News

People surrounded by greenery at a busy drinks reception. In the centre of the photo two people looking at each other smile widely. The person on the left is holding a film poster rolled up in their hand.

2026 Film Entries Open

Film entries are now open for the 33rd Edition of Sheffield DocFest, which will take place from Wednesday 10 June - Monday 15 June 2026.

Published on September 11

Blue, pink and purple abstract graphic sits in the background. On top of the graphic in mint green bold font reads 'join us in 2026' and underneath in the same font in white reads '10 - 15 June'

Announcing our 2026 dates

Following on from a successful 32nd edition, we're delighted to announce our 2026 festival dates which will run from 10-15 June 2026. Industry Passes are now on sale at the discounted Lightning rate of £200 + VAT until 15 October 2025.

Published on July 16

Grenfell: Uncovered director Olaide Sadiq, pictured with Festival Creative Director Raul Niño Zambrano smile as they stand against a bright pink and white branded backdropat Sheffield DocFest 2025

Grenfell: Uncovered wins Audience Award at the 2025 Sheffield DocFest

We are thrilled to announce the winner of the 2025 Audience Award

Published on June 23

A branded image reading: Sheffield DocFest 2025 Award Winners

Announcing 2025 Sheffield DocFest Award Winners

We are delighted to announce this year’s winners presented during the awards ceremony at Sheffield’s Crucible Playhouse this evening.

Published on June 22

A DocFest audience giving a standing ovation

Love documentaries? Become a Member

Join a community of people who love all things documentary.

Published on June 16

Announcing the Channel 4 First Cut Pitch Finalists

We are thrilled to announce the finalists for the Channel 4 First Cut Pitch.

Published on June 13

Four headshots of Climate Spring finalists

Announcing the Climate Spring Documentary Pitch Finalists

We are thrilled to announce the finalists for the Climate Spring Pitch.

Published on June 12

Filmmaker Challenge Cohort

We are thrilled to announce the cohort for this year’s Filmmaker Challenge, supported by Principal Sponsor Prime Video.

Published on June 6

Photos of our jurors. Top row L-R: Andrew Jarecki, Rémi Grellety, Tomoko Okutsu, Alexandre Marionneau, Anna Berthollet Middle row L-R: Geeta Gandbhir, Afsaneh Salari, Kim A. Snyder, Yulan Chang, Horia El Hadad Bottom row L-R: Jenny Horwell, Kethiwe Ngcobo, Joseph Cutts, Lisa Brook, Judi Alston

Announcing the Juries for our 32nd Edition

We are excited to announce our Jury Members for this years’ International Competition, International First Feature Competition, International Short Film Competition, the Tim Hetherington Award, the International Alternate Realities Competition, alongside our previously announced members of the Youth Jury

Announcing the Juries for our 32nd Edition

Published on June 3

A composite image of six headshots of our Local Advisory Group participants.

Meet our Local Advisory Group

Published on May 29

A shot featuring Sir Bob Geldof and other popstars from the film Live Aid at 40 – When Rock'N'Roll Took on the World

New additions to our Public and Industry Programmes

We're excited to announce some new additions to our 32nd edition

News, Film, Industry

Published on May 22

Programme changes 2025

Updates on Programme changes

News

Published on May 15

A large crowd attends a Sheffield DocFest industry session

Announcing our full Industry Programme for the 32nd edition

We are delighted to reveal our full Industry Programme for the 32st edition of Sheffield DocFest, taking place in Sheffield, 18-23 June 2025

Industry

Published on May 14

Jane Ray, Artistic Director, The Whickers, and Lieven Heeremans, Sheffield DocFest's Podcast Programme Producer, with last year's The Whicker's Podcast Pitch winner, Christina Hardinge

Spotlight on Emerging Talent: The Whickers and Sheffield DocFest Announce 2025 The Whickers Podcast Pitch Award Finalists and Judges

The Whickers, in partnership with Sheffield DocFest, are delighted to announce the Finalists for the 2025 The Whickers Podcast Pitch Award.

Podcast

Published on May 12

Announcing our full Public Programme for Sheffield DocFest 2025

We are incredibly proud to reveal our full public programme for the 32nd edition of Sheffield DocFest.

Film, Talks, Alternative Reality, News

Published on May 7

A black and white photograph of two Black men in conversation

Announcing our Alternate Realities programme for the 32nd Edition

Published on May 6

Large red theatre curtains cover most of the image, except for the very center where a man's face peeks through. The man is wearing a pineapple costume and a pair of large red sunglasses.

Sheffield Docfest Announces World Premiere of 'Still Pushing Pineapples' as Opening Night Film for its 32nd Edition

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.

Industry, News

Published on May 1

A photo of a large hall filled with groups of people holding meetings seated around small tables

Sheffield DocFest’s MeetMarket celebrates 20 years with the announcement of 50 projects

Sheffield DocFest, the UK’s leading documentary festival and one of the world’s most influential markets for documentary projects, is thrilled to announce its slate for the 20th edition of the MeetMarket.

Industry, News

Published on April 30

A group of people stood on a stage looking joyful, with smiles on their faces and their hands in the air.

Applications open for Filmmaker Challenge 2025

Returning for 2025, we will select and support six filmmakers to make a short documentary in and around Sheffield during the festival.

Published on April 30

Portrait of Fenton Bailey, pictured right, and Randy Barbato, pictured left, sitting at a desk with two computer screens against a yellow wall.

Sheffield Docfest Announces World Of Wonder Co-Founders Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato As This Year’s Guests Of Honour

News, Industry

Published on April 29

The Whickers Podcast Pitch Award 2025 – Shortlist Announced!

Industry, News

Published on April 23

A group of people sat together at a round table chatting. In the background more people are sat around tables chatting.

Alternate Realities XR Artists Forum

Alternate Realities XR Artists Forum is an initiative for XR artists developing a project in the intersection of art, technology and documentary, looking to expand their network and get advice from experts in the field.

Published on April 11

A digital image with a plain blue background. In the centre of the graphic there is text reading Climate Spring. The text is filled with a photograph of trees in blossom and blue skies on a residential street in spring.

Climate Spring Documentary Pitch now open for applications

Climate Spring Announces New £10k Documentary Development Pitch at Sheffield DocFest.

News, Industry

Published on April 9

Headshots of three new Sheffield DocFest trustees - Fran Baker, Guy Gadney and Roly Keating

Announcing the appointment of three new board trustees: Fran Baker, Guy Gadney and Roly Keating

We are delighted to announce the appointment of three new board trustees: Fran Baker, Commissioning Editor Documentaries BBC Factual, Guy Gadney, CEO of Charismatic.ai and Roly Keating, former Chief Executive of the British Library and former Controller of BBC Four and BBC Two.

Published on March 31

A group of people celebrate finishing a collaging workshop at Sheffield DocFest.

Help fund the Sheffield DocFest Community Programme with Arts for Impact

Donate to us through the BigGive platform between midday 18th March and midday 25th March, and they will double the amount – so you can make double the difference to DocFest.

Community

Published on March 18