Rivera.

The Rogan Films production will be directed by Louise Lockwood. Executive producers are James Rogan, Nancy Bornat and Mark Hedgecoe. BBC commissioner is Emma Cahusac.

Four-part series Black Art Matters will examine how African-American creativity has transformed popular culture. It is the first series commission for BBC Small Indie Fund company Milk And Honey Productions, whose previous work for the BBC includes The Trouble With Naipaul, Stacey Dooley Investigates Spycams and Sex Criminals. Executive producer is Lucy Pilkington and the series will be made in association with Afua Hirsch and her production company, Born In Me.

Meanwhile, the new slate also includes Union With David Olusoga, a five-part BBC Two docu-series about union and disunion in the UK.

Fifty years ago at this time, the world was just beginning to absorb the impact of Marvin Gaye’s seminal concept album What’s Going On. The LP, released on May 21, 1971, told a story in music from the point of view of a Vietnam veteran returning to an America beset by poverty, injustice and ecological crisis.

In a plaintive tenor voice, Gaye sang in the title track, “Father, father/We don’t need to escalate/You see, war is not the answer/For only love can conquer hate.”

As revealed in the Emmy-contending documentary series 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything, Gaye’s was not the only remarkable statement made in popular music within that turbulent time frame.

“I mean every major artist—male, female, group, individual—seems almost to a complete level deliver their masterworks that year. So many big records made,” executive producer James Gay-Rees tells Deadline.

Was 1971 the best single year for recorded popular music, ever? Or merely the year in which it reached peak cultural significance? Maybe, just maybe, the answer could be: both. You’ll certainly be hard-pressed to come up with a better argument for another annum after watching all eight episodes of “1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything,” which just premiered on Apple TV Plus.

Let’s face it: Your well-considered alternate pick is going to have a hard time besting the year that generated Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” Carole King’s “Tapestry,” Joni Mitchell’s “Blue,” the Who’s “Who’s Next,” Elton John’s “Madman Across the Water,” T. Rex’s “Electric Warrior,” Bill Withers’ “Just as I Am,” the Rolling Stones’ “Sticky Fingers,” Sly and the Family Stone’s “There’s a Riot Goin’ On,” Pink Floyd’s “Meddle,” the Doors’ “L.A. Woman,” Janis Joplin’s “Pearl,...

From the filmmakers behind Senna & Amy comes a new series documenting the powerful and politically charged music of 1971, and the impact it had on society at the time. To mark its release – on Apple TV+ this Friday – we had the pleasure in speaking to the talented minds behind the project; producers Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees and director James Rogan.

We discuss the relevance of the project and how life then was comparable to now, and on the impact music had at the time. They comment on the archive footage, such as brilliant, candid interviews with John Lennon, while they also speak about how music compares nowadays, and if modern generations have been as lucky as those who lives through the birth of so many new styles back in the 60s and 70s.

We also ask Kapadia what has he lined up next, following the huge success of his biographical docs,...

Apple TV+’s 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything is immersive and fairly ambitious. The eight-part documentary series wants to run 33 revolutions per minute, and only comes up about a third short. It captures how musicians’ fingers were on the pulse of the day’s headlines and the laid the tracks for the nights’ rhythms.

Artists sang the news, sometimes causing it, other times reacting. Rock and roll had grown up and rock musicians took on responsibilities. Rhythm and blues got loose and soul musicians took to the streets. A former University of California philosophy professor named Angela Davis was charged with aiding and abetting the murder of a judge and Aretha Franklin personally offered to post bail.

The documentary series points out how The Beatles took the lead on youth culture movement during the 1960s, and how the elder society tried to beat it down in the 1970s,...

My Name Is Pauli Murray will be among the films screening across the UK Photo: Pauli Murray Foundation

Sheffield DocFest has announced its full line-up for this year's festival, which will run from June 4 to 13, both physically in the city and online.

The slate includes 55 world premieres, 22 international premieres, 15 European premieres and 59 UK premieres across 57 countries with 63 languages represented, including new International and UK Competitions, and a Northern (England) Focus.

