Sheffield DocFest

Sheffield DocFest We champion and present the breadth of documentary form – film, television, immersive and art. Read our social media moderation guidelines: bit.ly/4kivsGE
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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.

It’s Pride month, and we’re sharing 8 incredible stories of q***r joy, discovery and resistance to watch at this year’s ...
01/06/2026

It’s Pride month, and we’re sharing 8 incredible stories of q***r joy, discovery and resistance to watch at this year’s DocFest🏳️‍🌈

🎥 Heals

🎥 The Wolf

🎥 Le***an Lines

🎥 Rose’s House

🎥 Red Elephant

🎥 RAP BABY

🎥 The Ballad of Judas Priest

🎥 Give Me The Ball!

Get tickets for any of these incredible films over on our website sheffdocfest.com, or by clicking the link in our bio 👆

Our 2026 Marketplace activities are LIVE! This is your chance to expand your network, discover funding opportunities and...
01/06/2026

Our 2026 Marketplace activities are LIVE! This is your chance to expand your network, discover funding opportunities and find global production opportunities at DocFest 👇

🎥Book an appointment with our Switchboard and Consultancies experts for advice on your next project

🎥Join our workshops to help you master US funding opportunities

🎥 Find out how you can partner with Chilean producers and talent

🎥 Plus, meet major funders, sales agents, podcasts and festival professionals in exclusive roundtables!

Sounds like this could help your next project? Browse the full line-up of activities and get your tickets here: https://www.sheffdocfest.com/festival/2026/industry/marketplace-activity

01/06/2026

Want to peek behind the scenes of Educating Yorkshire? 👀

This is your chance to join headteacher Matthew Burton along with the creators of this iconic show and the students involved, at DocFest on Thursday 11 June!

They'll be revisiting the show's most unforgettable classroom moments, discussing what it's REALLY like to film inside a school, and talking about the show's lasting impact.

You don't want to miss this. Get your tickets here: https://www.sheffdocfest.com/composition/behind-scenes-educating-yorkshire

As an accredited Festival of Sanctuary, Sheffield DocFest is proudly taking part in Refugee Week, which this year marks ...
31/05/2026

As an accredited Festival of Sanctuary, Sheffield DocFest is proudly taking part in Refugee Week, which this year marks the 75th anniversary of the Refugee Convention. 🧡

Our commitment to creating a safe and inclusive environment for people seeking sanctuary extends across the Festival, from using storytelling to amplify underrepresented voices to initiatives in recruitment, ticketing, and community engagement.

This year, we have curated a selection of films that explore themes of displacement, migration, and belonging. You can discover them below.

Explore our full programme and grab your tickets here: https://www.sheffdocfest.com/festival/2026/explore

Our 2026 programme just gets bigger and better! 🤩We’re adding even more names to this year’s line-up. New films, talks, ...
30/05/2026

Our 2026 programme just gets bigger and better! 🤩

We’re adding even more names to this year’s line-up. New films, talks, events and panelists include:

🎥 FILMS
Obsession: The Beryl Burton Story (World Premiere) - Britain's greatest cyclist. A lifetime of victory. One family's cost. An intimate portrait of obsession, sacrifice and the price of sporting success.

The Last First: Winter K2 (UK Premiere) - A 2021 expedition to be the first to summit K2 in winter left five dead, exposing the fault lines of modern mountaineering.

🗣️ TALKS
70 Up: The Final Chapter - Join Asif Kapadia and the team behind 70 Up for a landmark conversation about the final chapter of one of the most influential documentaries ever made

Munya Chawawa: Wrestling with Trump - Munya Chawawa discusses his latest documentary, exploring the link between the American president and wrestling

Plus new speakers: Rob Rinder MBE, actor Craig Parkinson, Alexander Dragonetti (The Traitors S3) & Krishnan Guru-Murthy.

📣 EVENTS
Weird Walk Presents: DJ Paul Hartnoll's Folk Horror Techno Disco Roadshow - in a special event celebrating the World Premiere of The Archivist, Orbital's Paul Hartnoll presents a specially-created dance set fusing his own unique brand of techno disco with cult British folk horror and folk music

Queens of the Coal Age: Live Reading with Maxine Peake - Actors Jason Done, Christine Bottomley, Carla Henry, Eva Scott and Lamin Touray have been confirmed for special live reading

💛 GEN DocFest
Horrible Science: Tim Peake's Stinky Space Special - Astronaut Tim Peake joins Pipette to guide us through what life is like in space for astronauts

Toddler Kino x DocFest and CBeebies presents: Hamza Loves Animals - Wildlife presenter Hamza Yassin looks at some of the amazing animals which can be found in Africa

Join us in June to hear from these exciting new guests and much more.

