Sheffield DocFest: ‘Welded Together,’ About Alcoholism in Belarus, Wins Top Award

The 32nd edition of Sheffield DocFest 2025 is wrapping Monday after an awards ceremony at Sheffield’s Crucible Playhouse, which honored Anastasiya Miroshnichenko‘s Welded Together with the festival’s top award. The documentary deals with alcoholism in Belarusian society, portraying a young woman who is desperately trying to hold her family together.

This year saw 51 world premieres, 16 international premieres, eight European premieres and 39 U.K. premieres from 68 countries of production screen in Sheffield.

Here is a look at the 2025 award winners.

International Competition (Grand Jury Award)

Welded Together directed by Anastasiya Miroshnichenko (France, Netherlands, Belgium, 2025).

The jury said: “A portrait of resilience and strength — both of the main character and of a community that stands in solidarity. The film highlights the contrast between the generosity of the people and the harsh realities of alcoholism in the Belarussian society. An honest and delicate portrayal of a young woman desperately trying to hold her family ‘welded together’.”

Special Mention: The Gas Station Attendant, directed by Karla Murthy (USA, 2025)

The jury said: “This love letter to the director’s father is an intimate and sincere portrait of both a family and the U.S. society. The film is delicately crafted with care, creativity, and sensibility.”

International First Feature Competition (supported by Netflix)

Comparsa directed by Vickie Curtis, Doug Anderson (Guatemala, USA, 2025).

The jury said: “The film that we chose celebrates the power of resilience of a community, while shedding light on an unknown story of systemic gender-based violence. It’s a film that introduces us to amazing characters, smart, sensitive, with an astonishing inner force that is an inspiration to push for change against all odds. The movie will leave us with a much needed and powerful sense of hope. The creativity, the access, the trust built with the whole community made us fall in love with a movie that opens critical conversation: come on stage, do a dance, sing with me: COMPARSAAAAA.”

Special Mention: Carmela and the Walkers (Carmela y los Caminantes), directed by Luis Herrera, Esteban Coloma (Ecuador, 2025)

The jury said: “This film receives a special mention for its deeply human portrayal of resilience, solidarity, and moral courage in the face of crisis. With extraordinary intimacy and empathy, the filmmakers shed light on an urgent humanitarian issue through the powerful lens of one woman’s everyday heroism, offering a moving testament to the strength of community and compassion amid adversity.”

International Short Film Competition

In a Whisper (Dans un Souffle) directed by Catarina Gonçalves (Portugal, Hungary, Belgium, 2025).

The jury said: “For its bold and minimalistic, cinematic mastery, and thoughtfully crafted sound design, this elegant portrait of admiration and resilience reflects the extraordinary talent of a promising director whose trajectory is clearly on the rise.”

Special Mention: Oscurana, directed by Violeta Mora (Honduras, Hungary, Portugal, Belgium, 2025)

The jury said: “We would like to give an honourable mention to a beautiful film for its unique perspective, presented in a visually sparse yet powerfully affecting manner. This sensory invitation fosters empathy for the human rights crises that immigrants face when crossing borders, and it is now more critical than ever in this unprecedented time.”

Tim Hetherington Award (presented in association with Dogwoof)

Sudan, Remember Us (Sudan Y’a Ghali) directed by Hind Meddeb (France, Tunisia, Qatar, 2024).

The jury said: “Set against a women-led revolution, Sudan, Remember Us captures the spirit of resistance and the deep human desire for freedom. The film is rich in colour and texture, and there’s a quiet poetry in the way the story unfolds. It reminds us of the human capacity for hope, the importance of empathy and the tragedy of loss. At its heart is a deep sense of community where the collective takes priority over the individual. This spirit of togetherness is one of the film’s most powerful messages.”

International Virtual Reality Competition

Speechless Witness of a Wandering Tree.

The jury said: “We unanimously agreed to give this award to a project that employs a poetic approach to language and visual storytelling and acts as an intimate healing ritual in the ongoing aftermath of hostility towards women in an area of conflict. Through magical realism and the innovative use of the 360 cameras to constructively process the impact of trauma and given the restrictions of producing work in this region, the artists we feel should be additionally commended on the making of their work against the backdrop of instability.”

Youth Jury Award

Runa Simi directed by Augusto Zegarra (Peru, 2025) by “five of the U.K.’s most passionate young documentary lovers to celebrate non-fiction cinema.”

The jury said: “Language is more than just a means of communication between peoples. Language shapes how we think, our beliefs and our experience of the world. Languages are dynamic; emerge from contexts, evolve, become endangered, even extinct. This is a film all about language and one individual’s specific and humble dream to preserve his native tongue through the magic of popular cinema. With gorgeous cinematography and a soulful, intergenerational cast, this is a story of hope, community and decolonisation in action. It blossoms to become far more universal than its specific cultural context and is ultimately a tribute to the power of cinema to unite. As young people, we all see non-fiction so differently, with so many possibilities, but this documentary connects our passion. It is a film that amplifies, celebrates and preserves a lived reality.”

Special Mention: The Stand, directed by Christopher Auchter (Canada, 2024)

The jury said: “We feel this film comes at a particularly pressing political moment, where hope can often feel in limited supply. In times like these, it is vital for us to turn to, and to learn from history. To recognize that injustice has always existed, but people have always resisted. The Stand depicts this resistance with galvanising force. It is a story of the land rights protests of the Haida nation in 1985, told through the distillation of over 100 hours of archival footage to form a compelling and immersive portrait of a movement. Witnessing the steadfast commitment, humanity and unwavering compassion of the Haida people is deeply hopeful and represents a form of inspiration for audiences today on how to effectively resist.”