Jacob Perlmutter and Manon Ouimet, the UK filmmaking duo behind the acclaimed Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other, and Ibrahim Omar, whose Nothing Happens After the Revolution, recently screened at Visions du Reel, are among the filmmakers who will showcase new work at Sheffield DocFest’s MeetMarket 2026, taking place from June 11-13.
Omar’s short film, Nothing Happens After Your Absence, is screening in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes next month.
In total, 50 documentary projects have been selected for the annual forum, which brings projects together with potential international partners and investors. Five ‘rough-cut’ projects will be shown at their initial edit stage: Rebellion Of Memory, Smoking Shores, The Stateless as Wind, Upstream, and The Weight of Snow.
Fifteen have been produced and co-produced entirely in the UK. Nearly half of the 50 are from first-time directors.
“For its 21st edition and the 2026 MeetMarket, Sheffield DocFest remains dedicated to championing diverse global voices and visions, supporting original stories across all genres,” said Patrizia Mancini, head of industry at DocFest.
“Despite a new record of 638 submissions this year—a number that made the committee’s work particularly challenging—some consistent themes emerged. Chief among these is the paramount importance and pressing need for community, demanding a fundamental reassessment of how we co-exist in our increasingly fractured and fragmented world.”
Sheffield DocFest runs from June 10-15. The full programme will be announced on April 29.
Sheffield DocFest MeetMarket 2026 projects
Anywhere But Here
Director: Emilio Di Stefano
Production country: Sweden
Co-production country: Denmark
Producers: Daniéla Frykstrand (Gunilla Film), Elin Kamlert (Gunilla Film)
Bad Math
Director: Yuval Orr
Production country: Switzerland
Co-production country: France
Producers: Esther van Messel (First Hand Films), Stéphanie Lebrun (Babel Doc)
Bearwalker
Production country: United Kingdom
Director: Peter Lown
Producers: Ted John Oakes (Oak Island Films), Merit Jensen Carr (Merit Motion Pictures)
Before Our Diaspora
Production country: United Kingdom
Co-production country: France
Director: Theo Panagopoulos
Producer: Nadja Lapcevic (Varda Pictures)
Co-Producer: Estelle Robin You (Grande Ourse Films)
The Bologna Trial
Production country: Belgium
Co-production country: Italy
Director: Paolo Fiore Angelini
Producers: Thierry Detaille (Visible Film), Serena Gramizzi (BO Film SRL)
China Portrait 2
Production country: UK
Co-production country: Netherlands
Director: Wang Xiao Shuai
Producers: Jia Zhao (Muyi Film), Liu Xuan (Pretty Tales)
City Without Doors
Production countries: Syria, Qatar
Co-production country: Belgium
Director: Eyad Aljarod
Producer: Abdulrahman Alkilany (Fisheye films)
Co-Producer: Arnauld de Battice (AT PRODUCTION)
The Contract
Director: Christina Bartson
Production country: UK
Co-production country: Azerbaijan
Producers: Joi Lee (Earthrise), Elijah Stevens (Space Time Films)
CREATURAMA – Epic Of The Animals
Director: Juha Suonpää
Production country: Finland
Co-production countries: Estonia, Norway, Sweden
Producers: Juha Suonpää (Swamphead), Liis Nimik (Klara Films)
Co-Producers: Antonio Russo Merenda (Ginestra Film), Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas (Ten Thousand Images)
Crossed
Director: Carla Grande
Production countries: United Kingdom, Mexico, USA
Co-production country: Denmark
Producers: Lucy Draper, Mariana Castro Bautista, Rita Walsh
Disruption
Director: Sarvnik Kaur
Production country: India
Co-production country: France
Producers: Monisha Thyagarajan (Awedacious Originals), Sarvnik Kaur (Snooker Club Pictures)
