Oscar Winner Kevin Macdonald To Join Sheffield DocFest’s 30th Edition As Filmmaking Mentor, As U.K. Event Reveals Full Industry Program

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald is among the marquee names set to participate in Sheffield DocFest’s Industry Program, according to an announcement today from the U.K.’s leading documentary festival.

Macdonald, director of the scripted/narrative features The Last King of Scotland and The Mauritanian, and the documentaries Whitney, Marley, and Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang among other films, will serve as a mentor for the DocFest’s Filmmaker Challenge.

Under the innovative program, “six early-career UK filmmakers will make a short documentary in and around Sheffield during the festival… on the fly, with a micro budget and equipment support… All filming is to be undertaken in a single day and the final work will be screened for industry and invited guests on the last day of Sheffield DocFest.” The Filmmaker Challenge is one of several components of Sheffield’s Industry Program and Market, which runs in conjunction with the festival from June 14-19.

The program includes 21 Industry Sessions for industry delegates featuring discussions and panels on topics such as “disability inclusion, 10 Ways to win a commission, pathways for the new talent, neurodiversity inclusion, social mobility, journalistic integrity and creative distribution and exhibition.” Beccy Ashdown, Talks & Sessions senior producer, noted: “This year, the industry sessions program will pose some big questions.