Year-Round Screenings & Events

Upcoming screenings and events

Our Year-Round Screening & Events programme is dedicated to championing the work of documentary filmmakers, and bringing documentary cinema to audiences, all year-round.

DocNights, in collaboration with Showroom Cinema, is a regular monthly screening of documentary films taking place on the last Monday of every month in Sheffield.

Sheffield DocFest Spotlights, in this joint curation with Bertha DocHouse, audiences are invited to discover the gems, highlights and new voices in non-fiction cinema which premiered in the past festival edition.

Take a look at the screenings scheduled below:

DocNights: Agent of Happiness

A happiness surveyor in the Kingdom of Bhutan grapples with his own contentment in
this light-hearted yet fascinating probe into how happiness can be measured.

Employed by the Bhutanese government, Amber Gurung travels across mountainous
regions to gather data from citizens to measure the country’s gross national happiness.

The 148 questions featured in the survey are straightforward, but they draw out the participants’ personal stories, along with a range of emotions that the survey cannot possibly encapsulate.

Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó’s film explores larger critical issues raised by this questionnaire and assesses whether it is even possible to define a nation’s happiness, both in the home and as a citizen.

They also offer a tender portrait of Amber’s life as a caretaker of his ageing mother, his longing for a
romantic partner and his insecurities due to a lack of citizenship.

Screening: Monday 29 July, 18:00 @ Showroom Cinema, Sheffield

The screening will be introduced by a member of the DocFest team.

Three people sat in traditional dress sat on steps. The person on the left and the person on the right hold a stack of paper each.

Sheffield DocFest Spotlights: Of Caravan and the Dogs + Q&A

With unparalleled access, Of Caravan and the Dogs follows a group of independent journalists and activists in Russia whose criticism of the war in Ukraine leads to their censorship and exile.

‘There’s such a thing as self-respect’, muses one journalist in a staff meeting called to discuss the ethics of publishing under new, arcane censorship laws.

Structured around a countdown to war, the film intercuts tense meetings between newspaper staff with footage of Russian police ransacking media offices, televised broadcasts by Putin, large-scale protests in Russia and on-the-ground footage from an embattled Ukraine.

The film is both a powerful exploration of the personal dilemmas of people living under strict repression and a unique perspective on resistance movements within a notoriously hermetic state.

Screening + Q&A: Tuesday 30 July, 18:20 @ Bertha DocHouse, London

The screening will be followed by a filmmaker Q&A.

This screening will be Open Captioned and the Q&A will be Signed – a British Sign Language interpreter will be visible on stage throughout the event.

On the right hand side of the image, a person holds a sign up above their head. In the background there is a small crowd of people, some also holding signs.

Past Events

DocNights: Long Distance Swimmer

The Syrian swimmer who pulled the boat that carried her and another 18 refugees to Greece now copes with the consequences of becoming a famous activist.

After their act of heroism at sea, Sara and her sister Yusra were transformed into international celebrities. Sara became an activist and Yusra an Olympic swimmer.

After their passage to Europe was guaranteed, Sara kept helping her fellow migrants and refugees, volunteering as a lifeguard with Emergency Response Center International.

Because of her actions, she was arrested by Greek authorities on a variety of counts, including people trafficking.

Long Distance Swimmer details Sara’s daily life in Berlin, as she awaits the outcome of charges that could send her to jail for years. A hero to many, she has become a voice for those who are subject to a growing tide of anti-immigration policies.

Screening: Monday 27 May, 18:00 @ Showroom Cinema, Sheffield

The screening will be introduced by a member of the DocFest team.

People standing with signs, some of which read 'Humanity is not a Crime'

Sheffield DocFest Spotlights: Long Distance Swimmer + Q&A

The Syrian swimmer who pulled the boat that carried her and another 18 refugees to Greece now copes with the consequences of becoming a famous activist.

After their act of heroism at sea, Sara and her sister Yusra were transformed into international celebrities. Sara became an activist and Yusra an Olympic swimmer.

