The Channel 4 Sheffield Pitch is an annual competition sponsored by British public-service television broadcaster

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

, which seeks to offer one new documentary maker the chance to make a film for the company. It takes place within the

Sheffield International Documentary Festival Sheffield DocFest (formerly styled Sheffield Doc/Fest), short for Sheffield International Documentary Festival (SIDF), is an international documentary festival and Marketplace held annually in Sheffield, England. The Festival includes film sc ...

, and at £30,000 represents the largest single award for documentary film in the UK.

Format

Potential pitchers, who cannot already be established

filmmakers Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

, must submit a very brief description of their idea for a documentary film. The eight most compelling ideas are selected, and the shortlisted

directors Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

must then pitch their idea to a panel of Channel 4 commissioners in front of an industry audience at the annual Sheffield International Documentary Festival. The winning director is awarded a £30,000 commission to make their film, and professional mentorship from a Channel 4 editor. The award, now in its fifth year, is part of the station's ''4Talent'' initiative to help new talent break into the very competitive UK television industry. Other projects in the scheme include FourDocs and the popular 3 Minute Wonder short film awards.

Recent winners

*2006 - Haryun Kim, ''English Wonderland'' *2005 -

Havana Marking Havana Marking is a British producer and director of documentary films. She is known for her first feature documantary in 2009 ''Afghan Star''. This film won Best Director and the Audience Award at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Plot The f ...

, ''The Crippendales'' *2004 - Dominic Waugh, ''I Speak Animal''

External links

*
Dominic Waugh Three Minute Wonder pageWebsite of Haryun Kim
British documentary film awards Channel 4 {{film-award-stub