The Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) has announced the 15 teams that will take part in this year’s FACTory International Pitching Showcase, to be held at The Edge in Fed Square during the March conference.
Now in its ninth year, the VicScreen-presented pitching event is designed to provide opportunities for projects featuring new and established talent, and at various stages of development.
In 2024, teams representing 12 nations will pitch to local and international commissioning editors, broadcasters, streamers, sales agents, distributors, funders, and festivals, participating both in-person and virtually.
The projects fall under three strands: Central Showcase, New Talent Showcase and Rough Cut Showcase. The shortlisted Central and New Talent teams will present their work to decision-makers and an audience of AIDC delegates at the The Edge auditorium on Tuesday, March 5.
Until then, the teams have the opportunity to undertake intensive pitch training conducted by
experienced screen practitioners, including editorial consultant at documentary funding organisation The Whickers, Jane Mote, Berlinale Talents Doc Station head Zeynep Güzel, and South Korean producer and director Gary Byungseok Kam.
Pitch prizes include two complimentary festival passes to participate in Sheffield DocFest 2024, Hot Docs Industry 2024, DOK Leipzig 2024, Doc Edge 2024, Docs by the Sea 2024, and Sunny Side of the Doc 2024.
AIDC will take place in person in Melbourne at ACMI March 3-6, with an online international marketplace to follow March 7-8.
The shortlisted projects are as follows:
CENTRAL SHOWCASE PROJECTS
Chasing the Last Giants
Married couple Steve Pearce and Dr. Jen Sanger photograph striking ‘giant tree portraits’ around the world on their quest to save Tasmania’s Grove of Giants from being lost forever.
Writer/Director/Producer: Joseph Nizeti;
Writer/Producer: Rob Innes
Cosmic Breakfast and Mashup Pictures (Australia)
Camels of the Sea
Facing rampant and often illegal industrialization on India’s western coast, a nomad called Adam Abderrehman struggles to keep his family, his swimming camels and his sense of self together.
Director: Vikram Singh
Producer: Mandakini Gahlot
Elefant Films (India)
Streetside
Set against the glittering Sydney skyline, young doctor Daniel Nour and his team convert ambulances to streetside clinics taking healthcare to those who are falling through the cracks.
Co-Directors: John-Paul McElwee and Pete Ward
Producer: Rebecca Bennett
Shooting FIlms (Australia)
Aunty Untitled Film
A coming of golden-age story following a group of Chinese women immigrants in the US, finding themselves in later life through dance, with the dream of performing on America’s Got Talent.
Director: Haohao Yan; Producer: Guo Guo
Aunty Untitled Film LLC (USA)
Queen of Chocolate
A character-driven series about women around the world finding environmental and social solutions to the issues that have beset the chocolate industry for centuries and now threaten its survival.
Director: Felicity Morgan-Rhind
Producer: Arani Cuthbert
Diva Productions (New Zealand)
The House of Love
The untold story of a musical revolution when Sydney was the dance party capital of the world.
Writer/Director: Mark Murphy
Producer: Michaela Perske
Pursekey Productions (Australia)
NEW TALENT PROJECTS
Spreadsheet Champions
Students from around the world give it their all in the biggest competition you’ve never heard of, the Excel Spreadsheet World Championships.
Director: Kristina Kraskov
Producer: Anna Charalambous
GoodThing Productions and Peculiar Pictures (Australia)
Downhill Kargill
In the Himalayan cold-desert of Kargil, Mehroon forms the first women’s ice-hockey team with local coach Imtiyaz. But with the threat of climate change and Mehroon migrating to Delhi, can Imtiyaz keep the team together?
Co-Director/Producer: Nupur Agrawal
Co-Director/Editor: Shivajee Biswanath
Autumn Wolves Media LLP, Camera & Shorts Media Pvt Ltd (India)
Copan
Copan is a microcosm of everything Brazil stands for: the good, the bad and the ugly. This portrait of the largest residential building in Latin America and its inhabitants shines a light in a country being torn apart by a collapsing democracy.
Director: Carine Wallauer
Producer: Nabil Bellahsene
MVM and Clariô Filmes (Brazil) / Les Valseurs Bordeaux (France)
Frontline Rangers
Indigenous rangers are combining traditional practices with future technology to provide globally significant solutions to some of our most pressing environmental challenges.
Director/Co-Producer: David Cook
Co-Producer: Margee Brown
Executive Producer: Anna Kaplan
New Dream Productions with Regen Studios & Margee Brown (Australia)
Life in the Shadows
Years after his classmates were massacred at his school, K.D. records the lives of Machid, who attends the same school, and Khatima, who works in the cemetery where the dead students are buried.
Director: K.D.
Producer: Ilyas Yourish
Kamay Films (Afghanistan, Germany)
Replica
With the widespread use of AI chatbots, young urban women in China are trying out a ‘neverending’ love affair with machines.
Director: Chouwa Liang
Producer: Andy Huang
Axel Rise Films (China, Australia), The Why Foundation (Denmark)
ROUGH CUT PROJECTS
The Real Meaning of Pleasure
A cancer patient living with Aspergers, his asexual, autistic sister and neuro-diverse niece set out to discover the true meaning of pleasure.
Director: Laneikka Denne
Producer: Adam Finney
Co-Producer: Tilly Towler
Barking Owl (Australia)
Touch the Colour
A mother is serving life in prison for taking care of a missing boy. After more than 20 years, the kidnapped boy comes forward to set her free.
Director: Baby Ruth Vilarama
Producers: Chuck Gutierrez and Gary Kam
Editor: Jaye Jacinto
Voyage Studios (Philippines), Mirror & Story (South Korea)
Yurlu | Country
Yurlu | Country follows Banjima elder, Maitland Parker whose final wish is to heal a landscape devastated by mining. The country that once nourished him has made him terminally ill.
Writer/Director/Producer: Yaara Bou Melham; Producer: Lisa Main
Illuminate Films (Australia)