We are delighted to announce the World Premiere of Kim Hopkins’ Still Pushing Pineapples will open this year’s festival on 18 June 2025 at Sheffield’s Showroom Cinema. Hopkins returns to DocFest following her 2022 Audience Award for A Bunch of Amateurs.
Still Pushing Pineapples offers audiences a melancholy yet heartfelt look into the story of Dene Michael, the former singer of Black Lace and pop band behind the novelty Brit party favourite ‘Agadoo’. The film follows the lead singer’s journey on the road with his aging mother and a partner, as he aims for a comeback.
Director, producer and cinematographer Kim Hopkins directs and delves into the entertainment, working class culture, human connection, power of pop and the state of Britain in this funny, irreverent road movie.
Sheffield DocFest Managing Director, Mimi Poskitt, says: “Opening with Still Pushing Pineapples is a celebration of everything we champion at DocFest. This is a deeply intimate and beautifully crafted observation on working-class life rooted in Yorkshire, from celebrated Northern female filmmaker, Kim Hopkins. Her empathetic approach and careful unfolding of Dene’s story — particularly the bond between mother and son — reflect the very best of British documentary filmmaking.
Kim, alongside a strong, female-led team, has taken bold creative risks, and the results are truly remarkable.
There is nothing more wonderful than to see a project come to its full fruition and this gem of an idea first found its footing in our MeetMarket. From there, and with the backing of significant partners, is now on our screens — a testament to the strength and vibrancy of the UK’s documentary industry.”
Kim Hopkins, Director “What an absolute honour to open Sheffield DocFest with our latest feature documentary Still Pushing Pineapples. The film centres on Dene Michael, an original member of mega popular, novelty pop band Black Lace of Agadoo fame. The film asks profound questions about happiness, survival, and the indifference of a country leaving many behind, whilst crafting an ode to those who persevere despite adversity. When Black Lace hit Top of the Pops in the 80s, a glib DJ remarked: “Don’t you always wonder who is in that fruit?” — referring to the giant dancing fruit backing-singers. I did wonder if Dene had nightmares about having turned into a giant pineapple. Had the strange fruit that fed him, also devoured him? Through his four-decade long career in an industry that’d forced him to smile 45,000 times, Dene — though now a pineapple — never lost his humanity, his kindness, his hope. Still Pushing Pineapples explores the resilience and humanity of Dene, who embodies the spirit of ordinary working-class people amid a crumbling industrial disorder “.
Margareta Szabo, Producer “We are over the moon that Still Pushing Pineapples is opening Sheffield DocFest! It is a festival close to our hearts, and even more special because we are proudly based here in the North of England. It is not every day you find the perfect mix of an untold story, wonderful characters and a subject that somehow feels both timely and timeless, but Still Pushing Pineapples manages just that. I have big hopes for this film. It has been an absolute joy to make, pulling together a brilliant team from across the UK, from Yorkshire to Scotland and Wales, and working with partners and funders who keep backing bold, cinematic documentaries even when common sense would tell them to run for the hills.”
The film is a Labor of Love Films production in association with Tigerlily Two and One Wave Films, directed and filmed by Kim Hopkins, and produced by Margareta Szabo. Nikki Parrott serves as an executive producer and Nan Davies as a co-producer. The film was edited by Leah Marino and composed by Terence Dunn. Executive producers are: Luke W. Moody, Mark Thomas, Dani Carlaw, Kiah Simpson, Kim Warner, Caroline Cooper Charles and Herbert Lockwood.
The film is Supported by BFI Doc Society Fund, awarding National Lottery Funding; The National Lottery through Screen Scotland; Ffilm Cymru Wales, awarding National Lottery funding via Arts Council of Wales; and Screen Yorkshire through the Yorkshire Content Fund. International Sales: MetFilm
This year marks the 20th edition of the MeetMarket – see previous announcement here, Still Pushing Pineapples was selected for the 2024 MeetMarket at DocFest prior to which Kim Hopkins also participated in 2017 with her film Voices of the Sea.
Professor Brian Cox Announced as Guest Speaker
This year's BBC Interview is with Professor Brian Cox, the legendary Physicist whose hugely successful career has spanned across broadcasting, science and music. His previous works include Solar System, Universe and The Planets as just a few highlights. Cox has become known to many for helping to popularise the wonders of science and has received many awards for doing so.
BBC Interview: A conversation with Professor Brian Cox
Legendary physicist Brian Cox reflects on a remarkable career that has seen him bring the wonders of science to millions through television, books, podcasts and live shows. Unmissable.
Join us for a captivating interview with legendary physicist Professor Brian Cox, one of Britain’s most renowned science communicators. In conversation with longtime collaborator and award-winning science producer Andrew Cohen, Cox will reflect on his extraordinary career, during which he’s brought the wonders of the universe to life through groundbreaking television, popular podcasts, bestselling books and sold-out live tours. Expect insights into his creative process, his thoughts on the role of science in society, and what lies ahead for humanity in an age of discovery. An unmissable event for fans of science, storytelling and the art of communicating big ideas to a big audience.
Award-winning Producer Norma Percy & Lucy Hetherington will also talk to Nina Hossain
The festival is also delighted to announce that British journalist Nina Hossain will chair a talk with the award-winning documentary producers Norma Percy and Lucy Hetherington to discuss their careers and the stories they have been able to tell on screen over the years.
Norma Percy & Lucy Hetherington In Conversation with Nina Hossain
Award-winning documentary producers Norma Percy and Lucy Hetherington talk to Nina Hossain, sharing insights into how they bring world-shaping political stories to life on screen.
Norma Percy, one of the most influential political documentarians of our time, has spent four decades redefining how world events are captured on screen. With landmark series like The Death of Yugoslavia, Putin vs the West, and Israel and the Palestinians: The Road to 7th October, Norma has brought audiences face-to-face with global leaders and revealed the power struggles shaping our world. Executive Producer Lucy Hetherington has worked with Norma on several series and has led legally and editorially sensitive award-winning projects across factual programmes, including Current Affairs, delivering landmark projects for the BBC. In this wide-ranging conversation with Nina Hossain, Percy and Hetherington will explore the challenges and craft of telling complex political stories in a fractured media landscape, while navigating the demands of a rapidly changing world.
Chair: Nina Hossain (Journalist and Presenter)
Look out for our main programme being announced and full tickets on sale 7 May.