Highlights include the world premiere of the first instalment of Academy Award winner Steve McQueen’s new series for the BBC, Uprising. Directed by Steve McQueen & James Rogan, the film - about the 1981 New Cross fire - will be presented as a Special Screening.

The festival has previously announced that this year’s Retrospective: Films belong to those who need them - fragments from the history of Black British Cinema, will be a celebration of Black British screen culture -...

Sheffield Doc/Fest, the key UK documentary event, has revealed its full line-up for this year, including an international competition comprised of 11 features.

Those titles are: Charm Circle by Nira Burstein; Rancho by Pedro Speroni; Factory to the Workers by Srđan Kovačević; Summer by Vadim Kostrov; Equatorial Constellations by Silas Tiny; From the 84 Days by Philipp Hartmann; This Stained Dawn by Anam Abbas; Nũhũ Yãg Mũ Yõg Hãm: This Land Is Our Land! by Isael Maxakali, Sueli Maxakali, Carolina Canguçu and Roberto Romero; White on White by Viera Čákanyová; Double Layered Town / Making a Song to Replace Our Positions by Komori Haruka and Seo Natsumi; and My Dear Spies by Vladimir Léon.

The program of special screenings includes the world premiere of Steve McQueen’s Uprising, a three-part BBC series co-directed with James Rogan chronicling three events in 1981: in January, the New Cross Fire which killed 13 black teenagers; in March, Black People’s Day of Action, which saw more than 20,000 people join the first organised mass protest by black British people; and the Brixton riots in April.

In total, the fest will screen 55 world premieres, 22 International premieres, 15 European premieres and 59 UK premieres. It is taking place in both a virtual and physical form, with UK cinemas re-opening today (May 17). As previously announced, the fest will open with the European premiere of Questlove’s Sundance prize winner Summer Of Soul, and close with The Story of Looking, the latest documentary from prolific filmmaker Mark Cousins.

The festival will take place in Sheffield, across the UK, and online.

The programme for the 28th edition of Sheffield Doc/Fest includes the world premiere of the first episode of Uprising, a three-part documentary series from UK filmmakers Steve McQueen and James Rogan.

Doc/Fest 2021 will play 55 world premieres and 22 international premieres, for the event running in Sheffield, across the UK and online from June 4-13.

Scroll down for the Competition titles

First announced last week and playing at the festival as a Special Screening, Uprising will examine three events from 1981 - in January, the New Cross Fire which killed 13 black teenagers; in March,...

The 2021 Sheffield Doc/Fest has announced its competition contenders alongside its full program.

The international competition includes “Charm Circle” “Rancho”, “Factory to the Workers” and “Summer”.

Also competing are “Equatorial Constellations”, “From the 84 Days”, “This Stained Dawn”, “Nũhũ Yãg Mũ Yõg Hãm: This Land Is Our Land!”, “White on White”, “Double Layered Town / Making a Song to Replace Our Positions” and “My Dear Spies”.

The festival’s complete program includes 55 world premieres, 22 international premieres, 15 European premieres and 59 U.K. premieres from 57 countries with 63 languages represented, spread over 78 features and 88 shorts.

Being presented as special screenings this year are five world premieres. Steve McQueen and James Rogan’s new series “Uprising”; Clive Patterson’s “Sing, Freetown”; and working with U.K. poet laureate Simon Armitage, Brian Hill presents “Where Did The World Go.” Additionally, three films will offer different perspectives on 9/11 and its consequences — “My Childhood, My Country – 20 Years in Afghanistan...

After the global success of “Small Axe,” the BBC and acclaimed British filmmaker Steve McQueen are teaming again for documentary series “Uprising.”

The three-part series will explore three seminal events of 1981 that changed race relations in the U.K. and defined them for a generation. In January 1981, a fire at a party in the London suburb of New Cross killed 13 Black teenagers. In March, more than 20,000 people joined Black People’s Day of Action, the first organized protest by Black Britons. And April was when the Brixton riots took place.

