The Australian International Documentary Conference has unveiled the jury for its second annual awards, while also announcing the return of the Indigenous Creators Program for 2022.
Gillian Moody, Kate Montague, Kitty Green, Nashen Moodley, Penny Smallacombe, Rebecca Barry, and Sonya Pemberton will join international members Abigail Priddle, Julie Shapiro, and S. Leo Chiang in determining the prizes, with more to be announced.
The six award categories are Best Feature Documentary, Best Documentary/Factual Series, Best Documentary/Factual Single, Best Short-Form Documentary, Best Audio Documentary, and Best Interactive/Immersive Documentary.
AIDC is also seeking nominations for the Stanley Hawes Award, a $5,000 prize presented annually at AIDC to a person or organisation that has made an outstanding contribution to the Australian documentary and factual sector.
Winners will be presented on Wednesday, March 9 at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image during AIDC 2022, which carries the theme Bearing Witness.
AIDC CEO Natasha Gadd said the jury represented a strong cross-section of local and international creators, producers, and decision makers.
“Now in its second year, the AIDC Awards recognise and celebrate the extensive craft of our nonfiction storytellers and we’re thrilled to have such a stellar line-up of local and industry talent represented on the 2022 AIDC Awards jury,” she said.
The AIDC will also welcome back the Indigenous Creators Program in 2022.
Now in its fourth year, the program aims to provide new opportunities to upskill, network, and pitch market-ready projects to decision makers seeking Indigenous-led stories.
These private, Indigenous-only sessions provide targeted information to practitioners from all skill levels around pitching, storytelling, funding, legal, and distribution.
The initiative forms part of a hybrid program for next year’s AIDC, consisting of conference sessions at the ACMI and a simultaneously broadcast on the AIDC online event platform.
Already confirmed to speak are former co-head of movies at Amazon Studios and US independent producer Ted Hope, Chinese-born US director Nanfu Wang, LA-based Australian director Eva Orner, and producer Sue Maslin.
The early deadline for AIDC Awards submission is 11:59 pm AEDT Wednesday, December, with late entries accepted until Wednesday, December 15 (with late fee). Nominations for the Stanley Hawes Award can be made by AIDC members until January 16.
The 2022 AIDC Awards jury is as follows:
Abigail Priddle, creative director, BBC Studios, The Documentary Unit, UK
Gillian Moody, producer, Kalori Productions, Australia
Julie Shapiro, vice president of editorial, PRX & Radiotopia, USA
Kate Montague, managing director / co-founder of Audiocraft, Australia
Kitty Green, director/producer, Australia
Lindsay Poulton, head of documentaries, The Guardian, UK
Nashen Moodley, festival director, Sydney Film Festival, Australia
Penny Smallacombe, producer, Bunya Productions, Australia
Rebecca Barry, co-Founder & producer, Media Stockade, Australia
S. Leo Chiang, director, Walking Iris Media, USA / Taiwan
Sonya Pemberton, creative director, Genepool, Australia