Sheffield DocFest is celebrating its 33rd Edition this June, bringing over 100 events to the city and offering the chance to see highly anticipated World, International, European, and UK premieres of the latest documentaries before they reach cinemas, public broadcasters, and streaming services.
This year’s programme celebrates the best in non-fiction storytelling across multiple platforms, including documentary features, shorts, docuseries, podcast live events, immersive and extended-reality exhibitions, talks, masterclasses, and more.
Across 80 feature films and 24 shorts, there will be first-look screenings from BBC, Channel 4, HBO, Netflix, SKY, Universal, Prime Video, Mindhouse, Passion Pictures, Tigerlily World of Wonder, and more. This year’s selection is curated from over 2,900 submissions and includes 45 World Premieres, 17 International Premieres, 5 European Premieres, and 35 UK Premieres from 64 Countries. Events will take place in iconic venues and unusual spaces throughout Sheffield, with screenings at The Showroom, The Light, and Curzon cinemas; talks at The Lyceum, The Montgomery, The Crucible Playhouse, and Crucible Adelphi; and the Alternate Realities programme at Yorkshire Artspace: Persistence Works. Public tickets are on sale now.
Unifying themes of this year’s selections, talks, and industry sessions are Journalism & Freedom of the Press; Activism & Storytelling; Artificial Intelligence; Indigenous Voices; Games & Play; Climate Crisis & Environmental Justice; Queer Narratives; Archival Work & Historical Memory; and Content for Young Audiences.
Sheffield DocFest is made possible by the huge support of partners, funders and sponsors, including Principal Funders the BFI Audience Projects Fund, which awards National Lottery funding, Sheffield City Council and Arts Council England.
Raul Niño Zambrano, Creative Director, Sheffield DocFest, said, “In 2026, we are navigating a world defined by both profound uncertainty and constant transformation. Our theme, Realities in Motion, captures this momentum, reflecting how our lives are continually reshaped by collective action, from climate advocacy and social activism to the enduring power of music. Whether through features, shorts, TV episodes, podcasts, games, talks, or immersive XR experiences, we have curated a programme that celebrates the full spectrum of documentary storytelling. I am deeply grateful to our advisors, consultants, and the entire DocFest team for their tireless work in building a balanced, inclusive programme designed to spark deep curiosity and meaningful dialogue. We can’t wait to share it with our international audience.”
Sheffield DocFest 33rd Edition
FILMS IN COMPETITION
Thirty-seven films are competing across five prestigious categories at this year’s festival. Eight films have been selected for the Academy Award™-accredited Grand Jury Award for the International Competition, while a further eight are shortlisted for the International First Feature Competition. Ten films are in the running for the Grand Jury Award for the International Short Film Competition, which holds accreditation from BAFTA, the Academy Awards™ and BIFA. The remaining competitions feature five films shortlisted for the Tim Hetherington Award and six selected for the Youth Jury Award.
This year’s International Competition presents a compelling lineup of 6 World Premieres, 1 International Premiere, and 1 European Premiere. From the landscapes of Nigeria (MKO), Spain (Filthy), Ukraine (Time Machine Maidan), and Mongolia (Colors of White Rock), the selection takes audiences on a global journey. The programme addresses vital questions, examining the importance of archives (The Archivist, Lesbian Lines), investigating the weight of an apology (The Apologist), and delving into the unsettling experiences of two boys within a revered Hindu school (Disciples).
The International First Feature Competition shines a spotlight on the boldest new voices in documentary, presenting a diverse lineup (seven World Premieres and one International Premiere) of debut works from Norway (Hope is a Word), France (Magma), and Puerto Rico (Matininó). This year’s selection traverses compelling social and political landscapes, examining shifting gender norms in The Way You See Me and The Wolf, while offering urgent, ground-level perspectives on activism in the USA (A City in the Forest) and Colombia (The Wind’s Thirst). The competition programme is rounded out by WOLF, an intimate and vibrant portrait of the acclaimed singer-songwriter Patrick Wolf.
Featuring nine World Premieres and one International Premiere, this year’s Short Film Competition is a definitive showcase of boundary-pushing storytelling. The lineup highlights acclaimed directors alongside unique global perspectives. This includes new works from Waad al-Kateab (Maybe Tomorrow), Teboho Edkins (an open field), and Sam Howard (Relic). Also featured are distinctive stories from around the world, such as Guatemala’s Pelo Lindo, Switzerland’s The Right to Forget, and China’s 3 Lost in Towers. These films adopt compelling cinematic approaches to varied themes: from the activism embedded in all that appears solid is built on blood and Wild East, to the intricate inner lives of middle-schoolers in Stalin Boys, and a moving meditation on life, death, and the human body in Anatomy of a Portrait.
