‘Tish’ to Open Sheffield DocFest, Iranian Filmmaker Rakhshan Bani-Etemad to Be Guest of Honor (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Paul Sng’s “Tish,” an intimate portrait of British documentary photographer Tish Murtha, will open the 30th edition of Sheffield DocFest on June 14.

Iranian filmmaker Rakhshan Bani-Etemad will be the guest of honor. In his film, Sng – whose work includes “Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché” and “Dispossession” – both celebrates the vision and humanism of a gifted artist, and follows Murtha’s daughter Ella as she fights to preserve her mother’s legacy. “’Tish’ is a powerful tribute to a vital artist, activist and social chronicler, and a rallying call to all whose engagement with art questions who gets seen and heard, who doesn’t, and why,” the festival said in a statement. “This is a story of contemporary Britain, of the fight for culture, as well as the life of a mother and activist.” The film is produced by Jen Corcoran (“Nascondino” [Hide and Seek]) through Teesside-based Freya Films in association with Hopscotch Films and Sng’s Velvet Joy Productions, with cinematography by Hollie Galloway.

The voice of Murtha is played by Maxine Peake (“Funny Cow”). The film was made with the support of the BFI Doc Society Fund (thanks to National Lottery funding) and Screen Scotland, in association with the BBC.

Sng said: “We’re completely delighted that ‘Tish’ has been chosen to open Sheffield DocFest, a huge honor in a fitting city to launch a film about a photographer whose images show the fun, mischief and ingenuity of working class communities.