Tilda Swinton’s film essay on John Berger to feature at Sheffield Doc/Fest

A series of film essays about British art critic John Berger directed by four of his close friends, including Tilda Swinton and Bartek Dziadosz, will feature at this year’s Sheffield Doc/Fest. The Seasons in Quincy: Four Portraits of John Berger is billed as “an appropriately innovative portrait of an intellectual giant,” and its screening will be followed by a Q&A with Tilda and Bartek.

The UK festival will screen 150 documentary films this year, as well as hosting talks, discussions and a major pitching forum for the industry.

Opening the festival is Michael Moore’s latest film Where To Invade Next, and an on-stage interview with Michael by Channel 4’s Ralph Lee. Also on the bill is Notes on Blindness, a documentary on British academic John Hull, who lost his sight and documented his new world on audio cassettes. These are brought to life by actors lip syncing the diaries in the film directed by James Spinney and Peter Middleton.

The USC Shoah Foundation for Visual History and Education will be part of the festival’s free Alternate Realities exhibition for the duration of the show. The foundation, established by Steven Spielberg in 1994, will show how its work with natural language software will enable virtual conversations with 3D images of Holocaust and genocide survivors for years to come.

Also part of the programme is a panel discussion and open debate about what’s in store for the UK’s public television. Our BBC, Our Channel 4: A Future for Public Service Television will feature Lord Puttnam and the BBC’s Patrick Holland, Channel 4’s Ralph Lee and Hugh Harris from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Sheffield Doc/Fest takes place from 10—15 June.