Some of these events formed the backdrop for the “Alex Wheatle” episode of “Small Axe.”

James Rogan, who directed the BBC documentary mini-series “Stephen: The Murder that Changed a Nation,” about an epochal racially-charged U.K. killing, will co-direct “Uprising” with McQueen. Rogan and McQueen previously co-executive produced BBC’s Black-themed documentaries “Black Power” and “Subnormal.”

The BBC One series was commissioned by Charlotte Moore,...

Steve McQueen will further cement his creative partnership with the BBC by co-directing a documentary series on three dramatic events in the UK in 1981 that defined race relations for a generation.

Titled Uprising, the three-part series will examine the intertwined events of the New Cross Fire that killed 13 Black teenagers at a house party in January 1981; the Black People’s Day of Action mass protest in March of that year; and finally, the Brixton riots in April.

McQueen will helm Uprising alongside James Rogan (Stephen: The Murder That Changed a Nation), with the latter’s Rogan Productions housing the series. It is the second project McQueen and Rogan are collaborating on after teaming for BBC films Black Power and Subnormal, which were conceived during production on anthology drama Small Axe.

McQueen said: “It is an honour to make these films with testimonials from the survivors, investigators, activists and representatives of the machinery of state.

Steve McQueen and the BBC are building on the huge success of Small Axe with a new three-part docuseries diving back into Black British history and examining some of the key historical moments that were referenced in the Golden Globe-winning and BAFTA-nominated anthology series.

Uprising is set to explore three events that took place in early 1981 — the New Cross Fire that killed 13 black teenagers, the Black People’s Day of Action in which more than 20,000 people joined the march organized by Black British people, and the Brixton Riots. Directed by McQueen and James Rogan, the series aims to reveal ...

Steve McQueen and the BBC are building on the huge success of Small Axe with a new three-part docuseries diving back into Black British history and examining some of the key historical moments that were referenced in the Golden Globe-winning and BAFTA-nominated anthology series.

Uprising is set to explore three events that took place in early 1981 — the New Cross Fire that killed 13 black teenagers, the Black People’s Day of Action in which more than 20,000 people joined the march organized by Black British people, and the Brixton Riots. Directed by McQueen and James Rogan, the series aims to reveal ...

Fifty years ago the Vietnam War was raging, the civil rights era had morphed into the Black Power movement, President Nixon declared a war on drugs and not only the U.S. but other countries seemed in danger of coming apart at the seams.

It was also a time of groundbreaking popular music—records that went beyond merely reflecting the moment to actually shaping it. That feeling of an artistic eruption in the midst of a society in crisis comes through in 1971: The Year Music Changed Everything, an eight-part documentary series from Apple TV+.

“So much music that we recognize today had its birth in that year,” editor and executive producer Chris King said during the panel discussion at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted awards-season event. “We wanted to root it there and make you live that year in a full way.”

Carole King released her album Tapestry...

When debates are had about what year in history represented popular music’s peak, the argument is often made for 1971. Apple TV Plus clearly gives some credence to that belief. The platform has announced imminent plans to premiere “1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything,” an eight-episode documentary series dedicated to using archival footage and vintage and fresh interviews to explore why rock ‘n’ roll and R&b reached maximum vitality during that politically fraught time.

The series, which bows May 21, comes from a filmmaking team that includes principals who worked together on such previous film documentaries as “Amy” (about the late Amy Winehouse), “Exit Through the Gift Shop” and “Senna.”

“1971” has the luxuriant running time to hit upon many if not most of the inordinate number of masterpieces that came out that year, from the Who’s “Who’s Next” to Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Goin’ On.” It...

1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything, an eight-part docuseries from the team behind the Oscar-winning documentary film Amy, is heading to Apple TV+

Executive produced by Oscar, BAFTA and Grammy winners Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees the docuseries will explore the musicians and soundtracks that shaped the culture and politics of 1971. It’s set to premiere May 21 on Apple TV+.

