Highlights from Sheffield Doc/Fest 2026

Documentaries are an accessible medium to get young people engaged with difficult or complex topics, and they can also be incredibly celebratory and uplifting. Every year, documentary filmmakers and fans from all over the world gather in Sheffield for a six-day festival to discover thought-provoking, surprising and heart-warming real-life stories told through ingeniously creative films. 

The 2026 edition of Sheffield Doc/Fest took place in June, with 80 feature films and 24 shorts from 64 countries. Six strands Rebellions, Rhythms, People and Community, Memories, Journeys and Debates offer a framework for navigating the multitude of stories. As in previous years, Into Film's Curation team went along to pick out some of the films that we believe will resonate the most with young audiences and educators, some of which will be getting a wider release across the UK later in the year.

We, The Hated

The opening film of this year's festival explored the motivations of members of the polarizing UK-based protest movement Just Stop Oil. In a bid to urge the government to stop investing in fossil fuels, the group has taken drastic action such as staging roadblock protests, disrupting major sporting events and even throwing soup over famous paintings in museums. The film doesn't shy away from the public's reaction to these tactics, including enragement, and follows several protesters as they face legal and personal consequences. But at the core of their message is an existential question: what are we willing to sacrifice for the sake of raising awareness about the climate crisis? Engaging for ages 14+

If you like the sound of this, you may also be interested in the following titles available on Into Film+:

• I Am Greta: This documentary follows environmental activist Greta Thunberg from the early days of her School Strike for Climate to campaigning on global platforms.
• The People vs Climate Change: An insightful documentary about the power of collective action which challenges individuals to set aside their personal politics to find common ground.
• Suffragette: Historical drama about the women who campaigned for the right to vote using militant direct action as well as peaceful marches, resulting in many to be imprisoned.

One in a Million

A BBC Storyville co-production, One in a Million was filmed over ten years, following a Syrian girl called Isra'a from the age of 11, as she nervously sets out for Europe with her family on a small boat, to her 22nd birthday, as she returns to the ruins of Aleppo as a grown woman with her own child. The years in between are chronicled by a pair of filmmakers who befriend the family and spend pockets of time with them in Germany, where Isra'a's adolescence unfolds. Her sense of identity and her relationship with her parents is reshaped not only by her growing up but also by the pressures of displacement. Engaging for ages 14+

If you like the sound of this, you may also be interested in the following titles available on Into Film+:

• Exodus: Our Journey to Europe: Isra'a and her family also feature in this three-part documentary, which charts their journey along with other refugees during the 2015 migrant crisis.
• The Swimmers: Based on a true story, the film follows two teenage sisters as they travel as refugees from Syria to Germany, where one of them becomes an Olympic athlete.
• Name Me Lawand: Also filmed over a number of years, this documentary is about a Kurdish boy who is Deaf, following his and his family's adjustment to life in the UK.

Try!

This film follows four Irish teams as they prepare for and compete in the Mixed Ability Rugby World Cup taking place in Pamplona, Spain, during the summer of 2025. Teams from Dublin, Cork, and Belfast battle it out with others from across the world, a total of 32 teams from 16 countries across male and female tournaments. This version of the sport remains 15-a-side and full-contact, played by individuals with and without physical and learning disabilities, where inclusion is not just an aspiration but rather the starting point. However it is no less competitive than any other version of rugby, as we're introduced to a protagonist from within each team and discover what drives their love of the game both on and off the field. Warm, funny, and honest, Try! is a heartwarming story of acceptance, inclusion, and teamwork. Engaging for ages 14+

If you like the sound of this, you may also be interested in the following titles available on Into Film+:

• Next Goal Wins (2014): A heart-warming documentary about American Samoa, officially the world's worst football team, and their attempts to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.
• Audible: This 39-minute film follows a Deaf high-school American football player who has recently lost a close friend.
• Jean Fell in Love: This 20-minute French language short is about a same-sex attraction between two rival players within a masculine rugby environment.