After their passage to Europe was guaranteed, Sara kept helping her fellow migrants and refugees, volunteering as a lifeguard with Emergency Response Center International.

Because of her actions, she was arrested by Greek authorities on a variety of counts, including people trafficking.

Long Distance Swimmer details Sara’s daily life in Berlin, as she awaits the outcome of charges that could send her to jail for years. A hero to many, she has become a voice for those who are subject to a growing tide of anti-immigration policies.

Screening + Q&A: Tuesday 28 May, 18:20 @ Bertha DocHouse, London

The screening will be followed by a filmmaker Q&A.

This screening will be Open Captioned and the Q&A will be Signed – a British Sign Language interpreter will be visible on stage throughout the event.

People standing with signs, some of which read 'Humanity is not a Crime'

DocNights: Red Herring + Q&A

Diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour, director Kit Vincent enlists his family for an intimate and darkly humorous journey to help them come to terms with his illness.

Kit’s family had already experienced its fair share of tumult when the 24-year-old was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Kit’s mum, a community nurse who spends much of her time caring for dying patients, was traumatised by the thought that her son will be one of them.

Meanwhile his dad, Lawrence, threw himself into a series of obscure diversion tactics – from growing cannabis in his spare room, to relinquishing his lifelong atheism and secretly attending a local synagogue.

What Kit captures with his camera traverses the fine line between humour and grief, detailing his family’s acceptance of his fate, and celebrating the relationships that keep us going, particularly in life’s darker moments.

Screening + Q&A: Monday 29 April, 18:15 @ Showroom Cinema, Sheffield

The screening will be followed by a filmmaker Q&A.

Overhead shot of a person's face laid on a hospital machine

Sheffield DocFest Spotlights: Red Herring + Q&A

Diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour, director Kit Vincent enlists his family for an intimate and darkly humorous journey to help them come to terms with his illness.

Kit’s family had already experienced its fair share of tumult when the 24-year-old was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Kit’s mum, a community nurse who spends much of her time caring for dying patients, was traumatised by the thought that her son will be one of them.

Meanwhile his dad, Lawrence, threw himself into a series of obscure diversion tactics – from growing cannabis in his spare room, to relinquishing his lifelong atheism and secretly attending a local synagogue.

What Kit captures with his camera traverses the fine line between humour and grief, detailing his family’s acceptance of his fate, and celebrating the relationships that keep us going, particularly in life’s darker moments.

Screening + Q&A: Monday 15 April, 18:20 @ Bertha DocHouse, London

The screening will be followed by a filmmaker Q&A.

This screening will be Open Captioned and the Q&A will be Signed – a British Sign Language interpreter will be visible on stage throughout the event.

Overhead shot of a person's face laid on a hospital machine

Sheffield DocFest Spotlights: Much Ado About Dying + Q&A

It begins with a voicemail: ‘I think I may be dying’.

When filmmaker Simon Chambers cuts short a shoot in India to tend to his dying uncle, he has no idea of the journey they’re about to embark on together.

Chambers’ octogenarian uncle, long-retired actor David Newlyn Gale, isn’t quite at death’s door. Nevertheless, his health has deteriorated in recent years. He lives in an unsuitable flat, sustaining himself on cans of soup, keeping himself warm with a small army of electric heaters and battling a mice infestation with toothpaste. It soon becomes clear that his greatest sources of nourishment are literature and theatre.

And he sees in his nephew, who is also gay, a like-minded creative soul.

Between the Shakespearean monologues, Much Ado About Dying presents an intimate, occasionally funny and ultimately moving portrait of a solitary life and a quietly critical assessment of the inadequate resources available in the UK for a rapidly ageing population.

Screening + Q&A: Tuesday 26 March, 18:20 @ Bertha DocHouse, London

Person stands in a shower cubicle, in one hand holding the shower head and with the other hand putting his thumb up

DocNights: Much Ado About Dying

It begins with a voicemail: ‘I think I may be dying’.

When filmmaker Simon Chambers cuts short a shoot in India to tend to his dying uncle, he has no idea of the journey they’re about to embark on together.

