Daniel Theophanous continues his coverage of the Sheffield Doc Festival.
Read the previous day of coverage here.
Day 5 of the Sheffield Doc Festival started off on a lighter and comedic note. First was the documentary Miso Hungry. An overweight Australian comedian, Craig Anderson, decides to implement the Japanese diet, to not only lose weight but become healthy. He travels to Japan to investigate the benefits of various foods in the diet as well as their lifestyle. The documentary is particularly funny, with the lardy Craig trying to fit into a Japanese society that not only is smaller in size but is serious and discreet, contradicting Craig’s brashness and larger-than-life comedy.
Next came the equally-hilarious documentary Weiner. There had already a buzz about this documentary at the festival prior to its screening, possibly due to the notoriety of the subject matter. Weiner is another fly-on-the-wall documentary about US politician Anthony Weiner, a Democrat who runs for New York major but instead becomes plagued by his sexual infidelities as well as public outbursts. It’s a fascinating and engaging film throughout, as we tour with Wiener through his mayoral campaign trail, cringing at the car crash that is Wiener, with his erratic behaviour and the discrepancies caused by his sexual addictions. The documentary shows just how puritanical and unforgiving American society can be, as unfortunately all the mayhem surrounding Weiner distracted from his forward-thinking policies and his huge support of minority groups.
Obviously there was a long long line for the Luis Theroux documentary My Scientology Movie, but as luck wouldn’t have it we couldn’t get in, so we opted for the documentary Kiki. Kiki is about a subset New York voguing ballroom scene, which provides a haven for LGBT kids of colour. The filming and the featured characters do not say anything that we haven’t heard already, however characters such as Gia, a young transgender woman whose clarity of who she is at such a young age and the willingness to put up with abuse from her surrounding environment that comes with it, are truly inspiring and make for great real-life story telling.
The day ended with another highly-anticipated documentary: Serena, about famous tennis player Serena Williams. The all-access documentary, directed by Ryan White, focuses on the external pressures Williams faces to achieve four Grand Slams in a row. From Australia to France to England to the US, the documentary sees the journey of the four major tournaments throughout the tennis year. This documentary shows the tremendous dedication and focus Serena has to the game, but it doesn’t delve too much outside of the tennis remit, apart from the occasional scene with her family member or her coach. This may not have been much to do with Serena controlling her privacy as to possibly the lack of much of a personal life.
Read the next day of coverage here.
