Programme A-Z

Evacuation

With unparalleled access and using previously unseen footage, this searing three-part series charts the 2021 evacuation of Kabul.

James W Newton
2023
Film Programme

Evacuation + Conversation

An exclusive preview of the first episode of Evacuation followed by a conversation with the creators and special guests.

Film Programme

Talks Programme

Every Body

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Julie Cohen turns her focus towards the lives of three intersex people, in this heartfelt and urgent call for equality.

Julie Cohen
2023
Film Programme

Filmmaker Challenge

Returning for 2023 and under the guidance of filmmaker mentor Kevin Macdonald, we invite six filmmakers to make a short documentary in and around Sheffield during the festival.

Industry Programme

Shorts programme

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Finding Your Audience: Creative Distribution & Exhibition

In this session, a panel of distribution, marketing and exhibition experts will explore creative ways to stand out from the crowd.

Industry Programme

Industry Session

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Flower Chasers

Following the seasons as flowers bloom across China, a family of beekeepers try to sustain their traditional lifestyle in the face of a global ecological crisis.

Zhiqi Pan
2023
Film Programme

Following Valeria

After the Russian invasion, a young Ukrainian woman becomes an accidental TikTok star when sharing her funny takes on an awful situation.

Nicola Fegg
2022
Film Programme

Future Producer School Roundtables (Private)

Marketplace Activity

FWD-Doc + IDA’s Nonfiction Access Initiative (NAI) + DFC Disabled Filmmakers Meetup

Join Keisha Knight, Director of Funds & Advocacy at the International Documentary Association, Lindsey Dryden, Co-Founder of FWD-Doc for an informal meetup to discuss the Nonfiction Access Initiative (NAI) and activate the NAI Nonfiction Media Makers with Disabilities survey.

Industry Programme

Marketplace Activity

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Galup VR Experience

Aboriginal Elder Doolann-Leisha Eatts presents an oral history about a massacre of Noongar people at Lake Monger, Western Australia, in this 360 documentary.

Ian Wilkes, Poppy van Oorde-Grainger
2022
Alternate Realities Programme

Virtual Reality

George-Peterland

A group of 8-year-olds invent the shared fantasy world of George-Peterland – a dreamy forest land ruled over by the chicken god.

Christer Wahlberg
2023
Film Programme

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Great are the Eyes of a Dead Father

In a picturesque French village, a poet dreams of his father’s homeland. Listening to recordings of his father’s voice, he longs for a place he never really knew.

Afsaneh Salari
2023
Film Programme

Great Photo, Lovely Life

Photojournalist Amanda Mustard returns to her hometown to investigate the decades of sexual abuse her family and community experienced at the hands of her grandfather.

Amanda Mustard, Rachel Beth Anderson
2023
Film Programme

Grierson Trust New Talent Drinks

Join The Grierson Trust for a networking event celebrating their talented Grierson DocLab trainees and alumni.

Industry Programme

Guest of Honour: Rakhshan Banietemad - A Conversation about her Work

Join us for a special conversation about internationally and critically acclaimed Iranian film director and screenwriter, Rakhshan Banietemad.

Talks Programme

Handle with Extreme Care

A frank and often morbidly funny account of daily life for a New York mortuary struggling to provide a resting place for the dead at the height of the Covid crisis.

Patrick Ginnetty, Bowie Alexander
2023
Film Programme

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Hey, Humans

A compassionate portrait of the Chain of Hope charity organisation, which treats underprivileged children from all over Iran.

Rakhshan Banietemad
2016
Film Programme

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Hollow

Capturing the claustrophobic feeling of living in a system with no clear way out, this essayistic observation on life and death is framed by the concept of the panopticon.

Mohammadreza Farzad
2023
Film Programme

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Hormonal

Three women’s experiences of hormonal birth control are weaved into one collective piece, exploring the radical effects that hormones have on the brain and body.

Pien van Grinsven
2023
Film Programme

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Hotel Metalurg

Survivors of the Abkhaz-Georgian war find themselves under pressure to leave the disused luxury hotel where they have lived for more than 30 years.

George Varsimashvili, Jeanne Nouchi
2023
Film Programme

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How Dare You Have Such a Rubbish Wish

Employing a wealth of vintage film footage, Mania Akbari highlights the role of the male gaze in Iranian cinema and in doing so reclaims the female body from it.

Mania Akbari
2022
Film Programme

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Hummingbirds

In the border town of Laredo, Texas, two Mexican-Americans spend a long, aimless summer together, as they wait on an uncertain future.

Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía "Beba" Contreras
2023
Film Programme

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If only night wouldn't fall

A unique perspective on three Western countries’ attempts to grapple with anxiety, depression and psychosis.

Marc Schmidt
2023
Film Programme

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In the Rearview

One country. One minibus. Many journeys. This fly-on-the-wall film captures Ukrainians as they are forced to leave their homes and drive into the unknown.

Maciek Hamela
2023
Film Programme

In the Shadow of Light

A small Chilean town, neighbour to one of the country's largest electrical power plants, has been plagued by frequent blackouts and a constant, static hum.

Isabel Reyes, Ignacia Merino
2023
Film Programme

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