– The Spanish documentary by Bàrbara Mestanza and Marc Pujolar has been rewarded for its “courageous storytelling and remarkable creative vision”
Filthy by Bàrbara Mestanza and Marc Pujolar
Filthy, directed by Bàrbara Mestanza and Marc Pujolar, emerged victorious at the Sheffield Doc/Fest awards ceremony this past Sunday, snagging the Grand Jury Prize in the International Competition. The Spanish documentary – which had its international premiere at the festival – follows an actress who turns her trauma into art after being sexually assaulted.
The jury said of the film: “Through courageous storytelling and remarkable creative vision, this film transforms personal trauma into a collective reckoning. While rooted in the singularity of the filmmaker’s personal story, the film opens outwards, asking larger questions about guilt, shame, power, performance and the systems that shape our complicity in violence. Its disciplined and compelling editing weaves together years of artistic creation and legal pursuit, creating a gripping journey that challenges audiences to look inwards and examine their own narratives.”
A Special Mention went to Time Machine Maidan (Ukraine), directed by Roman Liubyi and Volodymyr Tykhyy, an inventive documentary – which bowed at Doc/Fest – that traces the Maidan revolution and the roots of resistance in Ukraine. According to the jury, it is a film that “brings the recent past vividly to life, illuminating the enduring courage and resilience of ordinary people”.
Mia Bendrimia’s Magma (France/Algeria) – which premiered at the festival and follows the director as she explores colonialism and how it tore her family apart – won the Grand Jury Prize in the International First Feature Competition. The jury described it as “a bold personal-political documentary exploring generational trauma resulting from the wounds of colonialism”.
A Special Mention in the International First Feature competition went to the US flick A City in the Forest by Lev Omelchenko and Nolan Huber, about a grassroots-movement fight to defend land when a police unit in Atlanta moves in to raze an urban forest for the country’s largest police training facility.
The Grand Jury Award for the International Short Film Competition was granted to Maybe Tomorrow (UK/Syria/Germany), directed by Waad Al-Kateab and Wafa Mustafa, in which co-director and activist Mustafa searches for answers after her father disappears under Assad’s regime. The jury said: “Being present with Mustafa during this urgent time of resistance […] offers a vital and emotive watch that expands beyond her intimate family case, representing this large-scale crisis and its social impact.”
The Tim Hetherington Award was presented to The Long Cuban Night (Spain/Colombia/Cuba) by Sergio Fernandez Borras. The award recognises a film and a filmmaker that best reflect the legacy of photojournalist and filmmaker Tim Hetherington. The movie, captured entirely on mobile-phone footage, sees a group of Cuban artists risk everything to document their uprising against a government trying to silence them.
The Youth Jury Award was presented to Crocodile by The Critics and Pietra Brettkelly (New Zealand/Nigeria), in which a group of young filmmakers in Nigeria form a homemade collective with smartphones and recycled materials, and a Special Mention was bestowed upon All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea (UK) by Jeanie Finlay.
The Shine Global Children’s Resilience Award for Documentary was presented to Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes for One in a Million (UK/USA), and the Sheffield DocFest Football Documentary Award was presented to David Tryhorn and Ben Nicholas for Cantona (UK).
As for the industry accolades, the Whickers Pitch, Film & TV Funding Award, with a prize of £120,000, went to Children of Honey (Tanzania/UK) by Jigar Ganatra and Emanuel Musa Marco, and the Development Prize of £25,000 went to Welcome to Our Bathhouse (Japan/Canada/France) by Tommaso Barbetta.
Here is the full list of award winners:
International Competition
Grand Jury Prize
Filthy – Bàrbara Mestanza, Marc Pujolar (Spain)
Special Mention
Time Machine Maidan – Roman Liubyi, Volodymyr Tykhyy (Ukraine)
International First Feature Competition
Grand Jury Prize
Magma – Mia Bendrimia (France/Algeria)
Special Mention
A City in the Forest – Lev Omelchenko, Nolan Huber (USA)
International Short Film Competition
Grand Jury Prize
Maybe Tomorrow – Waad Al-Kateab, Wafa Mustafa (UK/Syria/Germany)
Special Mention
The Anatomy of a Portrait – Juan Felipe León (Colombia)
Other awards
Tim Hetherington Award
The Long Cuban Night – Sergio Fernandez Borras (Spain/Colombia/Cuba)
Special Mention
Birds of War – Janay Boulos, Abd Alkader Habak (UK/Syria/Lebanon)
The Youth Jury Award
Crocodile – The Critics, Pietra Brettkelly (New Zealand/Nigeria)
Special Mention
All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea – Jeanie Finlay (UK)
The Shine Global Children’s Resilience Award for Documentary
One in a Million – Itab Azzam, Jack MacInnes (UK/USA)
Sheffield DocFest Football Documentary Award
Cantona – David Tryhorn, Ben Nicholas (UK)
Industry awards
The Whickers Pitch, Film & TV Awards
Funding Award 2026
Children of Honey – Jigar Ganatra, Emanuel Musa Marco (Tanzania/UK)
Development Prize
Welcome to Our Bathhouse – Tommaso Barbetta (Japan/Canada/France)
The Whickers Podcast Pitch
First Prize
The Many Gendered Mothers of My Heart – David Green
Development Prize
The Riverbank – Jane Ray, Lieven Heeremans
Channel 4 First Cut Pitch
Flora Stewart
Climate Spring Digital-First Pitch
Ruben Against the Machine – Ruben Reuter, Rosie Baldwin
The Meetmarket Awards
AIDC Award
Disruption – Sarvnik Kaur (India/France)
DAE Talent Encouragement Award
Rebellion of Memory – Joël Jent (Switzerland/Peru)
Tokyo Docs Award
Taxi Driver – Sarah Chishti (USA)
East Doc Platform Award
Slavik’s Journey to Forever – Vladyslav Vasylchenko (Ukraine)
MEDIMED Award
Anywhere But Here – Emilio di Stefano (Sweden)
Ji.hlava Award
SUDAN – The Invisible War (France/Norway/Estonia/Belgium/South Africa)
Bird Street Productions Award
The Bologna Trial – Paolo Fiore Angelini (Belgium/Italy)
The Farm Post-production Award
Upstream – Moira Fett, Natalie Berger (USA)
#DocsConnect Conscious Filmmaking Award by Taskovski Training
Before Our Diaspora – Theo Panagopoulos (UK/France)
Taskovski PR & Publicity Award
Rebellion of Memory – Joël Jent
