Maxine Peake is guest of honour at Shefffield DocFest featuring new films about Katie Price and Jesy Nelson among 200 screenings

Acclaimed film, television and stage actor Maxine Peake will be guest of honour at this year’s Sheffield DocFest which brings together more than 200 screenings of world, international, European and UK premieres.

Maxine (Peterloo, The Theory of Everything, Shameless) will present three films, read her play, Queens Of The Coal Age and take part in a live performance with Sheffield music legends The Eccentric Research Council during the weekend of June 13 and 14.

Maxine Peake will be guest of honour at Sheffield DocFest during the weekend of June 13 and 14 (photo: Craig Fleming)

placeholder image — Maxine Peake will be guest of honour at Sheffield DocFest during the weekend of June 13 and 14 (photo: Craig Fleming)

The UK’s leading documentary showcase offers intimate films that explore the lives of media personality Katie Price, former Little Mix singer Jesy Nelson (with a live appearance at the festival), sports stars Billie Jean KIng and Eric Cantona, politician Eamon Ryan, Drag Race queen Pagina Heals, plus screenings with actor Michael Sheen, historian David Olusoga, YouTuber and former financial trader Gary Stevenson.

Sheffield DocFest, running from June 10-15, brings more than 100 events to the city.

Jesy Nelson, formerly of Little Mix, will attend Sheffield DocFest to talk about her biopic which follows her personal story as a mother of twins diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy and her fight to change UK newborn screening laws.

Access-driven music documentaries will feature Sheffield’s pop legends Heaven 17 and includes a short performance, heavy metal band Judas Priest, disco stars Earth, Wind & Fire, punk band Ultimate Thunder and singer-songwriter Patrick Wolf with TIlda Swinton.

Talks with Miriam Margolyes, Chris Packham, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Norma Percy, Andrea Arnold, Melanie Blatt, Sam Brown and the crew of Educating Yorkshire and Horrible Science and Horrible History are included in the festival’s 33rd edition.

Thirty-seven films are competing across five prestigious categories at this year's festival. Eight films have been selected for the Academy Award-accredited Grand Jury Award for the International Competition. Ten films are in the running for the Grand Jury Award for the International Short Film Competition, which holds accreditation from BAFTA, the Academy Awards and BIFA.

Mimi Poskitt, managing director, Sheffield DocFest said: “Documentary storytelling has the power to open our eyes to the world and help us make sense of the realities around us which is why Sheffield DocFest, now in its 33rd year, continues to evolve alongside the audiences it serves. We are extremely proud of how this year’s programme reflects the dynamic ways people engage with non-fiction storytelling - seeking out immersive, innovative and thought-provoking experiences,”

For further information on the full festival programme, visit sheffdocfest.com