Fighting Shame follows women in Leeds who have launched community initiatives to combat the stigma that surrounds poverty. They tell their stories through eight everyday objects that demonstrate daily struggles and want their voices to be heard by the UK’s policymakers.
It is the first documentary commissioned as part of a collaboration with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which is supporting the Guardian’s documentary films that seek to reframe the issue of poverty in the UK and engage a wide, mainstream audience “beyond the choir”.
Coming up: The Trial
Following one of the legal teams defending one of the five men accused of planning 9/11 at the military commission in Guantánamo.
Black Sheep nominated for an Oscar
The Guardian film Black Sheep has been nominated for an Oscar.
Directed by Ed Perkins, Black Sheep tells the story of Cornelius Walker, a black 11-year-old boy from London who moves with his family to a housing estate in Essex after the murder of Damilola Taylor in 2000. Walker, the same age as Taylor and from a similar background, finds himself confronting a gang of racists and after fighting back at first goes to extraordinary lengths to fit in and gain their friendship.
Congratulations to the team behind Black Sheep. The winner of the short documentary Oscar will be announced on 24 February.
Documentary recommendations
One of the highlights of the last year in documentary, Hale County This Morning, This Evening, is out at UK cinemas. A five-year portrait of Black America, it is poetic and political.
Next week there are selected national screenings of the wonderful The Distant Barking of Dogs, in which 10-year-old Oleg and his grandmother attempt to have a normal life during conflict in Ukraine. More uplifting than this description might suggest, it is a special portrait of childhood in extreme circumstances.
On Her Shoulders is another must-see, the story of Nadia Murad, the joint winner of the Nobel peace prize. Under major international scrutiny, she attempts to plead the case for the Yazidi people.
There is also a special screening of the excellent Of Love and Law at London’s Bertha DocHouse on 24 February. It tells the tale of two gay lawyers in Japan who plead the case of those considered obscene by the state including Rokudenashiko, an artist whose vagina sculptures scandalised the country.
Documentary news has been dominated recently by two rival films about the Fyre Festival, released by Netflix and Hulu. UK audiences can only watch Netflix’s The Greatest Party That Never Happened, but read more about the furore here.
Finally, check out the five documentaries up for the Oscars best documentary feature award, which feature a few pleasant surprises, especially in the nomination of Hale County This Morning, this Evening.
One World Media
One World Media is seeking compelling and original stories from and about developing countries to enter their 2019 awards. Find out more and enter.
Deadline for entry: 14 February 2019.
Support the Guardian
If you like what we do with documentaries at the Guardian, then please consider becoming a supporter. Our ability to investigate and expose stories such as these is made possible by our supporters. Join today to support our journalism.
