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The UK’s leading documentary festival 🎬
Returning 9-14 June 2027 💛
Industry Passes now on sale 🎟️

Sheffield DocFest is the UK’s leading documentary festival and one of the world’s most influential markets for documentary projects. We champion and present the breadth of documentary form – film, television, immersive and art – in the vibrant city of Sheffield each June. We offer makers and audiences a place for inspiration, debate, development, learning and challenge. Our programming represents our core values – creativity, empathy, freedom, inclusivity and internationalism. Sheffield DocFest is run by International Documentary Festival Sheffield, an independent registered charity (no.1184849), whose purpose is to advance the art of film, education and training in documentary filmmaking. Our core values as a charity centre around empathy, inclusiveness, social engagement, freedom and internationalism.

06/10/2026

📣 There’s ONE DAY LEFT to take advantage of our limited time offer on Industry Passes for Sheffield DocFest 2027!

Grab one at our discounted Lightning rate before 5pm BST tomorrow (7 October) to avoid missing out on a £200 saving on the Standard rate! 🎟️

⭐ ️An Industry Pass grants you access to our entire festival programme of films, exhibitions, talks, panels, industry sessions and live pitches, networking events and parties.

🤝 Want further discounts on an Industry Pass? Become a Sheffield DocFest Member, and also gain other exclusive benefits, such as early booking access.

🔗 Grab yours now https://www.sheffdocfest.com/attend/industry-pass

📸 James Mulkeen

05/10/2026

🏆🇪🇸 A couple of weeks ago, our Film Programme Adviser Anna Petrus attended the Lau Haizetara Co-Production Forum at San Sebastián Film Festival, Spain!

There, she presented the Sheffield DocFest Award to ‘AMAR’ - a project in development.

Anna commented:
“I chose to award this project because it offers a unique perspective compared to traditional adoption documentaries: an adopted person adopting a child. This creates a deeply moving mirror effect, as the main character travels back into his past to understand his origins at the same time he is preparing to welcome a new life. Additionally, the teaser they presented during the pitch was outstanding.”

Congratulations to everyone behind ‘AMAR’ on your well deserved award!

💛 Keep an eye on our channels and visit our ‘Meet the Team at Festivals’ page to stay up to date with the industry events we will be attending throughout the rest of 2026 and beyond! https://www.sheffdocfest.com/meet-docfest-team-festivals

02/10/2026

📣 Join us for exclusive screenings of MKO: Waiting For Mr. President in Sheffield and London this October! 📣🇳🇬

Celebrating its World Premiere at Sheffield DocFest in 2026, MKO unravels the cover-up behind one of Africa's most consequential political crimes. Moshood Abiola wins Nigeria's freest election, only for the military to jail him. When U.S. diplomats arrive to negotiate his release, he is served tea, and dies.

📅 Tue 20 October - Bertha DocHouse, London (18:20), followed by a Q&A with director Ose Oyamendan
📅 Mon 26 October - Showroom Cinema, Sheffield (18:00)

🎟️ Grab tickets now: https://www.sheffdocfest.com/year-round-screenings-events

👉 In 1993, Abiola, the world’s richest Black man, won a landslide victory that the military swiftly annulled. What followed was years of imprisonment, international negotiation and, ultimately, a death that has never been fully explained.

The investigation draws on extraordinary access on all sides of the story: current and former Nigerian presidents, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, Abiola’s family and the U.S. delegate who was in the room when he died.

MKO was shortlisted for the International Competition at Sheffield DocFest 2026.

01/10/2026

✨ We're hiring! ✨

We have two very exciting job vacancies for key roles within the team behind Sheffield DocFest - one of the world’s leading documentary festivals 🌍💥

Are you our next:
🤩 Senior Talks & Sessions Programme Producer
🤩 Senior Audio & Immersive Programme Producer

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. If you’re passionate about the arts, events, and helping shape an unforgettable festival experience, we’d love to hear from you!

