Mark Perkins' online blog

Docfest Diary 2026

One of the delegates said to me at the end of the week, ‘I just love Sheffield Docfest. This is the most friendly film festival in the world’. I’ll take that, as should we all. What began its life as a cold and no doubt wet weekend of films at the Showroom in November 1993, has evolved into a major festival event in the film world, with an unparalleled international reputation, bringing over 2500 delegates here, from almost 50 countries. And with so much of it being open to the public, I’m pleased to say there are as many seats taken up by you and I as by pass holders.

Six days of films, talks, discussions and revelations in which the audiences can experience stories which someone, somewhere felt had to be told. Every year, at the end of the 6 day festival, I’m left on a high from the variety of films and interviews, but emotionally drained from the skilful way these film-makers have created a film which tells a story to celebrate the power and essence of basic human existence. The stories might celebrate an individual’s life, which at first sight may seem trivial, to alerting us to the horrors and dangers that exist our fragile world, but they all achieve their main aim, to tell a story.

The on stage interviews, hosted this year by the Lyceum, featured three massive crowd-pullers this year – Maxine Peake, Katie Price and Miriam Margolyes. Maxine Peake, a proud northern voice with an extraordinary body of work, completely held the audience in her hand as she talked an=bout her work and struggles within an entertainment world still dominated by, and centred on the south of the country, but the major treat of the interviews had to Miriam Margolyes. From the very start, and I won’t repeat what she said here, we knew we were in for an uncensored dive into her life. The interview with her and collaborator Simon Draper, with whom she has made a documentary, was a life-affirming glimpse into the life of someone whose honest and fearless approach to life shone through the entire interview. No-one left the theatre without thinking, maybe I should be more Miriam. The other sell out talk came ahead of a four part documentary series, coming soon on Sky, about Katie Price. She won the crowd over completely with her honest and disarming interview, although as the host observed, you don’t really interview Katie Price, you just interrupt her occasionally. The documentary makers were given complete freedom to film who and what they wanted, and given unrestricted access to her archive. Frustratingly we only got to see the first hour of what promises to be a fascinating series.

Short films can often have more impact than the often drawn-out feature length documentaries. I always make a point of seeing as many as I can, and this year the film Rose’s House, in under 20 minutes, told perfectly the story of Martine Rose, who from the late 70s was providing a safe space for the transgender community, even before it even had a name, in an unassuming terraced house in Lower Walkley. She has quietly done this all her life, and at the age of 85 was here to join us all to watch Naomi Abel-Hirsch’s celebration of what she has done, and continues to do. The Film-makers’ Challenge has been expanded this year way beyond the streets of Sheffield, into Wales and beyond, but still gives a chance for inexperienced documentary makers to work with established figures in the industry and make a film. My favourites were a film about there being no popcorn at film festivals by Cristian Saavendra and a charming film by Olivia Hird about a dancing club in Hebden Bridge. There was also a showcase for film-makers with learning disabilities, and/or autism, who have been making mini, no-budget documentaries, under the theme of Something I Want You To Know, which were all fascinating in that they each told their story in their own unique way.

Alongside small budget shorts of course there are some major films on show, many of which are getting their UK or even world premiers here in Sheffield. Sky Documentaries and Netflix are now major players in the documentary filed, bringing much needed money and distribution opportunities to the film-makers. My absolute favourite amongst the films they showcased here was A Child Of My Own, by Maite Alberdini. You absolutely must see this. A young Mexican woman fakes a pregnancy, following the pressure she’s put under by her husband and family. As her deceit continues, an unbelievable story unfolds – except of course that it is all happened. Underlying all this though, the skilful film-making goes beyond the narrative and challenges our notion of what we remember, and how the truth as one individual sees things, may not be quite in line with the truth as others see it. It will be on Netflix soon. Make time to see it.

There are always a few blink-and-you-miss-them events, which make it essential that you do your homework ahead of the festival, and 70 Up; The Final Chap[ter and Behind The Scenes: Educating Yorkshire were two I’m glad I spotted. Everyone knows the Up series, which began in 1966, For more than six decades, this series has captured the lives of ordinary Britons. The final instalment in one of the most influential documentaries ever made has now been filmed, and along with the director, we got to hear from two of those original children, now 70, about the series and its impact on them and the viewers. Educating Yorkshire, filmed at Thornhill Community Academy in Dewsbury, made a star out of English teacher Matthew Burton. He’s now head, and has once again allowed the cameras back in t=for a follow-up series. He was here in Sheffield, alongside two of his pupils, to relive some of those iconic, heart-warming moments, and to give us a glimpse of the new footage.

