Introduction to the film festival
Sheffield DocFest is the UK’s leading documentary festival and one of the world’s most influential markets for documentary projects. We champion and present the breadth of documentary form – film, television, immersive and art – in the vibrant city of Sheffield each June. We offer a place for inspiration, debate, development, learning and challenge. Our programming represents our core values – creativity, empathy, freedom, inclusivity and internationalism.
Sheffield DocFest is run by International Documentary Festival Sheffield, an independent registered charity (no.1184849), whose purpose is to advance the art of film, education and training in documentary filmmaking. Our core values as a charity centre around empathy, inclusiveness, social engagement, freedom and internationalism.
The 2025 festival is set to run from Wednesday 18 June - Monday 23 June 2025.
Awards
AWARDS:
Sheffield DocFest honours the best of our programme in several award categories. Please see the award categories and criteria below.
International Competition: This competition honours films that best display strong artistic vision and courageous storytelling. This award is Academy Award accredited. Only World, International or European premieres will be eligible for this competition.
International First Feature Competition: This competition honours the future of non-fiction film and celebrates promising talent. Only World, International or European premieres will be eligible for this competition.
International Short Film Competition:This competition honours the best creative approach to documentary under 40 minutes. This award is Academy Award, BAFTA and BIFA accredited. Only World, International or European premieres will be eligible for this competition.
Youth Jury Award: This award is selected by some of the UK's most passionate and stand-out young documentary lovers.
Sheffield DocFest Audience Award: This award is voted for by the Sheffield DocFest cinema audiences, recognising the film that receives the highest audience vote during the Festival.
Rules
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
●Film Entry Categories:
o Short Films (up to 40 minutes including credits)
oMid-length / Feature Films (over40minutes)
● All films entered must be at minimum a UK premiere at Sheffield DocFest 2025. The film must not be available on any online platform accessible to UK audiences.Eligibility for some of the awards may require international or world premiere status.
If already shown, films must have had their world premiere after 1 April 2024. Films shown before this date are not eligible.
● We welcome multiple entries. Each entry will require a separate application form and entry fee.
●Films previously submitted to DocFest are not eligible, unless the film has changed significantly with regards to narrative or its art form since last entered.
Entered films require English dialogue or English subtitles. Transcripts to films or partial translations cannot be accepted when considering the film for the festival.
● lt is the sole responsibility of the applicant to secure clearance from the copyright holders of any copyrighted materials included within the submitted films. DocFest will not be held responsible for the unauthorised inclusion of any copyrighted materials within or related to the entered film.
DocFest reserves the right to disqualify any film with any unauthorised inclusion of copyrighted materials.
Rough cuts are also accepted if it is guaranteed that the film will not change in essence on completion and the final cut will be available early May 2025. Please aim to send us the most up to date cut of the film for consideration.
We consider only world premieres of series or episodic work and we advise submitting a maximum 120 mins of material as a single previewing link (eg. two 60 min episodes or an entire series of short webisodes).
●lf your film project is particularly sensitive, legally or otherwise, and you require an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) or encrypted method of entry, please enquire via email with ‘SENSITIVE PROJECT’ in the subject heading.
● Due to the volume of entries received, DocFest cannot offer feedback or individual comments for films not included in the programme.
| Jury Name | Judge photos | Jury Profile |
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Authorization type
Duration (several sessions)
Film Festival Features
Dates & Deadlines
2024-10-02
Submission start time
2024-11-27
Earlybird Deadline
2025-02-05
Regular Deadline
2025-02-26
Late Deadline
2025-02-26
Submission end time
2025-04-10
Finalist notification start time
2025-04-10
Finalist notification end time
2025-06-18
Award ceremony start time
2025-06-23
Award ceremony end time
Categories and fees
2024/11/27
Earlybird Deadline
Standard: 36 Dollar
Student： 36 Dollar
2025/02/05
Regular Deadline
Standard: 48 Dollar
Student： 48 Dollar
2025/02/26
Late Deadline
Standard: 61 Dollar
Student： 61 Dollar
2024/11/27
Earlybird Deadline
Standard: 48 Dollar
Student： 48 Dollar
2025/02/05
Regular Deadline
Standard: 61 Dollar
Student： 61 Dollar
2025/02/26
Late Deadline
Standard: 74 Dollar
Student： 74 Dollar
2025/02/26
Deadline
Standard: 55 Dollar
Student： 55 Dollar
Related film festivalMore
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