Paul Sng's film Tish, an intimate portrait of British documentary photographer Tish Murtha, will open the 30th edition of Sheffield DocFest on 14 June 2023.
In Tish, Paul Sng celebrates the vision and profound humanism of this gifted artist. As the film questions the value placed on art and artists from working class roots, we follow Tish's daughter Ella, as she fights to preserve her mother's legacy. No less striking than the work of its subject, 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. This is a story of contemporary Britain, of the fight for culture, as well as the life of a mother and activist.
Directed by Paul Sng and produced by Jen Corcoran through Teesside-based Freya Films in association with Hopscotch Films and Sng's Velvet Joy Productions, with cinematography by Hollie Galloway. The voice of Tish is played by Maxine Peake. 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.
Paul Sng, Director of Tish, says: “We’re completely delighted that Tish has been chosen to open Sheffield DocFest, a huge honour in a fitting city to launch a film about a photographer whose images show the fun, mischief and ingenuity of working class communities. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Tish Murtha used her camera to interrogate the detrimental impact of Thatcherism and deindustrialisation. More than forty years later, her images retain an urgency and empathy that speak to the concerns faced by people struggling to pay for food and energy bills in the present day. While this film celebrates the calibre of Tish’s work, it also asks questions about the value placed on working class artists and the communities that nurture them. These are important questions, now more than ever.”
Annabel Grundy, Sheffield DocFest Managing Director, says: “We are delighted to open the festival with Tish, as we celebrate 30 years of Sheffield DocFest. Tish shines a light on a working class artist whose work was tragically overlooked while she was alive, and whose story was rooted in the North. We are thrilled to welcome back director Paul Sng to DocFest, who presented the film at early-development stage in our marketplace in 2021 and producer Jen Corcoran who came through our own 'Future Producers' school seven years ago.”
Comments