Mal Senanayake from the 2019 Grierson DocLab: New Entrants cohort will be taking part in Channel 4’s First Cut Pitch – an opportunity for first-time directors to win a 60-minute commission from Channel 4. Pitching to a live audience and a panel of industry representatives (including last years’ Grierson Trustees’ Award winner, Rupert Houseman), the winner will also get one month of fully paid development and one week’s NFTS training.

Alice Stewart from the 2024 New Entrants programme and Chloe Bingham who took part in the 2025 Development scheme are both joining the festival’s Amplify: Production Talent scheme. Aiming to support the careers of emerging production professionals, the initiative offers the opportunity to connect with UK production company executives in the factual/documentary TV sector, and experience the Marketplace to widen their network and learn more about the documentary industry.

Will Hewitt, who was part of the Editing scheme in 2022, is editor on Birds of War. The film premiered at Sundance earlier this year and now has its UK premiere as part of the GEN DocFest strand – it is also in competition for the Tim Hetherington Award.

Ira Putilova’s project, Shades of Snow, has been selected as part of the Meet Market for 2026. They participated in the inaugural Grierson DocLab: Editing programme in 2021 and are directing this project.

Keeping with the editing alumni, a session hosted by Stitch N Bitch Editors titled Editors Don’t Grow on Trees will take place Friday, 12 June and features Grierson DocLab: Editing alum Acelya Kancelik as a panellist and Grierson Trustee, Zeb Achonu as moderator. The panel will explore ways that the industry can expand the editing talent pool.

Other Grierson Trustees and Patrons are present too, with Derren Lawford on the International First Feature Competition jury and Norma Percy interviewing director Max Stern about his film, Brexit: How Britain Voted Out.

Even more alumni and the wider Grierson team will be in attendance, guiding our newest New Entrants for 2026 through their first DocFest.

Grants Manager, Lisa Marie Russo will also be available to take meetings about the newly announced Grierson-Percy Documentary Grant.

See you there!