Co-Producers: Tayyab Madni (Picture Works Australia), Quentin Laurent (Les Films de l’oeil sauvage)
Do Not Go Gentle
Director: Bowie Alexander
Production countries: UK, US
Producers: Michael LaPointe (Pointe Media), Chris Hamilton (Plan Nine Pictures), Charles Meunier (Plan Nine Pictures)
Eritrean Untitled Project
Director: Vanessa Tsehaye
Production country: US
Producers: James Costa (Bird Street Productions), Simon Kilmurry, Vanessa Tsehaye, Caroline Libresco
ExCoded
Director: Javier Lovera
Production country: Canada
Co-production country: Italy
Producers: Marc Serpa Francoeur (Better Together Films), Hannah Donegan (Better Together Films)
Flesh and Flamingos
Director: Dominic Leclerc
Production country: United Kingdom
Producer: Ameenah Ayub Allen (Bright Wire Films)
Co-Producer: Sarah Mavity
The Forecasters
Directors: Hanne Phlypo, Pieter Van Eecke
Production country: Belgium
Co-production countries: Spain, Greece, Netherlands, France
Producer: Hanne Phlypo (Clin d’oeil Films)
Co-Producers: Marieke van den Bersselaar (Polar Star Films), Carles Brugueras (Polar Star Films), Rea Apostolides (Anemon Productions), Eugénie Michel Villette (Les Films du Bilboquet), Nanneke Landman (Scenery)
Goodbye, My Childhood
Director: jinjun yu
Production country: China
Producers: jinjun yu (Shanghai Golden Koi Culture Communication Co), Jenny Man Wu (Inadvertent Beijing Cultural Media), Daishan Chen, Stephanie Wang (Magnolia City Pictures)
Co-Producer: Sierra Chen (Sierra Story Studio)
Holy Eye
Director: Ibrahim Omar
Production countries: Sudan, Egypt
Co-production country: Canada
Producer: Samir Essa (Bad Wasabi)
I Am Rain
Director: Laura Bermúdez
Production country: Honduras
Co-production country: Colombia
Producer: Luis Flores Alvarenga (Thau Honduras)
Co-Producer: Deimer Quintero Vertel (Archipiélago Sonoro)
In Search of the Lost World
Directors: Jorge Bodanzky, Morzaniel Iramari Yanomami
Production country: Brazil
Co-production country: United Kingdom
Producers: Nuno Godolphim (Buriti Filmes), Laís Bodanzky (Buriti Filmes), John Archer (Hopscotch Films), Daniella Rice (Forbidden Cities)
Inside the Biggest Case on Earth
Director: Renan Flumian
Production countries: Brazil, Chile
Producer: Giancarlo Nasi (Quijote Films)
Isabel Allende: The Documentary
Director: River Autumn Finlay
Production country: Chile
Co-production country: US
Producers: Felipe Isla (Gran Montana), José Isla (Gran Montana), Marisa Torriello (Gran Montana), River Autumn Finlay
Co-Producer: Jeff Zimbalist (All Rise Films)
Lara
Directors: Jacob Perlmutter, Manon Ouimet
Production country: UK
Co-production country: Denmark
Producers: Manon Ouimet, Jacob Perlmutter (Manon et Jacob
Co-Producer: Signe Byrge Sørensen (Final Cut for Real)
Maï & Miles – The Jazziest Story about Physics Ever Told
Director: Lea Hejn
Production country: UK
Co-production countries: Denmark, France
Producers: Sonja Henrici (Sonja Henrici Creates), Nadja Lapcevic (Sonja Henrici Creates), Lea Hejn
Co-Producers: Stéphanie Lebrun (Babel Doc), Esther Nissen (Final Cut for Real)
The Mysterious Grand Master Meng
Directors: Sturla Pilskog, Inuk Silis Høegh
Production country: Norway
Co-production country: Denmark
Producers: Christian Aune Falch (UpNorth Film), Torstein Parelius (UpNorth Film)
Co-Producers: Luna Jansen (Holy Ravioli), Valerie Montmartin (Little Big Story)
Nadia Comaneci and the Secret Police
Director: Simone Manetti
Production country: Italy
Co-production country: Latvia
Producers: Raffaele Brunetti (B&B Film), Arianna Sacchinelli (B&B Film)
Co-Producer: Uldis Cekulis (VFS FILMS)
The People’s Network
Director: Alyse Shorland
Production country: US
Producers: Darcy McKinnon (Gusto Moving Pictures), Sara Archambault (Arch + Bow Films)
Private Citizen
Director: Sarah Howitt