Spring Premiere Dates As Networks Adjust Schedules Amid Coronavirus Crisis: Broadcast, Cable & Streaming

With the use of archival footage and interviews, 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything, will show how the musical icons of the time were influenced by the changing tides of history; and, in turn, how they used their music to inspire hope, change and the culture around them. The docuseries will examine the iconic artists and songs that we still listen to 50 years later, including The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley,...

Steve McQueen, currently riding a wave of global acclaim for his BBC/Amazon anthology “Small Axe,” will executive produce two Black-themed documentaries for the BBC.

“Black Power,” which originated from an idea McQueen had while filming “Small Axe,” will examine how the Black Power movement came into being in the late 1960s and fought back against police brutality and racism.

The films features rare archive of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael’s activities in Britain, as well as footage of leading figures in the movement in the U.K., Altheia Jones-LeCointe, Darcus Howe and Roy Sawh. They shed fresh light on the stories of Black youth in the ’60s and ’70s who challenged the British establishment and helped to shape a new political and cultural landscape in the U.K.

BAFTA-nominated George Amponsah will direct the documentary, which will play on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

“Subnormal,...

Steve McQueen is to executive produce two documentaries for the BBC that were conceived while shooting Small Axe. One will examine Black power in Britain, while the second film investigates how Black children in the 1960s and 1970s were disproportionately sent to schools for the so-called “educationally subnormal.”

Black Power (working title) is directed by BAFTA-nominated George Amponsah (Hard Stop) and looks at how the movement came into being in the late 1960s, when it fought back against police brutality and racism. The film will include rare footage of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Stokely Carmichael’s activities in Britain, as well as footage of leading figures in the movement in the UK, including Altheia Jones-LeCointe, Darcus Howe, and Roy Sawh.

Subnormal is helmed by new talent Lyttanya Shannon. It tells the story of the UK schools scandal through the eyes of Black parents, teachers, and activists who banded...

Forty eight projects have been chosen for the online edition,

Projects on climate change movement Extinction Rebellion and the Saudi Arabia women’s football team are among those selected for Sheffield Doc/Fest’s 2020 online marketplace MeetMarket.

The documentary market will take place via virtual video-conferencing from June 8-10 June, with the Alternate Realities Talent Market running on the same dates.

Among the 48 projects from 500 applications selected for the MeetMarket is Xr Beyond The Emergency from the UK. Directed by Maia Kenworthy and Elena Sánchez Bellot and produced by Katrina Mansoor, it centres on the ordinary people who are devoting...

Exclusive: London-based doc specialist Dogwoof, which has a pipeline deal with Nat Geo, is expanding further into production and financing as it eyes bigger plays in an increasingly crowded and lucrative factual market.

The film and TV distribution company, a regular at major European film and TV markets, has had a banner year with Oscar-winner Free Solo and Apollo 11 returning strong grosses at the UK box office, taking $2.7m and $1.8m, respectively.

The firm’s sales wing has also done good recent business on the likes of Cunningham, which went to Magnolia Pictures, and Maiden, which sold to Sony Pictures Classics.

Now, we can reveal the six titles that will comprise the outfit’s next wave of productions. (All working titles.) Below is also our interview with company bosses about growth.

The Lost Leonardo (in production): From director Andreas Koefoed, whose Ballroom Dancer played...

British broadcaster Channel 4has unveiled its latest programming slate including a Muslim punk comedy, a three-part doc series about Russian President Vladimir Putin and a reality series set within a Namibian tribe.

The shows were announced by Channel 4 at the start of the Edinburgh International Television Festival.

NBCU-backed Working Title Television is making Lady Parts, a six-part comedy about an all female Muslim punk band. From writer/director Nida Manzoor, the half-hour series follows the eponymous band, featuring geeky Phd student and lead guitarist Amina Hussein and fierce and enigmatic front-woman Saira. Saira uses Amina’s desperation to find a husband as leverage, offering to hook up dates for her if she agrees to join the band. Amina has never, ever met girls like this before, and soon gets swept up in their joyful anarchic energy. But will she be the key to the band’s success? And...

