Sheffield 24

Even in advance of its world premiere in Sheffield, Croatian director Goran Devic’s Pavilion No 6 (sold by Film Harbour) is already being billed as a Covid movie with a difference - a feelgood affair about a feelbad subject that approaches the pandemic in a humorous and surreal way. “I felt that every single individual I met [at the Covid vaccination centre] was happy to communicate. Even the shooting was some kind of communication,” Devic tells BDE.

The fifteen jury members will assess new works across the International Competition, First Feature Competition, Short Film Competition, The Tim Hetherington Award and International Alternate Realities Competition sections. The festival also announced details of masterclasses and a conversation with revered sound editor Walter Murch. The 31st Sheffield DocFest runs from Wednesday 12 – Monday 17 June.

Sheffield’s Industry Programme and Market runs in conjunction with the Festival (June 12-17) and includes 22 Industry Sessions for delegates, five Marketplace Sessions, three Live Pitch sessions, the Filmmaker Challenge, Alternate Realities Summit, five marketplace Rough Cuts, Craft Summit (a day of five panels and masterclasses) as well as the MeetMarket pitching forum.

The 2024 film programme includes 48 world, 14 international, 17 European and 29 UK premieres from 56 countries of production. The International Competition consists of eight world prems including Tilda Swinton’s feature directorial debut (co-directed with Bartek Dziadosz). The 31st Sheffield DocFest runs June 12-17. The complete Industry programme will be announced May 15.

Six new teams are announced to compete for prize funding for innovative new audio projects June 15 at Sheffield DocFest 2024. A grand first prize of £5,000 will be awarded, with £2,000 going to the runner up. The award is designed to celebrate the global trend towards solo and episodic listening to factual audio. Sheffield DocFest runs June 12-17.

The 31st edition of Sheffield DocFest will open 12 June with the World Premiere of Kevin Macdonald’s Klitschko: More Than a Fight. Academy Award®-winning Roger Ross Williams is unveiled as Guest of Honour for 2024. The festival also announces that award-winning filmmaker Anna Hall will be joining the speakers line-up as the subject of the 2024 Channel 4 Interview.

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.

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.

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).

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.”