Shannon Owen’s Left Write Hook has packed a punch at Wednesday’s Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) Awards in Melbourne, with the Sweetshop and Green production named Best Feature Documentary.
Owen worked with boxing instructor and trauma survivor Donna Lyon on the film, which explores how the physicality of boxing combined with the emotional power of creative writing can create a space for seven survivors of childhood sexual abuse to release their memories, reclaim their bodies, and imagine new lives for themselves.
Left Write Hook had its world premiere at last year’s Melbourne International Film Festival before being released nationally in October.
In a statement, the jury said the film had stirred a “universally surprising and passionate response”.
“Director Shannon Owen, working with the inimitable Donna Lyon and her group of incredible participants, has made a powerful document of strength and resilience that will touch many beyond the original program’s pages and boxing ring,” they said.
Boxing was also at the centre of Best Documentary / Factual Single winner Tough Not Toxic from season 38 of ABC’s Compass. The episode focuses on Daryl Gardiner, who credits the sport with saving him from a life of crime and now teaches positive masculinity.
The second season of fellow ABC title Stuff the British Stole claimed Best Documentary/Factual Series.
Co-produced by Wooden Horse, WildBear Entertainment, and Cream Productions, the Australian-Canadian co-production follows creator, writer, director, and executive producer Marc Fennell as he ventures from Egyptian deserts to deep in the Amazon River and takes viewers from a shipwreck in the depths of the Aegean Sea to a robot laboratory high in a Tuscan mountain range.
It was one of two awards for Fennell, who claimed Best Audio Documentary for This is Not A Game.
As previously reported, Artemis Media co-founder and managing director Celia Tait received the second AIDC Southern Light Award for outstanding contribution to nonfiction screen, digital, and/or audio media.
Wednesday’s ceremony, hosted by Melissa Leong, concluded the four-day conference for the documentary and factual industry, with two more days of international marketplace meetings still to come (March 6-7).
More than 780 delegates attended the 2025 event, which featured a program of 60 sessions, events, and screenings.
Find the full list of winners below:
BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
Left Write Hook
2024 | Sweetshop & Green | Director: Shannon Owen | Producers: Gal Greenspan, Alice Burgin, Rachel Forbes
BEST DOCUMENTARY / FACTUAL SERIES
Stuff The British Stole Series 2
2024 | Wildbear Entertainment, Wooden Horse, Cream | Creator/writer/director/executive producer: Marc Fennell | producer: Alan Erson | executive producers: Richard Finlayson, Kate Harrison Karman
BEST DOCUMENTARY / FACTUAL SINGLE
Tough Not Toxic
2024 | ABC Compass | Director: Matt Davis | Editor: Peter O’Donoghue | Executive Producer: Amanda Collinge
BEST SHORT-FORM DOCUMENTARY
MAHIKA KAI
2024 | GARUWA, Monster Children, Lake Wānaka | Director/producer: Kieran Mpetyane Satour (Gurundji/Malngin, Pertame Arrernte, Worimi & Baloch (Afghan)) | producers: Jamie Brewer, Gizelle Regan, and Ramona Telecican
BEST AUDIO DOCUMENTARY
This Is Not A Game
2024 | BBC Studios, Audible | Creator: Marc Fennell.
BEST INTERACTIVE / IMMERSIVE DOCUMENTARY
Las Awichas
2024 | UNF, Kings College London | Film Futurist/Creative Technologist: Violeta Ayala | Interaction Design: Daniel Fallshaw | 3D Artist: Brian Condori Marza
PITCH PRIZES
INDIGENOUS CREATORS PITCH PRIZE WINNERS
The Indigenous Creators Pitch cash prize pool was doubled by an anonymous donor on the day of the Awards, making $10,000 available, awarded to three project teams.
CRYSTAL LOVE – $5,000 prize
Pitch Team: Libby Collins, Genevieve Grieves
HUNTING TIDDA STYLE – $2,500 prize
Pitch Team: Kate ten Buuren, Kimberley Benjamin and Jodie Bell
ABOLISHED – $2,500 prize
Pitch Team: Daniel King and Jen Mellander
THE POST LOUNGE DOC PITCH WINNERS
Post-production house The Post Lounge also increased their promised prize pool of $30,000 in post-production investment, adding an extra $5,000 towards research and development support through their production arm Orange Entertainment Co. The Post Lounge Doc Pitch took place as part of AIDC 2025’s Cut to the Chase curated meetings program.
- THE SANCTUARY – $15,000 towards character reel
- GASLIT – $10,000 towards GFX for infographic package
- PAID TO PLEASE – $5,000 towards perfecting audio interviews with reenactments, plus $5,000 towards research and development support
SHARK ISLAND FOUNDATION FEATURE DOCS PITCH WINNER
The philanthropic Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch awarded $80,000 in development grants to four projects. The Pitch took place as part of AIDC 2025’s Cut to the Chase curated meetings program.
- GREATNESS KNOWN – $15,000
- THE LAST NOMADS OF PINTUPI – $20,000
- MARLIYA – $20,000
- THE ACT OF DYING – $25,000
Project THE CLASS OF ASHLEY was also invited to apply for a Production Grant.
FACTORY PITCH PRIZE WINNERS
DOK LEIPZIG PRIZE
Winner: IN FOCUS
Directors: Barat Ali Batoor & Joseph Nizeti; Producer: Leeanne Torpey
Chaos & Co. Productions (Australia)
Two passes to participate in DOK Leipzig 2025 (Leipzig, Germany)
DOC EDGE PRIZE
Winner 1: THE MYTH OF MONSTERS
Director: Beatrice Leong; Producer: Panuksmi Hardjowirogo
M’GO FILMS (Singapore, Malaysia)
Two passes to participate in Doc Edge 2025 (Auckland, New Zealand)
Winner 2: ATOMIC PARADISE
Director: John Harvey; Producer: Sally Aitken; Executive Producer: Aline Jacques
SAM Content (Australia)
Two passes to participate in Doc Edge 2025 (Auckland, New Zealand)
SHEFFIELD DOCFEST PRIZE
Winner: TESTIMONY
Director: Maya Newell; Producers: Barbara Ibuai, Larissa Behrendt, Sophie Hyde, Lisa Sherrard, Alex Kelly
Closer Productions (Australia)
Two festival passes to participate in Sheffield DocFest 2025 (Sheffield, UK)
DMZ DOCS INDUSTRY PRIZE
Winner: THE MYTH OF MONSTERS
Director: Beatrice Leong; Producer: Panuksmi Hardjowirogo
M’GO FILMS (Singapore, Malaysia)