US producing pair R.J. Cutler and Trevor Smith will join Australian multi-hyphenate Rachel Perkins in the Spotlight sessions for March’s Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC), with the full line-up of the four-day event unveiled today.
More than 70 speakers will feature in sessions across March 3-6 at the ACMI under the central theme of ‘Frontlines: Shaping the Future of Documentary and Factual Storytelling’ and subthemes Edge of Reality, Future of Truth, Persistence of Vision, Depth of Field, and State of Play.
As the president and executive vice-president of documentary film and television production house This Machine Filmworks, Cutler and Smith are known as the creative team behind titles such as The September Issue, Big Vape: The Rise & Fall of Juul, Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, Listen to Me Marlon, Belushi, and The World According to Dick Cheney. In their keynote address, they will provide insight into producing compelling documentary features and series.
Perkins, known as the founder of Blackfella Films, with documentary credits including First Australians and The Australian Wars, will appear as part of a session titled Rachel Perkins: Truth to Power.
Other session highlights include The Future of Factual with Shaminder Nahal, in which the head of specialist factual at the UK’s Channel 4 brings her wealth of experience to the Australian stage; Reconstructing Memory with Kaouther Ben Hania, offering an in-depth exploration of the Tunisian director’s creative approach to fact, memory and reconstruction; and Editing the Extraordinary with Luke Lorentzen and Ashleigh McArthur, where the director/producer and producer/co-editor of the Oscar-shortlisted A Still Small Voice will discuss their process of editing profoundly intimate stories.
There are also the previously announced sessions with 20 Days in Mariupol director Mstyslav Chernov and composer Nainita Desai of The Deepest Breath and 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible.
AIDC CEO and creative director Natasha Gadd said the line-up was guaranteed to “challenge, celebrate and inspire”.
“In a time of radical change – where the rise of each dawn poses new challenges and possibilities in the pursuit of truth and courageous and authentic representations of the world around us – documentary and factual storytelling has never been more vital,” she said.
“At AIDC 2024 we are framing the frontlines of our sector as both a site of progress and resistance where we shape what’s to come and defend what has come before.”
Of the more than 100 decision makers to appear at the conference, there will be representatives from Amazon Prime Video, Stan, Hulu, DocPlay, ESPN, Docsville, National Geographic, Channel 4, BBC Storyville, ARTE G.E.I.E, PBS, POV, CBC, Sky New Zealand, NHK Enterprises, DW, EBS Korea, TRT World, ABC, SBS and NITV.
Among the distributors confirmed to attend the conference are Time Studios, Red Bull Studios, Sandbox Films, Autlook Films, TVF International, BossaNova, Abacus Media Rights, and MetFilm Sales. The event will also host personnel from leading documentary development funds and foundations, like the International Documentary Association (IDA), Impact Partners, Catapult Film Fund, The Whickers, Participant, International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA), Documentary Australia, Doc Society, and Shark Island Foundation.
The in-person portion of the conference will culminate with the fourth edition of the AIDC Awards, which recognise outstanding documentary and factual works across six categories — Best Feature Documentary, Best Documentary/Factual Series; Best Documentary/Factual Single; Best Short-Form Documentary, Best Audio Documentary, and Best Interactive/Immersive Documentary.
ACMI director and CEO Seb Chan said he was again looking forward to welcoming delegates back to the venue.
“As a hub for connecting people, communities, technology, and ideas, ACMI is proud to be the continuing home for non-fiction storytellers to come together to discuss the future of documentary and factual,” he said.
“Our state-of-the-art facilities and technical expertise will be showcased across four days of the conference, backed by a film program of extraordinary non-fiction stories at ACMI cinemas.”
AIDC will take place in person in Melbourne at ACMI March 3-6, with an online international marketplace to follow March 7-8.