Sheffield DocFest awarded £100,000 funding for next three years

DocFest, which has has been running for 30 years, brings an estimated £2m in spending to the city each year

Sheffield's world-renowned documentary film festival has been awarded £300,000 funding from the city council.

DocFest, which has been running for 30 years, will receive £100,000 for each of the next three years.

The festival, held in June, brings an estimated £2m in spending to the city each year.

A meeting of the council's economic development and skills committee was told the festival had a clear benefit to the visitor economy.

The first DocFest in 1994 showed 42 films over two days to an audience of about 2,000.

The event now draws an audience of more than 30,000, and this year saw 2,272 industry delegates from 69 countries.

Diana Buckley, the council's director of economy, skills and culture, told the committee the funding would help DocFest to "pull in other investment".

"The point of agreeing a three-year deal, using money from the major events fund, gives stability to DocFest to make future plans," she said.

In previous years the grant had been higher, but this was cut back due to budget pressures faced by the council, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

DocFest managing director Annabel Grundy said: "One thing that is really important to us is community impact.

"We want to make sure the people of Sheffield and South Yorkshire feel welcome at DocFest and come and participate in a significant cultural event."

DocFest will also run community events in different areas of Sheffield, she added.

Sheffield DocFest runs from 12-17 June 2024.