DocFest

Sheffield DocFest is the UK's leading documentary festival and one of the world’s most influential markets for documentary projects.

The festival champions and presents the breadth of documentary form across film, television, immersive technology and art - with film screenings, virtual reality exhibitions, an industry marketplace, unmissable live events, and its own awards.

Widely recognised as one of the top three documentary festivals in the world, the festival has been held in Sheffield since 1994, offering makers and audiences a place for inspiration, debate, development, learning and challenge. The festival will celebrate its 30th Edition from 14-19 June 2023.

One of Sheffield’s biggest cultural events, the Showroom Cinema forms the main festival hub - but there are film screenings, events and exhibitions happening in venues right across the city. Prior to the pandemic, the festival often attracted over 30,000 festival goers each year. In 2022 the festival had its first predominantly in-person edition since 2019, welcoming the documentary community and audiences back to Sheffield. The festival attracted 25,424 in-person attendances, as well as a further 4,899 admissions online. It screened 135 films from 55 countries, and 29 projects were exhibited in its Alternate Realities programme.

DocFest is run by International Documentary Festival Sheffield, an independent registered charity, whose purpose is to advance the art of film, education and training in documentary filmmaking.

If you’re a member of the film, digital art and related communities you can apply for a Festival Pass for this year’s festival. Tickets for film screenings, events and talks will go live on 10 May, when the full programme will be announced.