Chambers’ octogenarian uncle, long-retired actor David Newlyn Gale, isn’t quite at death’s door. Nevertheless, his health has deteriorated in recent years. He lives in an unsuitable flat, sustaining himself on cans of soup, keeping himself warm with a small army of electric heaters and battling a mice infestation with toothpaste. It soon becomes clear that his greatest sources of nourishment are literature and theatre.

And he sees in his nephew, who is also gay, a like-minded creative soul.

Between the Shakespearean monologues, Much Ado About Dying presents an intimate, occasionally funny and ultimately moving portrait of a solitary life and a quietly critical assessment of the inadequate resources available in the UK for a rapidly ageing population.

Screening: Monday 25 March, 18:00 @ Showroom Cinema, Sheffield

Person stands in a shower cubicle, in one hand holding the shower head and with the other hand putting his thumb up

Citizen Sleuth at libraries across Sheffield

“Citizen Sleuth” follows Emily Nestor and her Mile Marker 181 podcast, as she conducts an amateur murder investigation into the death of Jaleayah Davis.

The documentary examines the ethics of the true crime genre through Emily’s pursuits of her top suspects.

With a growing audience of millions, Emily's podcast becomes a hit, but as she probes deeper into the case, she’s confronted with a new truth she struggles to tell her listeners.

Join us in March for free screenings of "Citizen Sleuth" at libraries across Sheffield.

Emily Nestor lays on a tattoo bench getting her leg tattooed.

Sheffield DocFest Spotlights: Transition + Q&A

Jordan Bryon has been filming from the epicentre of the Afghan conflict for over five years, during which time the Taliban retook control of the country. Transition follows the Australian as he navigates life and work as a trans man in the country, alongside Afghan filmmaker Teddy and Iranian photojournalist Kiana.

A new job grants Jordan and Teddy unbridled access to a Taliban stronghold, but Jordan must negotiate the ethics and risks of developing genuine relationships with men who are responsible for restricting the freedoms of so many, while also keeping a part of his own identity a secret.

Please note, this screening will not longer be Open Captioned and the Q&A will no longer be Signed.

Screening + Q&A: Tuesday 27 February, 18:20@ Bertha DocHouse, London

Silhouettes of four people stood under the evening sky in the documentary film Transition

DocNights: Transition

Jordan Bryon has been filming from the epicentre of the Afghan conflict for over five years, during which time the Taliban retook control of the country. Transition follows the Australian as he navigates life and work as a trans man in the country, alongside Afghan filmmaker Teddy and Iranian photojournalist Kiana.

A new job grants Jordan and Teddy unbridled access to a Taliban stronghold, but Jordan must negotiate the ethics and risks of developing genuine relationships with men who are responsible for restricting the freedoms of so many, while also keeping a part of his own identity a secret.

Screening: Monday 26 February, 18:30 @ Showroom Cinema, Sheffield

Silhouettes of four people stood under the evening sky in the documentary film Transition

Obscuro Barroco

Presented at Sheffield Central Library, as part of their LGBTQ+ History Month programming, Obscuro Barroco is a documentary-fiction about the dizzying heights of gender and metamorphosis. It is also a cinematographic homage to a land of extremes; the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Following the path of iconic trans figure Luana Muniz (1961-2017), the film explores different quests for the self, both personal and political.

Screening: Wednesday 7 February, 18:30 @ Central Library, Sheffield

Book your free place now

A close up of a person smoking a cigarette whilst closing their eyes

Sheffield DocFest Spotlights: Your Fat Friend + Q&A

Made over 6 years, director Jeanie Finlay charts the rise of writer and activist Aubrey Gordon from anonymous blogger “Your Fat Friend” to NYTimes bestselling author and beloved podcaster.

Her searingly honest writing describes what it’s like to be that fat person on the plane…and how the fantasies, peddled by a diet and wellness industry worth $26 billion a year are on a par with the lies that Big Tobacco told the public in the 1950s.

