We are delighted to announce this year’s winners presented during the awards ceremony at Sheffield’s Crucible Playhouse this evening.
As the 32nd edition of Sheffield DocFest 2025 draws to a close, this year’s winners were announced at the awards ceremony at Sheffield’s Crucible Playhouse this evening. Full winners and competition selection titles below.
This year saw 51 World Premieres, 16 International Premieres, 8 European Premieres, and 39 UK Premieres from 68 countries of production.
The festival, running 18-23 June, saw public attendance increase year-on-year. International industry attendance also rose with 2,601 delegates from 81 countries attending the six-day festival in person (up from 73 countries in 2024). 192 Industry Representatives from 146 companies and 26 countries took more than 1,079 in-person meetings with 50 selected projects and 18 ‘talents’ over the course of the festival market days.
The festival, in partnership with Showroom Cinema, will continue to engage with the documentary community in Sheffield with the monthly DocNights screening Programme, which is dedicated to championing the work of documentary filmmakers and bringing documentary cinema to audiences all year round. Other year-round programmes to come in 2025/2026 include the continuation of monthly documentary screening programmes in London.
2025 Award Winners
International Competition (Grand Jury Award)
The Grand Jury Award for the International Competition was awarded to Welded Together directed by Anastasiya Miroshnichenko (France, Netherlands, Belgium, 2025). This Award is Academy Award® accredited and honours films that best display strong artistic vision and courageous storytelling.
The Jury were: award-winning director Andrew Jarecki, award-winning producer Rémi Grellety, and Tomoko Okutsu (International Co-Production and Acquisitions Producer, NHK).
The jury said: “A portrait of resilience and strength — both of the main character and of a community that stands in solidarity. The film highlights the contrast between the generosity of the people and the harsh realities of alcoholism in the Belarussian society. An honest and delicate portrayal of a young woman desperately trying to hold her family "welded together".”
Special Mention: The Gas Station Attendant dir. Karla Murthy (USA, 2025)
The jury said: “This love letter to the director’s father is an intimate and sincere portrait of both a family and the U.S. society. The film is delicately crafted with care, creativity, and sensibility.”
International First Feature Competition (supported by Netflix)
The Grand Jury Award for the International First Feature Competition is presented to Comparsa directed by Vickie Curtis, Doug Anderson (Guatemala, USA, 2025). This competition honours the future of non-fiction film and celebrates promising new talent and is supported by Netflix.
The International First Feature Competition jury members were: Alexandre Marionneau (Commissioning Editor, Head of International Co-Production, ARTE France), Anna Berthollet (CEO, Lightbox), award-winning filmmaker Geeta Gandbhir.
The jury said: “The film that we chose celebrates the power of resilience of a community, while shedding light on an unknown story of systemic gender-based violence.
It’s a film that introduces us to amazing characters, smart, sensitive, with an astonishing inner force that is an inspiration to push for change against all odds.
The movie will leave us with a much needed and powerful sense of hope.
The creativity, the access, the trust built with the whole community made us fall in love with a movie that opens critical conversations : come on on stage, do a dance, sing with me: COMPARSAAAAA”
Special Mention: Carmela and the Walkers (Carmela y los Caminantes) dir. Luis Herrera, Esteban Coloma (Ecuador, 2025)
The jury said: “This film receives a special mention for its deeply human portrayal of resilience, solidarity, and moral courage in the face of crisis. With extraordinary intimacy and empathy, the filmmakers shed light on an urgent humanitarian issue through the powerful lens of one woman's everyday heroism, offering a moving testament to the strength of community and compassion amid adversity.”
International Short Film Competition
The Grand Jury Award for the International Short Film Competition was awarded to In a Whisper (Dans un Souffle) directed by Catarina Gonçalves (Portugal, Hungary, Belgium, 2025). This Academy Award®, BAFTA and BIFA accredited award honours the best creative approaches in documentaries under 40 minutes.
The International Short Film Competition jury members were: director, editor and producer Afsaneh Salari (Co-founder of Docmaniacs Collective Tehran), award-winning filmmaker Kim A. Snyder and Yulan Chang (Director, CNEX Chinese Doc Forum).
The jury said: “For its bold and minimalistic, cinematic mastery, and thoughtfully crafted sound design, this elegant portrait of admiration and resilience reflects the extraordinary talent of a promising director whose trajectory is clearly on the rise.”
The Grand Jury Award for International Short Film Competition goes to In a Whisper.
Special Mention: Oscurana dir. Violeta Mora (Honduras, Hungary, Portugal, Belgium, 2025)
The jury said: “We would like to give an honourable mention to a beautiful film for its unique perspective, presented in a visually sparse yet powerfully affecting manner. This sensory invitation fosters empathy for the human rights crises that immigrants face when crossing borders, and it is now more critical than ever in this unprecedented time.”
