Sheffield DocFest
BY Thea Gausen
The Sheffield International Documentary Festival is the UK’s leading event dedicated to platforming underrepresented directors and the best in avant-garde film.
Chosen for: Innovation.
Started in 1994, the annual festival champions all genres of films from up-and-coming and established directors. The premise of the event is to reflect the industry’s most exciting, boundary-pushing filmmaking and storytelling. But what sets it apart from other leading film festivals?
Sheffield DocFest takes a democratic approach to its curation by ensuring that its team selects works from open submissions only. This process aims to highlight underrepresented voices within the independent film industry, giving every filmmaker involved a fair chance to have their work featured within the event. 2022 may have been crowned the Year of the Nepo Baby by Vulture, but within the film industry Sheffield DocFest seeks to provide a corrective by levelling the playing field. In addition to this egalitarian selection process, they offer 35 bursaries to make the festival accessible and affordable to those from low-income backgrounds.
Furthermore, the event offers a programme of afterparties, networking events, world premieres and awards. While key cultural events in the UK are often based in London, Sheffield DocFest provides a dose of culture away from the capital city, and it’s renowned for breaking in new talent. This is an essential event for those looking to dive into the very best of UK film, and if you’d like to get to know emerging talent before they become in-demand names.
Sheffield DocFest returns on 14-19 June 2023.