Production Country: UK
Producers: Sarah Howitt (Indelible Telly), John Archer (Hopscotch Films)
Rebellion of Memory
Director: Joël Jent
Production country: Switzerland
Co-production country: Peru
Producers: Sophia Rubischung (Aaron Film), Claudia Chávez Lévano (Amazona Producciones)
Rise Up
Director: Matthew Robinson
Production country: South Africa
Producer: Rehad Desai (Uhuru Productions)
The Sacrifice
Directors: Ruud Lenssen, Sander Selen
Production country: Netherlands
Producers: Nienke Korthof (Tangerine Tree), Willem Baptist (Tangerine Tree)
Saving Tuvalu
Directors: Kate Blackmore, Amelia Tovey, Kato Ewekia
Production country: Australia
Co-production countries: Germany, Tuvalu
Producers: Chris Kamen (Media Stockade), Rebecca Barry (Media Stockade), Madeleine Hetherton-Miau (Media Stockade), Anna-Luise Dietzel (Filmtank Studios), Michael Grotenhoff (Filmtank Studios)
Shabab, A Summer in Gaza
Directors: Ahmed Deeb, Tamara Erde
Production country: France
Co-production country: Denmark
Producers: Sigrid Dyekjær (Real Lava), Lana Deluigi (Solent Production)
Shades Of Snow
Director: Ira Putilova
Production country: UK
Co-production country: Germany
Producer: Sasha Odynova (Bad Table Manners)
Co-Producer: Alex Tondowski (Tondowski Films)
Slavik’s Journey to Forever
Director: Vladyslav Vastlchenko
Production country: Ukraine
Producers: Bohdanna Semen (Babylon 13), Lukian Galkin (Babylon 13)
Smoking Shores
Production country: UK
Co-production country: France
Director: David Roland Warwick
Producer: Dewi Gregory (Truth Department)
Social Animals
Director: Manuel Oteyza
Production countries: Belgium, US, United Arab Emirates, South Africa
Producers: Manuel Oteyza (Manny O Productions), Neil Brandt (Storyscope)
Southern Quest
Director: Oliver Wheeldon
Production countries: UK, US
Producer: Beatriz Browne (Third Culture Studios)
The Stateless As Wind
Director: Samereh Rezaei
Production countries: Iran, Afghanistan, France
Producer: Samereh Rezaei (Jala Film)
Sudan - The Invisible War
Production country: France
Co-production countries: Norway, Estonia, Belgium, South Africa
Taxi Driver
Director: Sara Chishti
Production country: US
Producer: Anurima Bhargava (Taxi Driver Doc)
The Tree Behind the Zigzag Sign
Director: Parco Lok Hang Wong
Production country: Hong Kong
Co-production country: Taiwan
Producers: Peter Yam (70 Plus Production Company, Hau Chun Chan
Co-Producer: Pony Ma (Autumn Film Production)
To Make Things Grow
Director: Yasmin Fedda
Production countries: UK, Palestine
Producer: Dan Davies (Black Leaf Films)
Turn Her On
Directors: Maeve O’Boyle, Lucy Kennedy
Production countries: US, Ireland, United Kingdom
Producers: Lucy Kennedy (L & M Films), Maeve O’Boyle (L & M Films), Clare Stronge (Plainsong Films)
Untitled UN-Project
Directors: Anne Thoma, Julia Lemke
Production country: Germany
Producer: Antje Boehmert (Docdays Productions)
Upstream
Production country: USA
Directors: Moira Fett, Natalie Berger
Producers: Sean Weiner, Martha Gregory
The Weight of Snow
Director: Matias Bolla
Production country: Australia
Co-production country: Chile
Producer: Carolina Sorensen (People Productions)
Co-Producer: Cristian Valle Celedón (Wolf Producciones)
Welcome to Our Bathhouse
Director: Tommaso Barbetta
Production country: Japan
Co-production countries: Canada, France
Producer: Sanae Abe (Double Tommy)
Co-Producers: Ina Fichman (Intuitive Pictures), Christian Popp (Tanjo Films)
Who Kissed Me In The Dark
Director: Bipuljit Basu
Production country: India
Co-production country: Netherlands
Producers: Bipuljit Basu (Bindubot Communication), Somnath Ghosh (Bindubot Communication)
Co-Producer: Harmen Jalvingh (Doxy Fixy)
There will also be a confidential project which will be pitched privately.
No comments yet