Sheffield 24

The festival will run 12-17 June in 2024 while MeetMarket will be presented 13 and 14 June. “Sheffield DocFest is a place for creative and international collaboration as well as an immersion in the world of documentary - from film to TV to new formats,” comments MD Annabel Grundy. “We are proud to play an important role as part of this ecosystem and cannot wait to welcome the community back to Sheffield next year.”

The Whickers, founded in 2015 and named after the legendary British broadcaster and documentarian Alan Whicker, this year celebrates 10 years of collaboration with Sheffield DocFest. On June 16 the annual £100,000 Film and TV Funding Award will be handed out, as well as a £20,000 development prize. June 15 sees The Whickers and Sheffield DocFest Podcast Awards, valued at £5000 and £2000 respectively. Consultant Art Director Jane Ray explains her organisation’s rationale and modus operandi to BDE.

Lhakpa Sherpa isn’t a household name but is likely to become one after Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa (Lucy Walker’s new feature documentary about her) goes out on Netflix across 192 countries in July. “It is going to be the first ever movie that Netflix has subtitled in Nepali - which is huge…” the Oscar-nominated director notes. The film had its European premiere June 15 at Sheffield DocFest.

Mancini joins DocFest January 2024 to lead the festival’s industry strategy and activity including Marketplace, with oversight of the festival’s Industry programme and year-round activity. Other new appointments are Sophie Duncan as Marketplace & Talent Programmes Producer, Lisa Marie Russo as Marketplace Consultant, Vanessa Lobón Garcia as Talks and Sessions Senior Producer, and Lieven Heeremans (Podcast Programme Producer).

“All the time I was making this, I was amazed by how resilient the people are in Kyiv and determined not to let the Russians win…This is their war. It’s not America’s war, it’s not NATO’s war. They want to win it because they feel this incredible burning sense of injustice,” Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald says of the indomitable mentality of the Ukrainians, as exemplified by the city’s mayor and former boxing world champion Vitali Klitschko.

Strike: An Uncivil War, directed by Daniel Gordon, tells the story behind the infamous “battle of Orgreave” in June 1984 between the Yorkshire police and striking mineworkers. It also reveals just how the Thatcher government ripped the heart out of Britain’s mining communities during the year-long miners’ strike. “Irrespective of your political viewpoint, you see the results that happened,” Gordon tells BDE of the social devastation caused by the closure of the mines.

The UK festival will join forces with the International Documentary Association (IDA) on the Alternate Realities Exhibition and Summit of its 31st edition, taking place 12-17 June 2024. The exhibition will be curated by DocFest Creative Director Raul Niño Zambrano alongside IDA’s Keisha Knight, Director of Funds, and Abby Sun, Director of Artist Programmes, supported by Alternate Realities Programme Producer Jack Rutherford.

The incredible story of Lhakpa Sherpa, screening on Netflix from July 31, will undoubtedly attract the attention of Hollywood, but any future filmmakers will have their work cut out as this documentary paints an almost perfect literal and metaphorical picture of an epic journey to the top of the world. If this film doesn't uplift, move and empower you, I'm afraid nothing will.

Grand Jury Award for International Competition goes to At the Door of the House Who Will Come Knocking by Maja Novaković. The Grand Jury Award for the International First Feature Competition is won by The Boy and the Suit of Lights by Inma de Reyes. The Tim Hetherington Award was picked up by No Other Land by Basel Adri, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Soar, Hamdan Ballal (Palestine, Norway, 2024). All festival and Industry awards…

Drawn from 533 submissions, the 50 projects in the 2024 selection encompass 44 countries of production and co-production. New works will be presented from experienced producers such as Ina Fichman, Estelle Robin You, Monica Lazurean-Gorgan and Michèle Stevenson, working alongside first time and second time filmmakers. Five Rough Cut titles which will be screened to industry representatives and receive tailored feedback.