Crocodile

Winner of this year's Youth Jury Award at Sheffield Doc Fest, this documentary follows a resilient group of youngsters in Nigeria who form a filmmaking collective. Armed with makeshift gear, they fight through their limited means to conjure homemade sci-fi and action spectacles, chronicling their reality while blasting into wild imagined worlds. As their efforts begin to be recognised by Hollywood filmmakers such as J.J. Abrams and curators from European museums and festivals, the young men must navigate their dreams, aspirations, family expectations, poverty and trauma, all whilst trying to maintain the difficult equilibrium between professionalism and friendship. Engaging for ages 16+

If you like the sound of this, you may also be interested in the following titles available on Into Film+:

• Dìdi: In this coming-of-age comedy drama, a Taiwanese-American boy teaches himself to make skate films in the early 2000s.
• Supa Modo: A young Kenyan girl who has a passion for superheroes makes her own action movie with the help of her community. 
• Off the Rails: A documentary about a pair of young parkour runners with a successful YouTube channel that showcases their stunts, but whose friendship and mental health becomes harder to manage as they grow up.

The AI Doc: Or How I Became An Apocaloptimist

As the title suggests, this documentary is not only about Artificial Intelligence and its potential impact on society, but also the filmmaker's wavering views on whether the future is one to be hopeful about or something to fear. Featuring interviews with an impressive cohort of experts from within the field including some of the leaders of AI companies such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei, this film looks at the impact AI is already having, and what that might look like in the near future. From medical breakthroughs to food production, and from mass unemployment to superintelligence becoming more powerful than humans, the possibilities are endless, but with great power comes great responsibility for whichever countries or companies win the AI race. This even-handed doc provides plenty to ponder around the ethics of business, the future, and who controls it. Engaging for ages 16+

If you like the sound of this, you may also be interested in the following titles available on Into Film+:

• The Social Dilemma: A revealing documentary about the impact technology and social media has on our everyday lives.
• Ex Machina: Alex Garland's provocative drama questions what it is to be sentient as a machine attempts to pass the Turing Test.
• Best Friend: This short film is set in a dystopian future where a new technology allows for virtual friends, but at a cost.

Sentient

This film journeys behind the locked doors of animal research laboratories, where scientists must reconcile the need for scientific advancement with the ethical concerns involved with animal experimentation. At the University of Washington in Seattle, in one of the largest animal research labs in the world, we are given access to a high-security world which most people never see. Researchers talk about the difficulties of experimenting on monkeys which they have formed deep connections with and clearly care about, with some abandoning their professions to turn whistleblower about the conditions. While the moral considerations are obvious, the counterargument put forward by some researchers is that medical breakthroughs around drug trials and cancer treatments would never have been possible without such experimentation, and so is it ethical not to continue with these if that would ultimately harm humans? But with computer modelling and AI advancing at incredible rates, a more ethical alternative may be soon be on the way. Engaging for ages 16+

If you like the sound of this, you may also be interested in the following titles available on Into Film+:

• Okja: Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho's eco-thriller about a corporate breeding experiment and the activists out to stop it.
• Jane: A documentary about a formative figure in chimp behaviour whose research inspired some of those scientists within Sentient.
• Escape from Extinction: This documentary focuses on the organisations around the world who are dedicated to protecting endangered species.

Please note: Film is a powerful tool for learning, helping to develop critical thinking, empathy, and an understanding of different perspectives. Our films have been selected with consideration to age-appropriateness, safeguarding, the curriculum and statutory and non-statutory guidance to schools. Some of our films and resources include sensitive content which is highlighted in the guidance that Into Film provides with each film. Educators should carefully watch or read all elements of any content and must ensure they are following their own school's policies and guidelines prior to using films and resources in the classroom or in after-school clubs. The final decision to use any film or resource sits with teachers, who should decide what is appropriate for their students using their professional judgement and their knowledge of their students, their school context and their community. Teachers must follow their school's safeguarding protocol if a student is distressed or makes a disclosure as a result of the use of any film or other content.

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