The Tim Hetherington Award reflects the legacy of the late photojournalist and filmmaker and celebrates outstanding humanitarian storytelling. The selection spans the globe, taking audiences from demonstrations in Cuba in The Long Cuban Night to reporting from the frontlines of Syria in Birds of War. The programme also includes an analysis of iconic photography in Saigon Story: Two Shootings in the Forest Kingdom; direct accounts from doctors in Gaza in Life Support; and a historic revisit of Toni Cade Bambara’s powerful activist work in TCB – The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing.
Selected by the Youth Jury, a group of passionate film enthusiasts aged 18 to 23, the six nominees for this year’s Youth Jury Award comprise a diverse collection that takes audiences on a global journey, from Nigeria (Crocodile) and Iran (Past Future Continuous) to the British coastline (All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea). The selection also engages with urgent contemporary issues, ranging from the politics of public memorials in Landscapes of Memory and the ethics of artificial intelligence in Replica, to the vital work of interpreters in making live music accessible to Deaf audiences in The Way We Move.
Winners will be announced at a ceremony at The Crucible Playhouse on Sunday, 14 June.
GUEST OF HONOUR
Sheffield DocFest proudly welcomes Guest of Honour Maxine Peake. Her full curated programme will include the introduction of three hand-selected films: The Archivist – examining the importance of archiving British Folk traditions; Nightcleaners – a landmark of British political and feminist cinema following the struggle of female night cleaners in 1970s London, and The Wanted 18, about a Palestinian village whose 18 cows were declared a threat to national security; as well as a deep-dive discussion on working-class representation in cinema; a curated reading; and live music performance.
Queens of the Coal Age: A Live Reading, written by Peake, details the true story of four miners’ wives—Anne Scargill, Dot Kelly, Elaine Evans, and Lesley Lomas—who occupied Parkside Colliery in 1993 to protest pit closures. This reading, with special guests, showcases their courage and Northern wit as they fight to save mining communities and revisits a defining moment of working-class resistance in recent British history.
In a festival highlight, Peake will also perform with critically acclaimed Stalwarts of the Sheffield Electronic music scene, the Eccentronic Research Council, making a rare appearance to perform a selection of tracks from their Dreamcatcher Tapes album.
Sheffield DocFest 33rd Edition
FILM PROGRAMME
Sheffield DocFest showcases bold, vivid and socially conscious work from artists and filmmakers from all over the world, inspiring fresh perspectives, challenging conventional thought and inviting audiences to consider alternate realities.
Alongside First Impressions – a sneak peek at major upcoming docuseries, this year’s film strands are Debates – films that invite us to be part of vital conversations; Journeys – defining journeys from the emotional to the physical, Memories – exploring the past to inform our present and future, People and Community – celebrating and interrogating the ties that bind us; Rebellions – stories of resistance, revolution and the fight for our rights; and Rhythms – from everyday beats to the music that defines.
The festival will open with the World Premiere of We, The Hated, from director Rich Felgate (Finite: The Climate of Change). Told through the experiences of those on the frontlines, We, The Hated turns its lens on the people behind Just Stop Oil, one of the most polarising protest movements in recent memory. What emerges is deeper than placards and roadblocks: we encounter individuals who have carefully weighed the personal consequences of their actions against the existential stakes of inaction. With fossil fuels driving both the climate crisis and global conflict, and governments increasingly tightening their grip on dissent, the film raises urgent questions about power, protest, and the true meaning of democracy in practice.
Themes of activism and climate justice run throughout the programme, including Steal This Story, Please! by Oscar-nominated filmmakers Carl Deal and Tia Lessin, following investigative journalist Amy Goodman as she takes on soldiers, politicians and corporate media. The groundbreaking world premiere A City in the Forest sees a grassroots movement fight to defend the land when a police unit in Atlanta moves to raze an urban forest for a police training facility. All Rivers Spill Their Stories To The Sea, directed by Jeanie Finlay, follows fisherman Stan Rennie, who finds himself in a fight for answers and a future when thousands of dead crabs wash ashore along England’s North East coast. TAKKUUK brings infrared cinematography and a Bicep score to explore Arctic Indigenous culture, and Derek vs Derek is a humorous look at two Devon farmers at war over the future of their land.
Music documentaries are a major highlight with the International Premiere of Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s The Weight of The World) directed by Academy Award winner Questlove with exclusive archive access; plus the UK premiere of The Ballad of Judas Priest, a story of heavy metal, closeted queerness and a culture war; and world premieres of Heaven 17: The Last Temptation with Sheffield synth legends on their last tour; Ultimate Thunder ‘the punkest band in the UK’ whose members have learning disabilities and Down syndrome fight funding cuts, health scares and setbacks; and WOLF with Tilda Swinton on the life of cult British musician Patrick Wolf.