Russell T Davies historical drama scoops three gongs at London event.

A Very English Scandal picked up three Bafta Craft Awards last night (April 28), beating Killing Eve and Patrick Melrose, which each won two awards. Meanwhile, script supervisor Emma Thomas was honoured with the Bafta Craft Special Award for her outstanding contribution to the industry.

A Very English Scandal won for Costume Design, Director: Fiction and Editing: Fiction, while Killing Eve picked up awards for Original Music and Sound: Fiction. Patrick Melrose won the Production Design and Writer: Drama awards.

The awards celebrate the best behind-the-scenes television talent of the last 12 months.

A Very English Scandal, the BBC and Amazon co-production, scored three gongs at the BAFTA TV Craft Awards. The Hugh Grant-fronted mini-series beat two other high-profile U.S.-backed series, Killing Eve and Patrick Melrose, which both won two awards at the behind-the-scenes awards.

The event was hosted by Episodes’ Stephen Mangan in London and comes ahead of the main awards next month.

A Very English Scandal, based on the Jeremy Thorpe scandal, won in Costume Design, Director: Fiction and Editing: Fiction, while BBC America’s Killing Eve picked up the Original Music and Sound: Fiction awards and Showtime and Sky co-pro Patrick Melrose received the Production Design and Writer: Drama award with David Nicholls beating Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Russell T Davies and Lennie James to the latter.

2019 Winners

Writer: Drama

David Nicholls Patrick Melrose – Two Cities / SunnyMarch / Little Island Productions / Sky Atlantic

Lennie James Save Me – World Productions / Sky...

“American Honey” took the top prize at the 2016 British Independent Film Awards, which was held on Sunday at London’s Old Billingsgate.

“American Honey” was named Best British Independent Film, and also scored three additional awards (including Best Director for Andrea Arnold). Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight” was the night’s only non-uk winner, picking up honors for Best International Independent Film.

The 19th annual Bifa ceremony, hosted by Jennifer Saunders, also presented Clare Binns with the Special Jury Prize for her “unstinting efforts in bringing independent film to new audiences.”

Naomie Harris was also presented the Variety Award by Danny Boyle, in recognition of the global impact she made this year in helping to focus the international film spotlight on the UK.

Read More: La Film Critics Association Name the Best Films and Performances of 2016

The Richard Harris Award was given to Alison Steadman by Richard Harris’ granddaughter Ella Harris and...

The 19th Fantasia International Film Festival is right around the corner. Though the full lineup for the festival won't be unveiled until early next month, the second wave of Fantasia titles have been revealed and horror fans have a lot to look forward to.

Press Release: "Montreal, June 11, 2015 – The 19th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival, presented by Ubisoft and Anchor Bay, will soon be stunning Montreal with three weeks of cinematic ingenuity from July 14 until August 4, 2015.

Fantasia's complete lineup of programming and special events will be revealed on July 7th. To tide you over until then, we're thrilled to announce an incredible Second Wave of titles!

The International Premiere Of Takeshi Kitano’S Ryuzo And The Seven Henchmen

Coming immediately after his Outrage saga, Takeshi Kitano’s hilarious crime story stars screen legend Tatsuya Fuji (In The Realm Of The Senses) as a retired yakuza who realizes...

A little over one month away, the Fantasia Film Festival announced it’s second wave of titles this morning. Fantasia Film Festival holds a special place in the hearts of Sound on Sight and we could not be more excited for their upcoming edition which promises to be bigger and better than ever. Arguably the largest genre film festival in the world, Fantasia will run from July 14th to August 4th this year and feature a large number of world and international premieres. The full-lineup, including special events, will be announced on July 7th.

From the official press release, here are some titles we can now look forward to:

The International Premiere Of Takeshi Kitano’S Ryuzo And The Seven Henchmen

Coming immediately after his Outrage saga, Takeshi Kitano’s hilarious crime story stars screen legend Tatsuya Fuji (In The Realm Of The Senses) as a retired yakuza who realizes...