Now in its 32nd year, Sheffield DocFest returns this June with a characteristically bold programme, blending first-time directors with established voices and mixing film with audio, art, and live performance. Across six days, the festival will showcase over 100 films from 68 countries, including 51 world premieres and a long list of international and UK debuts.

The opening film, Still Pushing Pineapples, sets the tone with a gently offbeat look at 1980s pop icon Dene Michael, formerly of Black Lace,  as he balances life on and off stage. Directed by Kim Hopkins, the documentary offers a heartfelt study of resilience, family, and the odd grip of nostalgia—a perfect entry point to a programme full of personal, political, and unexpected stories.

Beyond film, the programme spreads into other forms. Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, the producers behind RuPaul’s Drag Race and this year’s festival guests of honour, will be in Sheffield to reflect on their careers and the art of making work that entertains while subverting expectations. Their influence is clear in some of this year’s more playful events, including a retrospective on reality TV and a series of screenings celebrating queer performance on screen.

Live events also feature prominently. There’s a live recording of the hit podcast Bad Gays, as well as Here We Go! The Art of the Football Chant, which dives into the strange, poetic world of terrace anthems. There is also a live talk with Professor Brian Cox - an event sure to be popular. These sit comfortably alongside the Alternate Realities strand, which this year includes Collateral Echoes, a new commission from artist Baff Akoto blending video, installation, and sound to tell the stories of black and immigrant Britons disproportionately killed following contact with police since 1969.

As always, the festival maintains its role as a key industry gathering, with the 20th Anniversary of MeetMarket pitching forum connecting filmmakers to funders and collaborators. For the public, meanwhile, it remains a space to be surprised—to discover films you didn’t know existed, hear voices you haven’t encountered before, and leave with questions you didn’t expect to ask across some of the best event venues in the city.

Whether it’s your first DocFest or your thirty-second, there’s plenty here to keep you thinking long after the final screening.

Check out the full listings here