Tim Hetherington Award (presented in association with Dogwoof)
The Tim Hetherington Award was presented to Sudan, Remember Us (Sudan Y’a Ghali) directed by Hind Meddeb (France, Tunisia, Qatar, 2024). The award recognises a film and filmmaker that best reflects the legacy of photojournalist and filmmaker Tim Hetherington and is presented in association with Dogwoof.
Jurors for the Tim Hetherington Award were: Horia El Hadad (Senior Producer - Documentaries, Al Jazeera English), Jenny Horwell (Director and Programmer, Bertha DocHouse) , and award-winning filmmaker Kethiwe Ngcobo.
The Jury said: “Set against a women-led revolution, Sudan, Remember Us captures the spirit of resistance and the deep human desire for freedom. The film is rich in colour and texture, and there’s a quiet poetry in the way the story unfolds. It reminds us of the human capacity for hope, the importance of empathy and the tragedy of loss.
At its heart is a deep sense of community where the collective takes priority over the individual. This spirit of togetherness is one of the film’s most powerful messages.”
International Virtual Reality Competition
The International Virtual Reality Competition honours the best virtual reality non-fiction work. The award was presented to Speechless Witness of a Wandering Tree.
Jurors for the Virtual Reality Award were: artist and curator Joseph Cutts, Lisa Brook (Creative Technology Relationship Manager, British Council) and director Judi Alston (Creative Director and CEO, One to One Development Trust).
The Jury said: “We unanimously agreed to honour this award to a project that employs a poetic approach to language and visual storytelling and acts as an intimate healing ritual in the ongoing aftermath of hostility towards women in an area of conflict. Through magical realism and the innovative use of the 360 camera to constructively process the impact of trauma and given the restrictions of producing work in this region, the artists we feel should be additionally commended on the making of their work against the backdrop of instability.”
Youth Jury Award
The Youth Jury Award was presented to Runa Simi directed by Augusto Zegarra (Peru, 2025) by five of the UK’s most passionate young documentary lovers to celebrate non-fiction cinema.
The Youth Jury were: Catherine Huckle, Conor Joseph Corey, Daisy Sanderson, Lucy Brown and Rennan Duan. They curated a selection of six films considered in a mentored deliberation.
The Jury said: “Language is more than just a means of communication between peoples. Language shapes how we think, our beliefs and our experience of the world. Languages are dynamic; emerge from contexts, evolve, become endangered, even extinct. This is a film all about language and one individual’s specific and humble dream to preserve his native tongue through the magic of popular cinema. With gorgeous cinematography and a soulful, intergenerational cast, this is a story of hope, community and decolonisation in action. It blossoms to become far more universal than its specific cultural context, and is ultimately a tribute to the power of cinema to unite. As Young People, we all see non-fiction so differently, with so many possibilities, but this documentary connects our passion. It is a film that amplifies, celebrates and preserves a lived reality.”
Special Mention: The Stand dir. Christopher Auchter (Canada, 2024)
The Jury said: “We feel this film comes at a particularly pressing political moment, where hope can often feel in limited supply. In times like these, it is vital for us to turn to, and to learn from history. To recognise that injustice has always existed, but people have always resisted.”
The Stand depicts this resistance with galvanising force. It is a story of the land rights protests of the Haida nation in 1985, told through the distillation of over 100 hours of archival footage to form a compelling and immersive portrait of a movement.
Witnessing the steadfast commitment, humanity and unwavering compassion of the Haida people is deeply hopeful and represents a form of inspiration for audiences today on how to effectively resist. It’s a powerful reminder that hope and change are the products of sustained action, compassion, and a recognition of our interconnectedness with the land and with each other."
Pitch Session Winners
The Whickers Pitch, Film & TV Funding Award 2025
The Whickers Pitch, Film & TV Funding Award 2025 with a prize of £100,000 went to The Video Guy, Sam Howard and Alexander Dickerson, UK/USA; the development prize of £20,000 went to Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Koval Bhatia, India.
The Whickers Pitch, Film & TV Funding Award 2025 judging panel were: David Green (Alan Whicker’s producer), Fozia Khan (Head of Unscripted, Amazon Studios UK), Oli Harbottle (Chief Content Officer, Dogwoof), Sam Soko (Filmmaker) and Jane Mote (Editorial Consultant, The Whickers).
1st prize: The Video Guy, Sam Howard and Alexander Dickerson, UK/USA
The Jury said: “This is a raw and tender film that gives viewers access to a world we don’t normally see. Through the passion and vulnerability of Alex, the Video Guy, we are offered a longitudinal look at a group of friends as they grow into adulthood and the choices they have to make to survive in today’s America.”
