Sheffield Doc/Fest (Nov 3-7) includes 17 world premieres, 26 UK premieres, 5 European premieres and 1 international premiere.

The festival will feature new works by the likes of John Pilger, Penny Woolcock, Patricio Guzman, Kim Longinotto and George Gittoes.

Actress Joan Rivers will attend the opening night film along with filmmakers Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern for the UK premiere of Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work.

Doc/Fest programmer Hussain Currimbhoy said: “Documentaries have still kept their incredible capacity to compel, thrill and entertain and the documentaries in this year’s extraordinary line-up are no exception. From Joan Rivers to Rolf Harris to a special focus on the Middle East I’m sure Sheffield audiences will have as much fun watching as I have had programming.”


The festival’s world premieres will include:

The War You Don’t See (dir John Pilger)

On The Streets (dir Penny Woolcock)

Alan Bennett and the Habit of Art (dir Adam Low)

Elgar: The Man Behind the Mask (dir John Bridcut)

Rolf Harris Paints His Dream (dir Vikram Jayanti)

Battle for Barking (dir Laura Fairrie)

Meet The Sceptics (dir Robert Murray)

Marathon Boy (dir Gemma Atwal)

Donor Unknown (dir Jerry Rothwell)

The Flaw (dir David Sington)

There are European premieres for, among others, Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady’s 12th & Delaware, Etienne Sauret’s Dirty Pictures and John Kastner’s Life With Murder, and an international premiere for Davis Guggenheim’s Waiting For Superman.

UK premieres include Patricio Guzman’s Nostalgia For the Light, Jeff Malmberg’s Marwencol and Zeina Daccache’s 12 Angry Lebanese.

Kim Longinotto will receive the second Inspiration Award, introduced last year to celebrate a figure who has championed documentary. Her new documentary Pink Saris will also screen.

In addition to the festival’s regular strands there will also be a special focus on the Middle East comprising 10 works the region and a career retrospective and masterclass from Anand Patwardhan.

Other programme strands include: Doc/International, Arts Docs, Bent Docs, Cross Platform Docs, First Cut, Music Docs, Scottish Documentary Institute and Shorts.

Winners of all categories will be announced at the festival award ceremony on Nov 5.

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