Sheffield Industry’s biggest prize, The Whickers Pitch, Film & TV Funding Award 2026, which included a pot of £120,000, was handed to Children of Honey directed by Jigar Ganatra and Emanuel Musa Marco at the closing ceremony of the festival’s 33rd edition. The development prize of £25,000 went to Welcome to Our Bathhouse, directed by Tommaso Barbetta.
The Whickers Pitch, Film & TV Funding Award 2026 judging panel were: Jane Mote (Whickers’ Consultant Editor), Raul Niño Zambrano (Sheffield DocFest Creative Director), Anna Berthollet (Lightdox), David Green (Whicker’s World Director), Fozia Khan (Head of Unscripted at Amazon Studios UK), and Sam Soko (co-founder of LBx Africa and award-winning documentary filmmaker).
Sam Soko, filmmaker and Co founder of LBx Africa and Whickers Judge commented of Children of Honey: “Children of Honey is a beautiful, cinematic project from Tanzania which offers us a rare window into the Hadza community, This community is often only seen through the lens of outsiders but in this film the Hadza have real agency in the telling and the owning of the story, bringing authenticity and depth to the narrative.”
Fozia Khan, Head of Unscripted Amazon MGM Studios UK and Whicker Judge commented of Welcome to Our Bathhouse: “This project gives us a rare glimpse into a secretive world, full of heart. A story of love, friendship, belonging and age – of both people and places – with humour and vulnerability.”
The Whickers Podcast Pitch first prize (£15,000) went to The many gendered mothers of my heart, presented by David Green, and the development prize (£5,000) went to The Riverbank, presented by Jane Ray and Lieven Heeremans.
The winners were chosen for being the most creative and promising pitches, and the prizes were funded by the Whickers foundation.
The judging panel commented of The many gendered mothers of my heart: “A stand-out for its humanity, humour and clarity of purpose. A clear example of how audio documentary can lend a voice to those who can’t tell their stories to a lens. The judges appreciated the idea that this work, once completed could be shared with isolated communities as a form of outreach and connection. The blending of a personal journey of love in front of the backdrop of those who have tried to pave the way through secret letters is deeply compelling and will be hugely revealing to audiences at home and abroad. We can’t wait to hear it.”
The judging panel commented of The Riverbank: “A moving, poetic example of how the most powerful stories sometimes exist in the spaces around and between the narrative. Chirae’s determination and clarity of vision shone through the painful subject matter- it is clear this project is the work of a powerful creative mind- and could only be told in audio. The judges also appreciated Chi’s clear understanding of how she would tell chapters of her story and characters over multiple episodes.”
CHANNEL 4 FIRST CUT PITCH
Channel 4 First Cut Pitch saw five short-listed directors present and discuss a 3-minute micro-documentary on the theme ‘End of the Line’ in front of a live audience and a panel of industry experts.
- Winner: Flora Stewart. Senior Commissioning Editor, Rita Daniels said: “We’re really happy to announce Flora Stewart as the winner of the First Cut Pitch 2026. Her film was engaging, character driven and captured the essence of what First Cut is. We are really excited to work with her.” Finalists: Callum McCulloch Nowlan, Tamara Lois Ansah, Kiran Sira and Mal Senanayake.
CLIMATE SPRING DIGITAL-FIRST PITCH
The Climate Pitch invited four creatives to pitch their digital-first documentary idea at Sheffield DocFest 2026, with one winner receiving £10,000 in development funding and support from Climate Spring.The Climate Spring Pitch champions creatives to explore bold and innovative unscripted storytelling for digital audiences, centering the power of community and offering solution-oriented visions of the future.
- Winner: Ruben Against The Machine, directed by Ruben Reuter and Rosie Baldwin.
MEETMARKET AIDC AWARD
- Winner: Disruption directed by Sarvnik Kaur. Produced by: Monisha Thyagarajan and Sarvnik Kaur. Country of production: India. Country of co-production: France
MEETMARKET DAE TALENT ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD
- Winner: Rebellion of Memory directed by Joël Jent. Produced by Sophia Rubischung and Claudia Chávez Lévano. Country of production: Switzerland. Country of co-production: Peru
MEETMARKET TOKYO DOCS AWARD
- Winner: Taxi Driver directed by Sarah Chishti. Produced by Sarah Chishti. Country of Production: USA
MEETMARKET EAST DOC PLATFORM AWARD
- Winner: Slavik’s Journey to Forever directed by Vladyslav Vasylchenko. Produced by Bohdanna Semen / Babylon’13. Country: Ukraine
MEETMARKET MEDIMED AWARD
- Winner: Anywhere but here directed by Emilio di Stefano. Produced by Daniéla Frykstrand and Elin Kamlert. Country of Production: Sweden
MEETMARKET JI.HLAVA AWARD
- Winner: SUDAN – The Invisible War
BIRD STREET PRODUCTIONS AWARD
Winner: The Bologna Trial directed by Paolo Fiore Angelini. Produced by Thierry Detaille, Serena Gramizzi. Country of Production: Belgium. Country of Co-production: Italy
THE FARM POST-PRODUCTION AWARD
Winner: Upstream directed by Moira Fett, Natalie Berger. Produced by Martha Gregory, Sean Weiner. Country of Production: USA
#DOCSCONNECT CONSCIOUS FILMMAKING AWARD BY TASKOVSKI TRAINING
Winner: Before our Diaspora directed by Theo Panagopoulos. Produced by Nadja Lapcevic. Country of production United Kingdom. Country of co-production France
TASKOVSKI PR & PUBLICITY AWARD
Winner: Rebellion of Memory directed by Joël Jent. Produced by Sophia Rubischung and Claudia Chávez Lévano. Country of production: Switzerland. Country of co-production: Peru
