Sheffield DocFest Presents: Growing Pains

Chloë and Cait are two young film programmers from Rotherham and have curated the Growing Pains film screenings, which are centred around coming of age stories from a wide range of communities internationally, exploring themes of self- discovery, co-creation, storytelling and dreams.

The programme aims to strengthen community, and encourage connection through creativity.

Ozogoche + Q&A

In the Ecuadorian Andes, the Ozogoche community await the Cuvivíes, culturally celebrated birds who, inexplicably, migrate from North America annually to commit suicide in nearby lakes. However, it is the journey in reverse the Ozogoche people must now make, with the hopes they will overcome its dangers.

Screening at Rotherham Minster on 2nd December 2024.

George Peterland + Workshop

In a primary school in Sweden, a group of 8-year-olds invent their own shared fantasy world. In the world of ‘George-Peterland’ it is the Chicken God who makes the rules. ‘You shall not eat chicken nuggets!’, ‘You must love the colour yellow!’, ‘You must speak in George-Peter language!’ As this fantasy land increasingly seeps into the children’s daily lives, the adult world searches for its own rules to control this new craze and to seize power back from the Chicken God.

Screening date TBC.
Followed by Free World Building Workshop at Grimm & Co.

Ladies Only

“What makes you angry?” asks the filmmaker.

A small film crew enters the ladies compartments of the local trains in Mumbai. Chance encounters and acquaintances are invited to reveal their opinions, their confessions and their stories in a ‘public’ space. Through a feminist lens, the filmmaker explores what ambitions and freedoms mean for women in a hyper-industrial, wealth-driven and complex world.

Screening at Riverside Library on 8th February 2025.

Tell Them About Us

In a film about friendship, sisterhood and living your dreams, a group of Arab, Kurdish and Roma teenage girls navigate their way into womanhood in the German province. Seeking ways to overcome disguised discrimination and familial pressures, the girls stage their conflicts and wildest dreams in front of the camera.

Screening at the Unity Centre on 18th January 2025.

Anhell69

A funeral car cruises the streets of Medellín, while a young director tells the story of his past in this violent and conservative city. He remembers the pre-production of his first film, a B-movie with ghosts. The young queer scene of Medellín is cast for the film, but the main protagonist dies of a heroin overdose at the age of 21, just like many friends of the director. Anhell69 explores the dreams, doubts and fears of an annihilated generation, and the struggle to carry on making cinema.

Screening at ARC Cinema on 27th February 2025.

We Can Be Heroes + Q&A + Workshop

Carina Mia Wong and Alex Simmons’ life-affirming film unfolds in a live action role-playing camp that offers neurodivergent, queer and self-proclaimed ‘nerdy’ teenagers space for self-discovery.

Screening at ARC Cinema on 30th October 2024.
Followed by a Free Character Creation Workshop at Grimm & Co.