Sheffield International Documentary Festival highlights

Sheffield International Documentary Festival, the UK’s premier event for international documentary professionals, has today started its search for films to showcase at this year’s festival.

Sheffield Doc/Fest is considering documentaries of any style or subject from established or debut filmmakers, television or film school productions for this year’s official programme.
Last year Doc/Fest showcased 100 of the finest examples of documentary film from across the globe, attracting over 1,200 industry delegates from as far away as Japan and Australia.
The Festival, now in its fifteenth year, will run from 5-9 November 2008. To coincide with the result of the US Presidential Elections, Doc/Fest will present a number of films and panels around the theme of Regime Change. Other film strands this year will include Green Docs, Anti Docs, Bent Docs and Music Docs.
For the second year, Doc/Fest has partnered with The Grierson Trust to host the Grierson:Sheffields, including the Innovation Award and Green Award, which explore environmental issues and the climate change debate. Entries can be made through the Grierson Trust or Doc/Fest website. Films accepted into the official programme may be nominated for the Grierson:Sheffield Youth Jury Award.
New this year Doc/Fest is welcoming ideas for the festival’s sessions programme content, allowing everyone to input into Doc/Fest’s industry programme.
Doc/Fest offers delegates the opportunity to gain expert advice from industry experts and win funding through various competitions including, the Channel 4 Pitch, Sky One Development Prize, BBC New Talent competition and the Crossover Lab Pitch.
www.sheffdocfest.com