World Premiere highlights include SKYCLIMBER – Scaling The Eiffel Tower, Adam Lockwood’s audacious attempt to climb one of the world’s most iconic monuments unaided. Savage Mountain sees Kristin Harila attempt to break the speed record for climbing the world’s 14 highest mountains. The Apologist explores how apologies redefine history. In The Archivist, David “Doc” Rowe races to protect Britain’s overlooked folk traditions. Lesbian Lines explores a network of underground telephone helplines established by a small community of Irish lesbians in 1979. Life Support follows international doctors in Gaza in an unflinching record of a society being dismantled. Mark Cousins spotlights two pivotal decades – the 1960s and 1970s – drawn from his 16-part series The Story of Documentary Film.
First Impressions gives audiences exclusive previews to major upcoming docuseries from the world of TV and streamers before anyone else, from hard-hitting investigative series and other world-class TV journalism. This year’s highlights include: HBO’s The Man Will Burn (International Premiere) tracing the origins and evolution of the iconic Burning Man festival; Katie Price (World Premiere) a raw, propulsive reappraisal of one of Britain’s most enduring celebrity figures from Louis Theroux’s BAFTA-winning Mindhouse; BBC’s Buried (World Premiere) with investigative journalists Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor teaming up with Michael Sheen to trace ‘forever chemicals’ buried in Welsh land; renowned historian David Olusoga uncovers the hidden lives within a single Edinburgh home in the latest series of BBC’s A House Through Time (World Premiere); SKY’s The Lie That Exposed the Truth (World Premiere) speaking to Britain’s long failure to reckon with grooming in a gripping re-examination of a viral 2020 case; and SKY and Mindhouse’s The Alien Autopsy Scandal, A stranger than fiction re-examination of the eccentric Brits behind the infamous alien autopsy footage, branded the biggest hoax of the 1990s.
International films making their UK and European premieres include Universal’s highly anticipated AI Doc: Or How I Became An Apocaloptimist (UK Premiere), exploring the changing world of AI from a filmmaker expecting his first child who asks the people building it what kind of future lies ahead, while Replica (UK Premiere) follows three women in China who turn to AI lovers to fill emotional gaps. Maite Alberdi’s A Child of My Own (UK Premiere) follows a young Mexican woman who fakes a pregnancy and becomes trapped in a web of her own making for 9 months. Give Me The Ball! (European Premiere) directed by Liz Garbus is an intimate portrait of tennis legend Billie Jean King, revealing the sacrifices, struggles and determination behind her transformation of women’s sport. Time and Water is a cinematic letter to the future with Icelandic poet Andri Snær Magnason, from Academy Award-nominated director Sara Dosa. The Long Cuban Night (European Premiere), captured entirely on phone, sees a group of Cuban artists document their uprising; The Cycle of Love (UK Premiere) follows a young street artist from Delhi who sets off on a 6,000-mile journey by bicycle to find the woman who captured his heart, and Heals (European Premiere) follows Asian drag queen Pangina Heals in a revealing story of childhood pain, family fracture and fierce reinvention. There will also be the UK premiere of Cantona, which tells the remarkable story of Eric Cantona’s journey from a volatile French prodigy to a Manchester United legend.
Sheffield DocFest 33rd Edition
SHORT FILMS
Filmmakers from across the UK and Europe, the USA, South Africa, Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Palestine, Guatemala, and Colombia will present a varied programme of 24 shorts across nine categories. Including recent works from Waad Al-Kateab, Teboho Edkins and Sam Howard.
Stories of Displacement: from frontlines to exile, two Syrian stories of friendship and loss reveal the quiet endurance of memory, resistance and the search for home. Thresholds of Faith: explores belief and resistance through healing rituals, feminist defiance and ancestral memory. States of Becoming: from Texas classrooms to neurodiverse self-discovery and a particular Italian youth community, how young lives adapt, resist and redefine belonging; Family Business: uncovers the burdens and bonds of inheritance, where memory, myth and survival shape what families remember or forget; On Human & Animals: following lives shaped by care and connection across farms, flights and fairs; Portraits of Absence: three intimate journeys through grief and remembrance; Acts of Witness: confronting systems of violence and erasure; and Safe Spaces: stories of queer resilience trace the search for safety in homes, music and asylum centers. Italian Archives Reimagined: Experience a captivating journey through Italy’s history with this collection of rare Luce archive shorts.
