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‘O.J.: Made In America’ producer-director to headline AIDC’s 30th edition

Ezra Edelman, director and producer of 'O.J.:Made In America' will give a keynote at AIDC 2017. 

The 30th installment of the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) has attracted a variety of international producers as its headline speakers.

They include head of Passion Pictures John Battsek (One Day In September); vice president of the Tribeca Film Institute Amy Hobby (What Happened, Miss Simone?) and Ezra Edelman, director and producer of O.J.: Made In America.

Edelman and Battsek will deliver the opening session about using sports documentary as a way to explore power and racial discrimination. Hobby will appear in conversation about the experiences of documentary filmmakers on the festival and awards circuit.

All three will also participate as mentors in the ACCESS@AIDC mentorship program

Other conference sessions announced so far include:

Revolution or Evolution?, a session about the future of ‘serious gaming’ and virtual reality documentary with Navid Khonsari, creator of docu-game 1979: Revolution and designer of such AAA game titles as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Max Payne.

Archival Revival, a Masterclass in which John Battsek and Richard Lowenstein (Autoluminescent: Roland S. Howard) reveal the art of making documentaries with archival footage. Featuring never before seen footage set to appear in the upcoming Michael Hutchence documentary Mystify.

Desperately Seeking Distribution, a look at new distribution pathways for factual content with the people behind the hit ABC iView webseries Black As and refugee advocacy documentary Chasing Asylum

The second annual Impact Strategy Hack, featuring social impact experts creating impact campaigns for two film projects in a live session (presented by Documentary Australia Foundation).

In partnership with ACMI, AIDC will also see a series of curated screenings:

O.J.: Made in America – a free binge screening of the entire 7.5-hour epic. Featuring an introduction by director and producer Ezra Edelman. Open to the public. 

Cane Toads, Interrupted – a special screening with live commentary from director Mark Lewis of the international cult classic Australian documentary Cane Toads: An Unnatural History, made in 1987, the year of the first AIDC. 

The Guardian documentary Shorts Showcase – a free public screening on the Federation Square Big Screen of a program of cutting edge short documentaries, curated by Guardian documentaries head Charlie Phillips.

AIDC has also announced the first round of attendees for the AIDC Marketplace, including: 

• Jules Oldroyd (National Geographic, USA)

• Ryan Harrington (Discovery Communications, USA)

• Justine Nagan (American Doc / POV (PBS), USA)

• Steven Burns (CuriosityStream, USA)

• Kate Townsend (BBC Storyville, UK)

• Vesna Cudic (Dogwoof, UK)

• Philippe De Bourbon (Canal+, France)

• Yoko Imai (NHK, Japan)

• Amy Hobby (Tribeca Film Institute, USA)

• Charlie Phillips (Guardian documentaries, UK)

These decision makers will participate in networking activities designed to bring them face to face with filmmakers seeking project support. These include Speed Pitching, Roundtables, and AIDC’s one-day project pitching forum The FACTory. 

AIDC 2017 takes place  March 5 – 8  at ACMI, Melbourne.

www.aidc.com.au