4-6pm: Sheffield Doc/Fest – Doc Funding Workshop with Hussain Currimbhoy
Hussain Currimbhoy of Doc/Fest will lead a workshop on the current state of documentary funding in the UK. Currimbhoy will give us insight into how docs are being financed and what filmmakers can expect when trying to get their projects out there. Talk will include an overview of Doc/Fest’s financing initiative the MeetMarket and touch on the differences in funding with European sources versus those in the United States, and also present an overview of his experiences programming documentaries and what distribution outlooks are for films following festival runs.
7:30pm: Bastardy by Amiel Courtin-Wilson (Australia, 2008, 84 minutes, DVD)
Video Q&A with Courtin-Wilson following the screening.
Provocative, funny and profoundly moving, Bastardy is the inspirational story of a self proclaimed Robin Hood of the streets. For Forty years and with infectious humour and optimism, Jack Charles has juggled a life of crime with another successful career- acting. Since founding the first Aboriginal theatre company in the 1970’s, Jack has performed with Australia’s most renowned actors (Geoffrey Rush, David Gulpilil, Bill Hunter) and directors in feature films (The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Bedevil) TV series and hundreds of plays. Filmmaker Amiel Courtin-Wilson follows Jack over seven years- gradually blurring the line between director and accomplice as Jack continually traverses the criminal and acting worlds. However the law finally catches up with Jack and when he faces a jail sentence he might not survive, he is forced to decide if he can go straight for the first time in his life. Bastardy is the story of one man’s journey into the light.
“Documentaries come from an insatiable curiosity” -Amiel Courtin-Wilson, The Age
“Jack’s personal philosophy is so life affirming, infectious and effervescent…” -Film Ink
“A deeply compassionate documentary…” -Sun Herald
Hussain Currimbhoy worked in programming for the Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide Film Festivals in Australia before taking over as the programmer of Sheffield Doc/Fest in 2008. Hussain fell into programming. Before the festival addiction took hold, Hussain completed a bachelor of arts in film from Curtin University in Perth, Australia and a postgraduate diploma in film from the Victorian College of Art in Melbourne, writing and directing seven short narrative films in the process. Hussain is a champion of the independent documentary and lover of the documentary audience.