Screening + Q&A: Tuesday 30 January, 18:20 @ Bertha DocHouse, London

DocNights: Nascondino (Hide & Seek)

Pitched at our MeetMarket in 2018, Nascondino by Victoria Fiore, follows four years in the life of Entoni and his family in Naples, during a critical state crackdown on crime and gangs. Stunningly shot and featuring unparalleled access to the world of inner-city Naples, the film captures the spirit and soul of a neighbourhood that finds itself both maligned and glamorised.

Screening: Monday 30 January, 18:00 @ Showroom Cinema, Sheffield

An image of a young boy smiling. He's wearing a blue t-shirt.

No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics

Presented at Sheffield Central Library, as part of their LGBTQ+ History Month programming, join us for a free screening of No Straight Lines by Vivian Kleiman. The film follows five pioneering cartoonists - Alison Bechdel, Howard Cruse, Jennifer Camper, Rupert Kinnard, and Mary Wings - who depicted everything from the AIDS crisis, coming out, and same-sex marriage, to themes of race, gender, and disability.

Screening: Thursday 23 February, 18:30 @ Carpenter Room, Sheffield Central Library

Book your free place

Archival image of a group of six people stood in a line beside a red brick wall. They are pictured smiling and laughing with each other.

DocNights: Nelly & Nadine

Nelly & Nadine by Magnus Gertten reveals the extraordinary story of two women who fell in love whilst imprisoned in Ravensbrück concentration camp and whose relationship continued for decades. Nelly & Nadine is a remarkable story about war sufferings, mysteries, love against all odds, the healing power of music, well kept secrets, and the complicated family stories of concentration camp survivors, still trying to deal with the ghosts of the past. Showing as part of LGBTQ+ History Month: Behind The Lens.

Screening: Monday 27 February, 18:00 @ Showroom Cinema, Sheffield

A sepia tone photograph of two women, wearing collared shirts and shorts. They're stood in a wooded area, in front of trees.

SHU Future Film Programmers: Revolution Loading

Each year we help to facilitate The Future Film Programmers scheme, which offers Sheffield Hallam Film Studies students the opportunity to programme their own public film screenings. This year, the programmers have curated a diverse selection of documentaries which focuses on social change across the globe. Join us for a free screening of two films from their selection: I Am Somebody (1970) by Madeline Anderson, and I Am Samuel (2020) by Peter Murimi.

Screening: Wednesday 8 March, 10:00 @ Showroom Cinema, Sheffield

Book your free place

An archival image of four black, female nurses. They're stood in a line holding protest signs.

DocNights: Alis

Winner of our 2022 Youth Jury Award, Nicolas van Hemelryck and Clare Weiskopf’s documentary is the result of a five-year workshop they ran at Arcadia boarding school in Bogota. Having created a safe space, they asked a group of teenage girls to create Alis, a fellow student, giving her whatever attributes they want. Addressing the camera directly, the girls’ discussion of their new found friend soon becomes an opportunity for them to contemplate their own feelings about – and experiences of – the world they live in. The result is a moving testament to their hope of a better world.

Screening: Monday 27 March, 18:00 @ Showroom Cinema, Sheffield

A young girl with long brown hair sits central to the camera, she has her eyes closed.

DocNights: My Name is Andrea

Using archival footage and re-enactments, director Pratibha Parmar brings new light to the work of feminist writer and public intellectual Andrea Dworkin.

Dworkin presented a revolutionary analysis of the myth of male supremacy with a singular urgency and iconoclastic flair. Decades before #MeToo, she called out the pervasiveness of sexism and rape culture, and the ways it impacts every woman’s daily life. My Name is Andrea focuses on key moments from the life of this fearless fighter, who was shaped by the civil rights movement and its values of justice and equality. Performances by Ashley Judd, Soko, Amandla Stenberg, Andrea Riseborough and Christine Lahti - all of whom have spoken out against sexual abuse – are intercut with rare, electrifying archival footage of Dworkin.

Content Guidance: Film contains strong references and discussions on violence and sexual abuse.

