Sheffield DocFest is on the rebound.
Speaking with Deadline, Nino Zambrano drew a distinction between this years event and the preceding one.
Watch on Deadline
Last year was kind of the first one after the pandemic times.
Sheffield City Hall, venue for DocFest’s opening nightAhn Do/Sheffield DocFest
There were also train strikes, so there were a lot of things going on, he said.
We had not announced yet last year the new leadership team really having a creative and a managing director.
I think that has given a really good signal, like, Oh, we are settled.
Raul Niño Zambrano and Annabel GrundyMatthew Carey
Via remote, Smith and Ridgeley participated in a Q&A after the premiere.
Actor and activist David Harewood came to Sheffield for an in-depth talk about his work in the documentary space.
As the festival neared its close, Nino Zambrano told us he was hearing positive reaction from attendees.
I think the response had been really good.
You never know how things will land, but really good feedback, he noted.
I like how people feel comfortable to not be in a rush.
We have only one pass.
I dont want to put obstacles for people, Nino Zambrano underscored.
With the pass it’s possible for you to just go into everything.
Nino Zambrano, a native of Venezuela, did not begin his career in film.
I always loved cinema.
I was watching like three films a day, even as an engineer.
He concluded he wanted to make a change and then started from zero studying film in Amsterdam.
Later, he joined the staff of IDFA the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam and rose up the programming ranks.
I was always interested in documentaries, so it was really kind of in my DNA.
Like watching [Frederick] Wiseman was a party for me.
Nino Zambrano shared insight into his goals for the festival going forward.
They really have chosen us to be that platform.
The anxiety is real, Nino Zambrano said.
Broadcasters are not having the same money they had before.
Streamers are also cutting things.
I think everybodys feeling that.
I see more co-productions, for example, I see more co-creation.
