Sheffield Doc/Fest will move from November to a June slot starting with its 2011 edition, which is slated for June 8-12. The 2010 edition, the festival’s 17th run, will take place as scheduled Nov 3-7.

Steve Hewlett, chair of Sheffield Doc/Fest, said at a London reception last night: “Sheffield Doc/Fest has undergone something of a step-change in the last four years since Heather Croall became Festival Director. The stats are remarkable – up from 500 delegates in 2006 to nearly 2000 in 2009. £10.5 m of deals negotiated at MeetMarket last year. But there’s a bit of a pile-up of European documentary festivals in the autumn so after much consideration we’ve decided to move to June. This move will allow more inventive programming, more public outreach and allow us to improve our offering and enable us to work more effectively with other creative organisations in Sheffield. We’ll also be announcing a couple of important partnerships with international documentary organisations in the coming weeks. Britain is the home of documentary film and Sheffield Doc/Fest will take its place among the best documentary festivals in the world”.

Meanwhile at the 2010 festival, the programme will include Doug Block’s The Kids Grow Up; Jeff Malmberg’s Marwencol; Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing’s 12th and Delaware; Tyler Measom and Jennilyn Merten’s Sons of Perdition; Marc and Nick Francis’ When China Met Africa; David Sington’s The Flaw; and Penny Woolcock’s On The Streets.

The pitching forum MeetMarket, started in 2006, will expand its cross-platform projects and also including crowd-funding projects for the first time.

Croall added: “The thing people love about Sheffield Doc/Fest is its boutique feel and the fact that it’s very democratic. People come here knowing they will meet the right people, see the best new docs, and if they’re in MeetMarket, make a deal. I’m very excited about moving to June – it’ll bring some new and exciting developments to the festival – watch this space!”

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