News

Want to get your new documentary in front of Channel 4? Channel 4 First Cut Pitch at Sheffield DocFest is back! Five new directors will have the chance to pitch this June and one winner will walk away with a commission. Apply by Friday 21st March 2025.

We're thrilled to introduce our 2025 Film Programme Team, and team of Programme Consultants and Advisers, who will who will be selecting films for this year’s edition, set to take place 18-23 June.

We are delighted to announce our 2025 Youth Jurors for this year's edition, taking place across Sheffield, 18-23 June 2025.

Are you interested in shaping the future of the festival and based in South Yorkshire or North Derbyshire? Applications are now open to be part of our Local Advisory Group. Apply by 14th March.

Our 2025 Youth Jury Programme is open for applications! If you are aged 18-23, based in the UK, and have a passion for documentary and the media industry, this is the programme for you. Apply by 10 January 2025, 12:00 GMT to take part.

We are thrilled to confirm the appointment of Anne Morrison as our new Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Film and VR entries are now open for the 32nd Edition of Sheffield DocFest, which will take place from Wednesday 18 June - Monday 23 June 2025. 

We are delighted to announce the cohort for our inaugural Queer Realities Director’s Lab! Ten UK-based documentary directors have been selected to take part in this new and in-depth development programme.

Following on from a successful 31st edition, we're delighted to announce our 2025 festival dates which will run from 18-23 June 2025. Industry Passes are now on sale at the discounted Lightning rate until 16 October 2024.

Sheffield DocFest’s Queer Realities Director’s Lab is a development programme open to directors who are currently developing a queer documentary project.

We invited two Sheffield Hallam University students to explore the Sheffield DocFest 2024 programme.

Here’s Lib Silke, a BA Film Studies student, with her take on films in our Youth Jury Selection and Shorts Programme.

​​We invited two Sheffield Hallam University students to explore the Sheffield DocFest 2024 programme.
Here’s Alice Montgomery, a BA Film Studies student, with her thoughts on everything from talks with big names to our Alternate Realities Exhibition.

We are thrilled to announce that the 2024 Audience Award is presented to Strike: An Uncivil War directed by Daniel Gordon (UK), produced by Nick Taussig and Fjolla Iberhysaj.

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

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. Winners will be revealed during the Festival’s Awards Ceremony at Crucible Playhouse on 16 June. Join us at our 31th edition of the festival in Sheffield, 12-11 June 2024.

Returning for the third year running, we are delighted to present our Filmmaker Challenge 2024. Six early-career UK filmmakers have been selected to undertake the challenge of making a film on the fly, with a micro budget and equipment support, as well as mentoring from Oscar and BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Julie Cohen (RBG, Every Body, My Name is Pauli Murray).

We are pleased to reveal our full Industry Programme for the 31st edition of Sheffield DocFest, taking place in Sheffield, 12-17 June 2024, which completes our full festival line up. Come and explore the programme.

We are thrilled to announce the cohort for this year’s edition of Amplify: Production Talent. Supported by BBC and Channel 4, the initiative offers early-career production professionals the opportunity to connect with UK production company executives in the documentary TV sector; experience an international marketplace; widen their network and learn more about the industry.

We are proud to announce the 2024 cohort of Alternate Realities Talent Artists, who have been selected to take part in this year’s edition of the Alternate Realities Talent Initiative, taking place on Saturday 15 June.