Screening: Monday 24 April, 18:30 @ Showroom Cinema, Sheffield

Andrea Dworkin sat in front of a bookcase

DocNights: Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche

Ahead of Tish opening this year’s Sheffield DocFest, revisit Paul Sng’s 2021 film, Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché.

The death of punk icon and X-Ray Spex frontwoman Poly Styrene sends her daughter on a journey across the world and through her mother’s archives to reconcile their fraught relationship in this new documentary feature, featuring Oscar nominee Ruth Negga as the voice of Poly Styrene.

Screening: Monday 29 May, 18:00 @ Showroom Cinema, Sheffield

Image of Poly Styrene - a mixed-race woman with short, black curly hair. She is wearing red lipstick, and a white fluffy wool cardigan. She is pictured against a blue background.

Queerama

Presented at Sheffield Central Library, as part of their LGBTQ+ History Month programming, join us for a free screening of Queerama by Daisy Asquith. The story traverses a century of gay experiences, encompassing persecution and prosecution, injustice, love and desire, identity, secrets, forbidden encounters, sexual liberation and pride.

Queerama opened Sheffield DocFest in 2017!

Screening: Wednesday 19 July, 18:30 @ Central Library, Sheffield

Book your free place

Image of two black women kissing, against a backdrop of a city skyline.

Sheffield DocFest Spotlights: White Nanny Black Child + Q&A

A group of adults find solace in sharing their experiences of growing up as children of Black Nigerian immigrants who were fostered by white British families. White Nanny Black Child presents a personal, moving and sometimes unsettling meditation on identity, belonging and the nature of family.

Screening + Q&A with director Andy Mundy-Castle: Thursday 27 July, 18:30 @ Bertha DocHouse, London

Black and white archival image. Nine white people pose for a photo with a black child.

DocNights: White Nanny Black Child

A group of adults find solace in sharing their experiences of growing up as children of Black Nigerian immigrants who were fostered by white British families. White Nanny Black Child presents a personal, moving and sometimes unsettling meditation on identity, belonging and the nature of family.

Screening: Monday 31 July, 18:30 @ Showroom Cinema, Sheffield

Black and white archival image. Nine white people pose for a photo with a black child.

DocNights: 1001 Days + Online Q&A

Kethiwe Ngcobo and Chloe White’s immersive account of the first 1001 days of a child’s life is seen from the perspective of three South African healthcare workers. 1001 Days offers an insight into the joys, challenges and disturbing reality of everyday life for these brave individuals and the many women they help. It’s an intimate, challenging and unflinching portrait of motherhood and changemaking in modern-day South Africa.

Screening + Online Q&A: Monday 28 August, 18:00 @ Showroom Cinema, Sheffield

Close up image of a baby wrapped in a pink dressing gown.

Sheffield DocFest Spotlights: The Price of Truth + Q&A

How far would you go to defend the idea of a free press? Russia’s only independent newspaper and its editor fight for democracy. Patrick Forbes’ searching documentary is a powerful and often suspenseful portrait of an extraordinary individual whose life and work embodies the importance of free speech and how essential the fourth estate is to the foundations of democracy.

Screening + Q&A with director Patrick Forbes: Thursday 17 August, 18:20 @ Bertha DocHouse, London

This screening will be Open Captioned, and the Q&A will be Signed - a British Sign Language interpreter will be visible on stage throughout the event.

Black and white image of two men stood side-on, talking to each other. The man on the left is older and has sparse, grey hair. He's wearing a suit and pointing. The man on the right has a full head of dark hair, facial hair, and is wearing a patterned knit jumper.

Sheffield DocFest Spotlights: Hotel Metalurg + Q&A

Survivors of the Abkhaz-Georgian war find themselves under pressure to leave the disused luxury hotel where they have lived for more than 30 years. George Varsimashvili and Jeanne Nouchi’s timely film poetically captures life in this world, giving voice to previously unheard stories, just as the war in Ukraine raises spectres of the past for so many.

