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 (Swe-Den)
Dir: Emilio Di Stefano
Prods: Daniéla Frykstrand (Gunilla Film), Elin Kamlert (Gunilla Film)
Bad Math (Switz-Fr)
Dir: Yuval Orr
Prods: Esther van Messel (First Hand Films), Stéphanie Lebrun (Babel Doc)
Bearwalker (UK)
Dir: Peter Lown
Prods: Ted John Oakes (Oak Island Films), Merit Jensen Carr (Merit Motion Pictures)
Before Our Diaspora (UK-Fr)
Dir: Theo Panagopoulos
Prod: Nadja Lapcevic (Varda Pictures)
Co-prod: Estelle Robin You (Grande Ourse Films)
The Bologna Trial (Belg-It)
Dir: Paolo Fiore Angelini
Prods: Thierry Detaille (Visible Film), Serena Gramizzi (BO Film SRL)
China Portrait 2 (UK-Neth)
Dir: Wang Xiao Shuai
Prods: Jia Zhao (Muyi Film), Liu Xuan (Pretty Tales)
City Without Doors (Syria-Qat-Belg)
Dir: Eyad Aljarod
Prod: Abdulrahman Alkilany (Fisheye films)
Co-prod: Arnauld de Battice (At Production)
The Contract (UK-Azerbaijan)
Dir: Christina Bartson
Prods: Joi Lee (Earthrise), Elijah Stevens (Space Time Films)
Creaturama – Epic Of The Animals (Fin-Est-Nor-Swe)
Dir: Juha Suonpää
Prods: Juha Suonpää (Swamphead), Liis Nimik (Klara Films)
Co-prods: Antonio Russo Merenda (Ginestra Film), Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas (Ten Thousand Images)
Crossed (UK-Mex-US)
Dir: Carla Grande
Prods: Lucy Draper, Mariana Castro Bautista, Rita Walsh
Disruption (India-Fr)
Dir: Sarvnik Kaur
Prods: Monisha Thyagarajan (Awedacious Originals), Sarvnik Kaur (Snooker Club Pictures)
Co-prods: Tayyab Madni (Picture Works Australia), Quentin Laurent (Les Films de l’oeil sauvage)
Do Not Go Gentle (UK-US)
Dir: Bowie Alexander
Prods: Michael LaPointe (Pointe Media), Chris Hamilton (Plan Nine Pictures), Charles Meunier (Plan Nine Pictures)
Eritrean Untitled Project (US)
Dir: Vanessa Tsehaye
Prods: James Costa (Bird Street Productions), Simon Kilmurry, Vanessa Tsehaye, Caroline Libresco
ExCoded (Can-It)
Dir: Javier Lovera
Prods: Marc Serpa Francoeur (Better Together Films), Hannah Donegan (Better Together Films)
Flesh And Flamingos (UK)
Dir: Dominic Leclerc
Prod: Ameenah Ayub Allen (Bright Wire Films)
Co-prod: Sarah Mavity
The Forecasters (Belg-Sp-Gre-Neth-Fr)
Dirs: Hanne Phlypo, Pieter Van Eecke
Prod: Hanne Phlypo (Clin d’oeil Films)
Co-prods: 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 (China)
Dir: jinjun yu
Prods: jinjun yu (Shanghai Golden Koi Culture Communication Co), Jenny Man Wu (Inadvertent Beijing Cultural Media), Daishan Chen, Stephanie Wang (Magnolia City Pictures)
Co-prod: Sierra Chen (Sierra Story Studio)
Holy Eye (Sud-Egy-Can)
Dir: Ibrahim Omar
Prod: Samir Essa (Bad Wasabi)
I Am Rain (Hon-Col)
Dir: Laura Bermúdez
Prod: Luis Flores Alvarenga (Thau Honduras)
Co-prod: Deimer Quintero Vertel (Archipiélago Sonoro)
In Search Of The Lost World (Bra-UK)
Dirs: Jorge Bodanzky, Morzaniel Iramari Yanomami
Prods: Nuno Godolphim (Buriti Filmes), Laís Bodanzky (Buriti Filmes), John Archer (Hopscotch Films), Daniella Rice (Forbidden Cities)
Inside The Biggest Case On Earth (Bra-Chile)
Dir: Renan Flumian
Prod: Giancarlo Nasi (Quijote Films)
Isabel Allende: The Documentary (Chile-US)
Dir: River Autumn Finlay
Prods: Felipe Isla (Gran Montana), José Isla (Gran Montana), Marisa Torriello (Gran Montana), River Autumn Finlay
Co-prod: Jeff Zimbalist (All Rise Films)
Lara (UK-Den)
Dirs: Jacob Perlmutter, Manon Ouimet
Prods: Manon Ouimet, Jacob Perlmutter (Manon et Jacob
Co-prod: Signe Byrge Sørensen (Final Cut for Real)