Read more and find links to buy tickets here: https://www.sheffdocfest.com/news/new-additions-sheffield-docfest-2026-programme

We’re thrilled to announce the Jury members for the competitions and awards at this year’s festival! 🏆🤩Find out more: ht...
30/05/2026

We’re thrilled to announce the Jury members for the competitions and awards at this year’s festival! 🏆🤩

Find out more: https://www.sheffdocfest.com/news/announcing-juries-our-33rd-edition

🏆 The Jury members for the International Competition are: producer and broadcaster Mark Edwards, Kiyoko McCrae (filmmaker and Program Director at Chicken & Egg Films), and Noa Nwande (Head of International Sales at Watermelon Pictures).

🏆 The International First Feature Competition jury members are: award-winning filmmaker Paul Sng, Derren Lawford (producer and former trustee of Sheffield DocFest), and Malikkha Rollins (producer and Director of Industry and Education for DOC NYC).

🏆 The International Short Film Competition jury members are: double BAFTA award-winning director Olaide Sadiq (Grenfell: Uncovered, Sheffield DocFest Audience Award winner 2025), Joe Hunting (Creative Director at Painting Clouds), and filmmaker Laura Warner (The Cranes Call, A Last Big Story).

🏆 Jurors for the Tim Hetherington Award are: Brenda Danker (co-founder, Malaysia Freedom Film Network), Sam Holland (founder of Migration Matters Festival, Sheffield), and Andrii Kotliar (Ukrainian producer/filmmaker, collective).

Want to explore the challenges and opportunities of creative and documentary work made in gaming worlds?Join our Alterna...
30/05/2026

Want to explore the challenges and opportunities of creative and documentary work made in gaming worlds?

Join our Alternate Realities Summit on Saturday 13 June, to explore the cutting edge of XR interdisciplinary work through prototype presentations and panel discussions.

There will be a range of panels exploring topics like creating work in games, business models for XR work, and Yorkshire as a centre for tech excellence 👀

Find out more and get your tickets here: https://www.sheffdocfest.com/composition/alternate-realities-summit

👉 Panelists will include Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane, creators of Grand Theft Hamlet, Nicole Stewart Rushworth, Enterprise and Commercialisation Producer at CoSTAR National Lab and Luke W Moody, Head of the BFI Doc Society Fund, as well as representatives from East City Films, Arts Council England, Screen Yorkshire , Innovate UK and The National Videogame Museum

You don’t want to miss these very special events for children, families and young people taking place at Sheffield Theat...
28/05/2026

You don’t want to miss these very special events for children, families and young people taking place at Sheffield Theatres venues in June - which are part of our brand-new GEN DocFest programme!

👀 Get an exclusive look at the secret recipe behind the silliness and success of Horrible Histories and Horrible Science

🌍 Join wonderful wildlife presenter and filmmaker Hannah Stitfall for a wild interactive adventure into the natural world in Wild Futures

♥️ Poet Sam Browne brings a raw, powerful performance exploring identity, masculinity, and the realities of growing up

💼 Go behind the scenes of the BAFTA-nominated Educating Yorkshire with headteacher Matthew Burton, and creators of the show

Tickets for all of these events can be secured at https://www.sheffdocfest.com/festival/2026/special-programmes-presentations/gen-docfest

Introducing the finalists for the Climate Spring Digital-First Pitch at Sheffield DocFest 2026! 🌍 Darshan GajjarGlen Ful...
28/05/2026

Introducing the finalists for the Climate Spring Digital-First Pitch at Sheffield DocFest 2026! 🌍

Darshan Gajjar
Glen Fulthorpe
Ruben Reuter
Rosie Baldwin
Luke Hollands

Plus - we are also excited to announce this year’s final confirmed judge is Ameenah Taher (Digital Commissioning Executive, Channel 4)

Join us on 11th June for an entertaining live pitching session, which will see our finalists pitch their digital-first unscripted ideas focused on climate solutions, system change and the power of community.

The winner will receive £10,000 in production funding to bring their project to life, plus expert narrative support from Climate Spring.

Find out more about the event: https://www.sheffdocfest.com/composition/climate-spring-digital-first-pitch

28/05/2026

Watch a snippet from ‘The Clyde Gods Are Dead, Long Live The Workers’, the latest in our series of Reuters Screenocean archive films…

Last year, we launched the Reuters Connect Make Film History Challenge, opening up the vast Reuters archive for filmmakers to reimagine a new short film.

In this short, created by Matthew Dunsmore, shipbuilders of Glasgow's Clydeside are put front and centre in an experimental documentary that bends time and space into a surreal vision of the working-class men that Britain has long forgotten about.

Intrigued? You can watch the full film, and find out more about Matthew’s creative process here: https://www.sheffdocfest.com/reuters-screenocean-make-film-history-challenge-2025

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