At the Door of the House Who Will Come Knocking directed by Maja Novaković, the Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina documentary film following an elderly man living in isolation, won the Grand Jury Award for the International Competition at the 31st edition of Sheffield DocFest.
The film weaves together a tapestry of dreamlike visuals as it records the routines of his daily life. Surrounding mountains, a burning stove and animal companions offer solace and warmth, told through a blend of slow, observational footage and evocative reenactments
The 2024 Audience Award went to Strike: An Uncivil War directed by Daniel Gordon (UK), which tells the story of the most violent confrontation between miners and police during the 1984/85 Miners’ Strike in Great Britain — The Battle of Orgreave.
Creative Director Raul Niño Zambrano and Managing Director Annabel Grundy said: “We have been overawed by how much audiences have been deeply engaged with films at Sheffield DocFest this year, and this is especially true of Daniel Gordon’s Strike: An Uncivil War.”
Daniel Gordon said: “Strike: An Uncivil War took about ten years in the making. It’s a self-funded film and it took an awful lot of passion and commitment from everybody involved, both people who are in the film and behind the camera. Screening it at Sheffield Crucible, with many of the community affected, and knowing its powerful message resonates with audiences is the perfect way to launch the film ahead of its UK-wide rollout.”
2024 Sheffield DocFest Award Winners
International Competition (Grand Jury Award)
The Grand Jury Award for the International Competition was awarded to At the Door of the House Who Will Come Knocking directed by Maja Novaković (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2024). This Award is Academy Award® accredited and honors films that best display strong artistic vision and courageous storytelling.
Special Mention: Mother City dir. Miki Redelinghuys and Pearlie Joubert (South Africa, 2024)
International First Feature Competition
The Grand Jury Award for the International First Feature Competition is presented to The Boy and the Suit of Lights dir. Inma de Reyes (Scotland, UK, 2024). This competition honors the future of non-fiction film and celebrates promising new talent and is supported by Netflix.
Special Mention: Silent Men dir. Duncan Cowles (Scotland, UK, 2024)
International Short Film Competition
The Grand Jury Award for the International Short Film Competition was awarded to Flowers dir. José Cardoso (South Africa, Ecuador, 2024). This Academy Award®, BAFTA and BIFA accredited award honours the best creative approaches in documentaries under 40 minutes.
Special Mention: Dancing Palestine dir. Lamees Almakkawy (United Kingdom, 2024)
Tim Hetherington Award
The Tim Hetherington Award was presented to No Other Land, dir. Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal (Palestine, Norway, 2024 ). The award recognizes a film and filmmaker that best reflects the legacy of photojournalist and filmmaker Tim Hetherington and is presented in association with Dogwoof.
International Virtual Reality Competition
The International Virtual Reality Competition honors the best virtual reality non-fiction work. The award was presented to Perinatal Dreaming. Understanding Country, artists Marianne Wobcke, Volker Keuchelmeister, Lucia Barrera (Australia, 2023).
Youth Jury Award
The Youth Jury Award was presented to HAIYU – Rebel Singer Mariem Hassan and the Struggle for a Free Western Sahara dir. Alex Veitch, Brahim B. Ali, Mohamedsalem Uered, Anna Klara Åhrén (Sweden, Western Sahara, 2024) by five of the UK’s most passionate young documentary lovers to celebrate non-fiction cinema.
Special Mention: Life on the Edge dir. Johnny Langenheim, Sebastian Feehan (Greenland, United Kingdom)
Pitch Session Winners
The Whickers Pitch, Film & TV Funding Award 2024 with a prize of £100,000 went to Camels of the Sea, dir. Vikram Singh (India); the development prize of £20,000 went to Replica, dir. Chouwa Liang (China).
The award recognizes original and innovative documentary, and uses the generous legacy of its namesake, pioneering broadcaster Alan Whicker, to support emerging, international directors working on their first feature-length documentaries.
Special Mention: Highness and Excellency dir. Sajad Imani (Iran).
The Podcast Pitch first prize (£5000) went to Rewriting the Narrative by Christina Hardinge (UK), and the second prize (£2000) went to Degenerate by Matt Durai (Malaysia).
The winners were chosen for being the most creative and promising pitches, and the prizes were funded by the Whickers foundation.
First Prize: Rewriting the Narrative by Christina Hardinge (UK)
Second Prize: Degenerate by Matt Durai (Malaysia)
Special Mention: Keening: The Song Before The Stranding by Aoife Glass and Sam Gare (UK/Scotland).
Channel 4 First Cut Pitch saw five short-listed directors present and discuss a 3-minute micro-documentary on the themed brief “The Change”. This was won by Helen Waddell, securing a commission from Channel 4 for their first 60-minute film, and one month of fully-paid development with an indie to support the development of their idea.
Al Jazeera Documentary Channel Co-Production Award
The inaugural Al Jazeera Documentary Channel Co-production award for Sheffield DocFest MeetMarket supports one project chosen from the MeetMarket with a prize of 15.000USD awarded by the Al Jazeera Documentary Channel.
This was awarded to Kikuyu Land directors Bea Wangondu and Andrew H. Brown, producers Bea Wangondu (Ragtag Collective), Andrew H. Brown (The Bea Company) and Mike Morrisroe, and co-producer Joseph Njenga (Kenya, USA, 2024).
Ahmed Mahfouz Nouh, MD Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, said “This film goes beyond reporting and captivates the essence of being Kenyan. A courageous journalist, who ventures into civil proceedings against the British crown and behind the tea plantation veil, finds out more than just societal issues- insecurities engrained in families emerge too under the carpet.
It honors the bravery needed to look backward even as we search for new paths. It was a tale that had to be shared, and It’s a story that needed to be told and shared with the young generation and it’s our honor to recognize such a bold and impactful work.”
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