Maï & Miles – The Jazziest Story About Physics Ever Told (UK-Den-Fr)
Dir: Lea Hejn
Prods: Sonja Henrici (Sonja Henrici Creates), Nadja Lapcevic (Sonja Henrici Creates), Lea Hejn
Co-prods: Stéphanie Lebrun (Babel Doc), Esther Nissen (Final Cut for Real)
The Mysterious Grand Master Meng (Nor-Den)
Dirs: Sturla Pilskog, Inuk Silis Høegh
Prods: Christian Aune Falch (UpNorth Film), Torstein Parelius (UpNorth Film)
Co-prods: Luna Jansen (Holy Ravioli), Valerie Montmartin (Little Big Story)
Nadia Comaneci And The Secret Police (It-Lat)
Dir: Simone Manetti
Prods: Raffaele Brunetti (B&B Film), Arianna Sacchinelli (B&B Film)
Co-prod: Uldis Cekulis (VFS FILMS)
The People’s Network (US)
Dir: Alyse Shorland
Prods: Darcy McKinnon (Gusto Moving Pictures), Sara Archambault (Arch + Bow Films)
Private Citizen (UK)
Dir: Sarah Howitt
Prods: Sarah Howitt (Indelible Telly), John Archer (Hopscotch Films)
Rebellion Of Memory (Switz-Peru)
Dir: Joël Jent
Prods: Sophia Rubischung (Aaron Film), Claudia Chávez Lévano (Amazona Producciones)
Rise Up (S Afr)
Dir: Matthew Robinson
Prod: Rehad Desai (Uhuru Productions)
The Sacrifice (Neth)
Dirs: Ruud Lenssen, Sander Selen
Prods: Nienke Korthof (Tangerine Tree), Willem Baptist (Tangerine Tree)
Saving Tuvalu (Australia-Ger-Tuvalu)
Dirs: Kate Blackmore, Amelia Tovey, Kato Ewekia
Prods: 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 (Fr-Den)
Dirs: Ahmed Deeb, Tamara Erde
Prods: Sigrid Dyekjær (Real Lava), Lana Deluigi (Solent Production)
Shades Of Snow (UK-Ger)
Dir: Ira Putilova
Prod: Sasha Odynova (Bad Table Manners)
Co-prod: Alex Tondowski (Tondowski Films)
Slavik’s Journey To Forever (Ukr)
Dir: Vladyslav Vastlchenko
Prods: Bohdanna Semen (Babylon 13), Lukian Galkin (Babylon 13)
Smoking Shores (UK-Fr)
Dir: David Roland Warwick
Prod: Dewi Gregory (Truth Department)
Social Animals (Belg-US-UAE-S Afr)
Dir: Manuel Oteyza
Prods: Manuel Oteyza (Manny O Productions), Neil Brandt (Storyscope)
Southern Quest (UK-US)
Dir: Oliver Wheeldon
Prod: Beatriz Browne (Third Culture Studios)
The Stateless As Wind (Iran-Afg-Fr)
Dir: Samereh Rezaei
Prod: Samereh Rezaei (Jala Film)
Sudan - The Invisible War (Fr)
Co-production countries: Norway, Estonia, Belgium, South Africa
Taxi Driver (US)
Dir: Sara Chishti
Prod: Anurima Bhargava (Taxi Driver Doc)
The Tree Behind The Zigzag Sign (HK-Taiwan)
Dir: Parco Lok Hang Wong
Prods: Peter Yam (70 Plus Production Company, Hau Chun Chan
Co-prod: Pony Ma (Autumn Film Production)
To Make Things Grow (UK-Pal)
Dir: Yasmin Fedda
Prod: Dan Davies (Black Leaf Films)
Turn Her On (US-Ire-UK)
Dirs: Maeve O’Boyle, Lucy Kennedy
Prods: Lucy Kennedy (L & M Films), Maeve O’Boyle (L & M Films), Clare Stronge (Plainsong Films)
Untitled UN-Project (Ger)
Dirs: Anne Thoma, Julia Lemke
Prod: Antje Boehmert (Docdays Productions)
Upstream (US)
Dirs: Moira Fett, Natalie Berger
Prods: Sean Weiner, Martha Gregory
The Weight Of Snow (Australia-Chile)
Dir: Matias Bolla
Prod: Carolina Sorensen (People Productions)
Co-prod: Cristian Valle Celedón (Wolf Producciones)
Welcome To Our Bathhouse (Japan-Can-Fr)
Dir: Tommaso Barbetta
Prod: Sanae Abe (Double Tommy)
Co-prods: Ina Fichman (Intuitive Pictures), Christian Popp (Tanjo Films)
Who Kissed Me In The Dark (India-Neth)
Dir: Bipuljit Basu
Prods: Bipuljit Basu (Bindubot Communication), Somnath Ghosh (Bindubot Communication)
Co-prod: Harmen Jalvingh (Doxy Fixy)
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