Gaurav Raturi, founder of Handshake Media visited Sheffield DocFest in Sheffield for four days across the festival with the support of our bursaries, which are available to Film Hub Members to help them learn from and be a part of the wider community of film programmers. In a new blog post, Gaurav reflects on their experience of the festival.
'A personal highlight was attending the Documentary Film Council Annual General Meeting. As a member of the Council, I was delighted that my proposal to establish a documentary film club in Birmingham was welcomed. It felt like an important step towards creating more opportunities for audiences to discover independent documentaries in the Midlands.'
Sheffield Doc Fest 2026
Blog written by Gaurav Raturi
More Than Just Watching Films
Over four days, in the quaint city of Sheffield, the global industry of the documentary ecosystem emerged, and there isn’t a better place to immerse myself in screenings, industry sessions, networking events and conversations with people who care deeply about documentary filmmaking. I left with fresh ideas, new connections and a renewed appreciation for the documentary community.
One of the sessions I was most looking forward to was the Whickers Pitch. Watching five documentary teams present projects to win the coveted 120k funding in development was incredibly insightful. It wasn't just about hearing great ideas; it was about understanding the years of research, persistence and funding strategies behind every successful documentary. As a producer developing my own projects, these are the sessions that stay with you long after the festival ends.
One experience that genuinely surprised me was Elsewhere in India. Rather than being a conventional documentary screening, it was a live audiovisual performance that brought together archival footage from the BFI's India on Film collection, AI-generated imagery, electronic music and live visual mixing. The two artists built an immersive experience in real time using archive, technology and performance. I had never seen documentary storytelling presented in this way before, and it completely changed how I think about archives and emerging technology.
I also attended the Alternate Realities Summit, where producers, distributors and exhibitors discussed the future of VR, AR and immersive storytelling. The conversations around audience engagement, distribution models and the commercial realities of XR projects were particularly useful as immersive content continues to evolve.
A personal highlight was attending the Documentary Film Council Annual General Meeting. As a member of the Council, I was delighted that my proposal to establish a documentary film club in Birmingham was welcomed. It felt like an important step towards creating more opportunities for audiences to discover independent documentaries in the Midlands.
The screenings were equally memorable. I particularly enjoyed The Archivist, following David "Doc" Rowe's lifelong mission to document Britain's rich folk traditions before his remarkable archive is lost. The Wolf offered an intimate portrait of identity, family and queerness in contemporary China, while We the Hated gave an eye-opening look behind the scenes of the Just Stop Oil movement and the people behind the protests. Disciples was another film that stayed with me well after the screening.
What makes Sheffield DocFest special, though, is everything that happens between the screenings. At networking mixers and informal gatherings, I caught up with filmmakers, exhibitors, programmers and documentary lovers from across the world. I also had the chance to speak with filmmakers including Pankaj Johar (Disciples) and Prasad Shetty (The Wolf). Those conversations are often just as valuable as the official programme.
I'm grateful to Film Hub Midlands for making this visit possible. I returned to Birmingham with practical ideas, stronger relationships and plenty of inspiration that I hope to bring back into the documentary community here.
Inspired to attend a film festival? You can find all you need to know about applying for a bursary to attend vital events for industry progression here.