⏰ Application deadline: 2 November 2026 (9AM BST)
🔗 More information and how to apply: https://www.sheffdocfest.com/about/opportunities

29/09/2026

📣 FILMMAKERS - the time is now! Film entries are officially OPEN for Sheffield DocFest 2027! 🥳

🎬 We’re looking for completed documentary films of all lengths - from shorts and mid-length films to features - from filmmakers around the world 🌍

Ready to share your film with us? 🔗 Click here for more information and full entry guidelines: https://www.sheffdocfest.com/film-programme-entries

Enter your film now for the chance to be part of our 2027 official selection! 📽️🙌❤️

28/09/2026

“The film is really about saying goodbye to something you never thought you could lose…”

- Director Sara Dosa on her new documentary ‘Time And Water’, which follows Icelandic poet Andri Snær Magnason as he weaves his family's archives, folktales and the melting glaciers of his homeland into a cinematic letter to the future.

Interested in seeing Sara Dosa’s full conversation with Jeanie Finlay at Sheffield DocFest this year? The ‘Ecological and Cultural Memory on Screen’ session will be made available to our Members next week!

🔗 Hit the link in our bio to become a Member now and enjoy all this month’s exclusive newsletter content. This edition’s theme is ‘environment’, and also includes an interview with director Rich Felgate, whose Just Stop Oil portrait ‘We, The Hated’ opened Sheffield DocFest this year.

Plus, get discounted Industry Passes and pre-sale access!

27/09/2026

📣Calling all young film enthusiasts! 📣

Are you aged 18-23, based in the UK, and have a passion for documentary and the media industry? Our Youth Jury programme is for you. 🫵

Our Youth Jury gives you the opportunity to meet experts from across the film and media industry, watch and shortlist films for the festival, and select the winner of our Youth Jury Award!

It is a tremendous way to get your foot in the door, see how an international film festival works and build your network!

🔗 Find out more & apply by 6 November 2026: https://www.sheffdocfest.com/news/2027-youth-jury-applications-open

26/09/2026

“I don’t have any savings…I don’t have any pension…I just have a love of music!”

It’s your last chance to get tickets for our exclusive screening of Heaven 17: The Last Temptation next week!

Join us on Monday 28 September (20:30 BST) at , Sheffield, to share a night celebrating Sheffield music icons, with co-founder attending for an exclusive Q&A following the screening.

Premiering at Sheffield DocFest 2026, Heaven 17: The Last Temptation follows as they hit the road for what might be their final tour, facing up to aging, loyalty and unfinished business with the past.

🔗🎟️ Last tickets available via the link in our bio!

25/09/2026

📣 Exciting news! Our Creative Director Nino Zambrano is on the Jury for DOK Leipzig ’s International Competition - Documentary Film this year!

The Jury will award a Golden Dove to the best feature documentary and the best short documentary from the 9 nominated features and 13 nominated short films. A Silver Dove will also be presented to the best feature documentary and the best short documentary by an up-and-coming director.

From championing bold voices at Sheffield DocFest, to celebrating cutting-edge digital work on the international stage, Raul brings his passion for non-fiction innovation to the table.

Find out more over at DOK Leipzig! https://www.dok-leipzig.de/en/news/presenting-our-juries-2026

24/09/2026

We’re delighted to be collaborating with BFI London Film Festival on a Sheffield DocFest panel and networking event on 13 October!

Our ‘Frame By Frame: Navigating Archives and Storytelling in Documentary Cinema’ panel will feature documentary experts and filmmakers sharing their experiences handling artistic and production challenges in their work with archival footage.

Our Creative Director Raul Niño Zambrano will moderate, and he’ll be joined by:
👉 Nanette Burstein - Director, Carl Sagan: We Are Made of Star Stuff
👉 Rafael Guendelman - Director, Az Zeeb
👉 Simon McCallum - Producer (Archive & Industry), BFI National Archive
👉 Theo Rollason - Director, Q***r Edward II

📅 13th October 2026 - 11:30AM
📍 Picturehouse Central (Screen 4)
🎟️ Open to LFF Industry Passholders only

Following the panel, we’re also excited to be part of the Industry Happy Hour networking event later in the day. This is taking place at Picturehouse Central’s First Floor Bar & Restaurant at 5PM on 13th October, 2026.

It promises to be a wonderful day of discussion and connection - head to the LFF website to grab an Industry Pass now! 📽️
https://www.bfi.org.uk/explore-our-festivals/industry-forum-bfi-london-film-festival/industry-passes

Address

The Workstation, 15 Paternoster Row
Sheffield
S12BX

Telephone

+441142765141

Website

http://www.sheffdocfest.com/

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