TALKS
Public talks will be presented across the city, bringing together extraordinary voices, artists and thinkers. Girlbands Forever! charts the highs and lows of making a hit BBC music documentary with All Saints’ Melanie Blatt. Behind the Scenes: Educating Yorkshire with headteacher Matthew Burton, creator David Clews, and friends relives heartwarming memories from the BAFTA-nominated series. Visionaries Live with Alice Aedy and Amy Goodman is a live podcast recording with the duo in conversation, exploring the role of storytelling in times of change. Rose Ayling-Ellis: Sign Language Front & Centre explores how placing sign language at the heart of storytelling can, and should, reshape mainstream programming. For Brexit: How Britain Voted Out, Emmy and BAFTA-winning filmmaker Norma Percy will join director Max Stern to discuss the making of their documentary, 10 years on from the Brexit vote.
As previously announced the talks programme also features Miriam Margolyes reflecting on truth-telling across her long career, Oscar-winning director Andrea Arnold offering a rare insight into her creative process; Chris Packham on his career-defining programmes in conversation with the BBC, and a celebration of Sir David Attenborough at 100 with leading filmmakers, activists, environmentalists and presenters Chris Packham, Gordon Buchanan, Lizzie Daly, Nadeem Perera and Dominique Palmer reflecting on his legacy.
PODCASTS
DocFest champions the breadth of the documentary art form and continues its podcast programme with live podcast launches and exclusive recordings.
BBC Radio 4’s Dead Rabbit with Chris Packham exposes organised crime in the British countryside in the new BBC podcast series with investigative journalists Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor. The Road to Redemption Man from The Whickers Podcast Pitch 2025 winner, Redemption Man, shares behind-the-scenes insight into the winning journey. BBC Radio 4’s Dear Gilbert, Dear Gordon will mark the first-ever live version of BBC Radio 4’s Illuminated. Audible Original Series Launch with Charlie Webster is an exclusive, live, immersive listen with the award-winning journalist.
ALTERNATE REALITIES
Gaming multi-worlds and immersive storytelling collide in this year’s Alternate Realities, Sheffield DocFest’s XR strand. Explore powerful works that blur the lines between documentary, narrative and gaming, plus get rare insight into pioneering projects still in development.
Sheffield of Stories, by Adam Clarke, in partnership with The National Videogame Museum, will be a festival centrepiece that transforms Sheffield into a shared Minecraft world co-created with children and families. Visitors are invited to contribute their own stories and navigate the world through projections and interactive stations.
Infinity Studio: enter the world of real-time VR filmmaking with director Joe Hunting, using immersive virtual production app Infinity Studio to shoot a short scene.
Sound & Fury: from the makers of Grand Theft Hamlet, a hybrid theatrical experiment that reimagines Shakespeare’s Macbeth within the virtual world of a first-person shooter video game.
The Alternate Realities Exhibition, hosted at Yorkshire Artspace, explores gaming multi-worlds and showcases selected works, including Coded Black by Human Studio & Dr Maisha Wester; Elsewhere in India by Antariksha Studio; and Crossover Labs in partnership with the BFI National Archive.
Sheffield DocFest 33rd Edition
GEN DOCFEST
GEN DocFest is a brand-new strand for the next generation of doc lovers, covering big ideas, wild stories, participation, and space to explore. The programme brings together live performances, hands-on workshops, surprising true stories and plenty of chances to see the world differently.
The festival offers a weekend of alternative education: Laugh and learn with Horrible Histories and Horrible Science: A Thoroughly Horrible Morning! Peek behind the curtain with Behind the Scenes: Educating Yorkshire. See things differently with spoken-word poet and activist Sam Browne, who brings a powerful live performance, followed by an open conversation about growing up, masculinity, and finding your voice through storytelling. There’s also a Heaven 17 Family Rave.
Wild Futures celebrates David Attenborough’s 100th birthday with a day of adventure. Join wildlife presenter and filmmaker Hannah Stitfall (BBC Springwatch and Autumnwatch) for a high-energy journey into the natural world. Enjoy FRONTLINEdance presents: The Explorers in Training! A lively mix of dance, storytelling and music for children under 6, families and young people with disabilities. There’s also Wild Futures: Relaxed Screening of ‘On Humans & Animals’ short programme, Wild Futures: If Animals Could Talk, What Might They Say? craft workshop and a Wild Futures Mini Lantern Parade.
Screenings for all: Toddler Kino and Baby Kino: Special screenings for parents or guardians and babies under one, and toddler screenings for ages 1-4. Book at the Showroom Cinema Box Office. For Schools and Universities, some of our most exciting screenings are aimed at school groups (Years 7-16+) and students, paired with Q&As on careers in film and TV.
Sheffield of Stories: Build the Sheffield of your imagination in Minecraft, block by block. Open May half term at the National Videogame Museum, Sheffield, and during the festival at Yorkshire Artspace: Persistence Works.
For full programme details and ticket information, visit the Sheffield DocFest website. Cinerama coverage starts on June 10.
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