This screening will be Open Captioned, and the Q&A will be Signed - a British Sign Language interpreter will be visible on stage throughout the event.

Screening + Q&A: Tuesday 26 September, 18:30 @ Bertha DocHouse, London

A young boy, pictured from behind, is playing with a football in a grand hall with tall arched pillars and windows. There are piles of rubble around the edge of the room and weeds growing through the windows.

DocNights: Hotel Metalurg

Survivors of the Abkhaz-Georgian war find themselves under pressure to leave the disused luxury hotel where they have lived for more than 30 years. George Varsimashvili and Jeanne Nouchi’s timely film poetically captures life in this world, giving voice to previously unheard stories, just as the war in Ukraine raises spectres of the past for so many.

This screening will include Open Captions - spoken dialogue and sound effects in the film will be converted to text and appear on screen.

Screening: Monday 25 September, 18:00 @ Showroom Cinema, Sheffield

A woman is seen walking into a dilapidated large foyer area. There's a balcony above large marble pillars, and a chandelier hanging from the middle of the ceiling. Paint is peeling off the edges of the balcony, and threads of crystals are hanging off the chandelier.

DocNights: Smoke Sauna Sisterhood

In Filmmaker Anna Hints’ Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, the history of the smoke saunas as a place of giving birth inspired them to focus on women who “come together in the protective darkness of the smoke sauna, share their deepest secrets and wash off the shame that has accumulated in their bodies”.

The first documentary by an Estonian director to compete and win at Sundance Smoke Sauna Sisterhood is a deeply moving, intimate and breath-taking approach to issues of trauma, healing, and community.

Screening: Monday 30 October, 18:15 @ Showroom Cinema, Sheffield

Image taken from behind of a woman in a dark room facing a window. Water is splashing against her naked back.

Sheffield DocFest Spotlights: Tish + Q&A

A moving portrait of social documentary photographer and trailblazer Tish Murtha, who dedicated her life to documenting the lives of working-class communities in North East England. Paul Sng’s powerful film celebrates the work of Murtha and her commitment to fighting for the communities like the one she grew up in.

The film follows Tish’s daughter Ella as she revisits key moments from her mother’s life and work. She is accompanied by people who remained close to Tish throughout her life, and who are committed to ensuring her remarkable legacy is recognised.

Screening + Q&A with director Paul Sng: Tuesday 31 October, 18:30 @ Bertha DocHouse, London

Black and white image of a woman turned to the right of the frame. She is holding a cigarette in her hand. In handwriting on the right of the image reads: Tish

DocNights: In the Rearview

What does it look like to flee from a war? This gentle, yet painful, film explores the raw, human cost of conflict.

Each new passenger, whether they’re women or men, young or old, individuals or families, has first-hand experience of the Russian invasion, and a spectrum of emotions surfaces in the car transporting them to safety. And beyond the confines of the minibus, we witness the expanse of rural Ukraine – a vast landscape of natural beauty littered with the carnage of war, and the desolation and destruction of once populated communities.

Winner of our 2023 Grand Jury Award for the International Competition.

This screening will include Open Captions - spoken dialogue and sound effects in the film will be converted to text and appear on screen.

Screening Monday 27 November, 18:00 @ Showroom Cinema, Sheffield

Shot from the backseat of a car, through the windscreen of the vehicle a road blockade can be seen.

Sheffield DocFest Spotlights: In the Rearview

This screening will be presented in collaboration with London Migration Film Festival, which takes place 22-29 November 2023.

One country. One minibus. Many journeys. This fly-on-the-wall film captures Ukrainians as they are forced to leave their homes and drive into the unknown.

Winner of our 2023 Grand Jury Award for the International Competition.

This screening will be Open Captioned, and the Q&A will be Signed - a British Sign Language interpreter will be visible on stage throughout the event.

Screening + Q&A with director Maciek Hamela: Tuesday 28 November, 18:20 @ Bertha DocHouse, London

A family of five, including a small child, are seen sitting in the back of a mini-bus. The child is holding a piece of paper up to the camera.

Our Partners