Runner up: Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Koval Bhatia, India
The Jury said: “This is a delightfully chaotic, funny and honest portrayal of a young Indian woman navigating her complex relationship with her family and the influence of her grumpy old school teacher. Will she ever wake up with the clouds far behind her?”
The award recognises original and innovative documentary, and uses the generous legacy of its namesake, pioneering broadcaster Alan Whicker, to support emerging, international directors working on their first feature-length documentaries.
The Podcast Pitch
The Podcast Pitch first prize (£15,000) went to Chris Mitchell for Redemption Man, and the second prize (£5,000) went to Jesse Lou Lawson for The Great Gay Penguin Cover Up.
The winners were chosen for being the most creative and promising pitches, and the prizes were funded by the Whickers foundation.
The judging panel were: Dan Clarke (Commissioning Editor Factual, BBC Radio 4), Talia Augustidis (Award-winning Audio Producer) and Emmanuel Dzotsi (Podcast Journalist & Producer, This American Life).
First Prize: Chris Mitchell, Redemption Man
The Jury said: “The premise of this podcast proposal is both original and haunting — and has the special quality of being particular and universal at the same time. It promises a journey deep into the story of a community as well as the life of an intriguing individual, and we realise with ambition could make something incredibly special that could speak to a broad audience.”
Second Prize: Jesse Lou Lawson, The Great Gay Penguin Cover Up
The Jury said: “This idea is important, fascinating, and — if told with the lightness of touch evident in the pitch — funny and clever as well. Focusing on the ‘cover up’ gives a really strong narrative vehicle with which to unfold a history that will be unknown to many.”
More about the pitching projects can be found here.
The following were awarded during the festival:
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 themed brief “No Going Back”. This was won by Clio Symington securing a commission from Channel 4 for their first 60-minute film, and one month of fully-paid development with an indie to support the development of their idea.
Winner: Clio Symington
The judging panel were: Rita Daniels (Commissioning Editor, First Cut), Sacha Mirzoeff (Senior Commissioning Editor and Head of Bristol Hub), Ashley Francis Roy (Director), Liza Williams (Executive Producer and Director).
Al Jazeera Documentary Channel Co-Production Award
The Al Jazeera Documentary Channel Co-production award for Sheffield DocFest MeetMarket supports one project chosen from the MeetMarket with a prize of 15.000USD awarded by the Al Jazeera Documentary Channel.
This year the award was shared between two projects:
10,000 USD went to Gaza Sunbirds
5,000 USD went to Power, Elaine
Jamel Dallali, Manager of Production said: "The AJD Co-Production Award offers more than just funding — it’s a powerful endorsement from AJD, showing broadcasters and partners that this is a project worth supporting.
This year, choosing was especially tough given the many outstanding projects.
For that reason, we made the decision to award the prize to two outstanding projects instead of one.
After careful deliberation, we’re proud to announce the following:
Gaza Sunbirds: Amid the killing and destruction in Gaza, people continue to show strength, resilience, a spirit of sacrifice and deep generosity.
Power, Elaine: What’s left of the 1960s–70s liberation movements in America, Africa, and Asia? The film’s main character lived, shaped, and influenced that history.
Climate Pitch
The Climate Pitch invited four creatives to pitch their documentary idea at Sheffield DocFest 2025, with one winner receiving development funding and support from Climate Spring. With a focus on the TV/Streamer market, the pitch competition will discover exciting new content in climate storytelling and demonstrate how compelling narratives inspire and entertain a broad audience.
Winner: Downstream by Michelle Sanders a freelance director, camera operator, and editor.
Shine Global Children’s Resilience Award for Documentary 2025
Shine Global, the award-winning nonprofit media company dedicated to producing and supporting films that highlight the resilience of children around the world, is proud to announce Comparsa as the 2025 winner of the Children’s Resilience Award for Documentary, in partnership with Sheffield DocFest, the UK’s leading documentary festival.
“We are proud to present the 2025 Shine Global Children’s Resilience Award for Documentary to Comparsa,” said Alexandra Blaney, Co-CEO and Creative Director of Shine Global. “The film elevates the voices of young people who are confronting injustice and demanding change in their communities. Comparsa is also a beautifully filmed story of resilience, resistance, and the transformative power of art, produced with incredible care over many years. Sisters Lesli and Lupe are inspirational as they pull together a group of teen girls as protesters and performers to dance, stilt walk, drum, and breathe fire in a celebration of self-expression and a call for change in their community. Their story is told so joyfully and effectively it is sure to inspire organizers of all ages around the world.”
Sheffield DocFest is made possible thanks to the support of our partners, funders and sponsors, including Principal Funders BFI Audience Projects Fund, awarding National Lottery funding, Sheffield City Council and Arts Council England.
