We are excited to share that four films from our Production Assistance Program will be in the line-up at the 2026 Sheffield DocFest; two films will participate in MeetMarket; and WMM staff and filmmakers will lead industry sessions.
The films screening include:
- LANDSCAPES OF MEMORY – Directed by Leah Galant; Produced by Elijah Stevens – International Premiere
An American filmmaker travels to Berlin to confront her family’s Holocaust history, only to be detained at a pro-Palestinian demonstration and charged with antisemitism.
- AMERICAN DOCTOR – Directed by Poh Si Teng; Produced by Kirstine Barfod, Reem Haddad – UK Premiere
Three American doctors volunteer in Gaza’s overwhelmed hospitals. The humanitarian catastrophe they witness compels them to carry their fight far beyond the wards and back to Washington.
- BIRDS OF WAR – Directed by Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak; Produced by Sonja Henrici, Janay Boulos, Abd Alkader Habak – UK Premiere
Over thirteen years of revolution, war and exile, a Lebanese journalist and a Syrian activist document their love story through text messages, voice notes and footage from the front lines.
- THE CORD – Directed by Nolwenn Hervé; Produced by Estelle Robin You / Grande Ourse Films – UK Premiere
As Venezuela’s healthcare system crumbles, Carolina navigates the streets of Maracaibo with sheer will, wit and community to bring new life safely into the world.
The below two WMM-supported projects, currently in production, will participate in the 2026 MeetMarket, which offers selected filmmakers curated meetings with funders, broadcasters, distributors, and other industry leaders.
- DISRUPTION – Directed by Sarvnik Kaur
When Amarjit, a queer farmer in Punjab, chooses care over chemicals to revive her ancestral land, she comes into conflict with her brother and an agricultural system built on extraction.
- TAXI DRIVER – Directed by Sara Chishti
This vérité documentary follows five New York City cab drivers fighting for survival and economic justice in the wake of the predatory taxi medallion debt crisis.
Executive Director Debra Zimmerman will be in attendance and will be participating on a panel – Beyond the Algorithm: The Rise of YouTube Documentary – as well as co-leading a workshop with producer and WMM board member Ryan Harrington – Find the Money! Strategies for Funding and Financing in the U.S — that offers a deep dive into new models for funding and financing strategies. And WMM consultant Tracie Holder will lead a workshop on U.S. fundraising for non-American filmmakers; alums Maite Alberdi and Sara Dosa will teach masterclasses (The Art of Storytelling and Ecological and Cultural Memory on Screen, respectively); and WMM filmmakers Janay Boulos and Abd Al-Kader Habak (BIRDS OF WAR) will participate in a panel on citizen journalism.
Additionally, new projects from WMM Program Alum Maite Alberdi (A CHILD OF MY OWN) and Tia Lessin & Carl Deal (STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE!) will also screen at the festival.
Congratulations to all participating filmmakers.