Of course, the relationship between music and film has to be a large part of any celebration of documentary. Followers of Sheffield music will knew that Maxine Peake has her own music project linked to Sheffield, when she records and performs with our very own Dean Honer and Adrian Flanagan, under the guise of the Eccentronic Research Council. She was hardly going to be in Sheffield, and be given free reign to curate part of the festival program without taking the opportunity to perform live, which they did at the Lyceum. The crowd-pulling highlight however had to Heaven 17, chatting and performing on stage, following the world premiere screening of Heaven 17: The Last Temptation. The film celebrates (possibly) their last ever tour, but also follows Martin And Ian as they revisit their time in Sheffield. The film also charts the history of the band, how they were fired from the Human League, and witnesses a fateful encounter in Fagan’s bar.

Another place where music and documentary film met was a performance by Elsewhere In India. Docfest never fails to provide an ‘oh my gosh’ moment, and this was it. I didn’t know anyting about it, was told by someone who had steered me to unforgettable events before that I must not miss it. Music and visuals were created by artists Murthovic and Thiruda, who mixed music and visuals live, in the Crucible Playhouse, to create a unique performance, no two of which are ever the same. The futuristic images were computer treatments, using the latest digital enhanced technology, to create a future vision of 2079AD, and combined with electronica, dance music and traditional south Asian music taking colonial archive film footage to create an imagined future multicultural heritage.

In these times of often unremitting doom on the news, heart-warming and life affirming films are always a joy yo come across, and so I’ll mention a few. Try! Is a lovely film about all-ability rugby, a sport I knew nothing about, and follows two teams from Ireland as the travel to the world cup. Bugboy celebrates a small story but with a shy Greek teenager, who has trouble fitting in with society due to a misaligned eye condition, but who fins an unlikely confidant through his fascination with the insect world, in a cricket named Isabella, and in doing so, sees his place in the world differently. The must-see feel-good film has to be Derek vs Derek, the tale of two neighbouring farmers with opposing views of what they should be doing with their farmland, and whilst remaining friends, of sorts, find each other increasing annoying in a timely and funny documentary. They were both in town for world premiere the film, and were adored by the audiences.

The world outside of Sheffield is obviously one we cannot ignore, and some very hard-hitting documentaries were premiered her to massive acclaim. Life Support shocked audiences, even though we knew it was going to involve actual footage taken inside Gaza, and has testimony from doctors who had worked there and seen it first hand, it was still shocking.

Climate change, is now more accurately called the climate crisis. Two films stood out as addressing something we can no longer ignore, or think we can deal with later. The opening night film, we, The hated was certainly the most impactful and thought-provoking Ive ever been to. It charted the actions of just Stop Oil, and told as close to the truth about the people involved as I think we’ll ever see. The really shocking part was how successive governments have moved swiftly to impose disproportionate punishments on those involved, even changing the basic rules under which their trials were conducted, when it became clear jurors i.e. you and me, had too much sympathy for their cause. I can’t think of something I discovered at Docfest which so enraged me, yet this change in the way environmental jury trials are conducted has gone largely unreported.

One of the most outstanding films of the festival was City In The Forest. In Atlanta and sprawling urban forest is under threat, as a private police foundation wants to raze it and create America’s largest police training facility. A diverse array of people want to oppose the building of ‘Cop City’ and are relatively successful until a peaceful protestor, who did nothing more than live in a tree house for months, is brutally killed by six police officers with assault rifles, the first ever killing of a climate activist in US history. It is a story resonating around the US as more of these establishments are planned. Destruction of our diminishing wild spaces depletes all of us, yet while we can protest, eventually it seems we are powerless to stop

The final awards ceremony is always a bitter sweet experience, in that I realise what I’ve missed, and need to look out for, but it is always a glorious and emotional celebration of the passion and commitment behind so many of these films, as film-makers and audience together to confirm honour on the chosen few.

Sile Sebanda hosted as usual, and led us through some emotional and inspiring highlights, and letting us hear from the film-makers and congratulate them in person.