Australian International Documentary Conference: AIDC

AIDC

Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) is one of the two major national conferences for filmmakers in Australia to promote the documentary, factual, and unscripted screen material.

History 

AIDC began as a biennial conference in 1987, and it is still going strong today. The event has been staged in various locations around Australia over the years, with most of them being in capital cities. It has developed from a modest conference with a few foreign attendees to a significant yearly international event. For both economic and artistic purposes, the conference provides a marketplace for a documentary product, highlights the work of Australian and worldwide documentary producers and allows discussion of content, craft, technology and future direction. The ABC adopted its pre-sale commissioning mechanism due to the inaugural AIDC, held in 1987 in McLaren Vale, in the heart of South Australia’s wine production area. Do you know? Authorities first had it in Melbourne in 2006, then returned to Adelaide for five years until 2015, before returning to Melbourne in 2016. It was hosted at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image that year (ACMI).

Australian International Documentary Conference 2022

In 2022, Australia’s flagship event for documentary and factual storytelling in all media will return to ACMI in person. The topic for this year’s festival is ‘Bearing Witness,’ which looks at how films have delivered us crucial tales from the frontlines amid a period of massive social upheaval, environmental crises, political turmoil, and pandemic-driven upheavals. Despite these obstacles, documentarians have continued to focus their cameras on all corners of the globe, extending our understanding of the world we live in, giving voice to the marginalised, and serving as change agents. It was presented both in-person and online for the first time at ACMI. Anyone working in documentary, factual, or other non-fiction material will find AIDC 2022 an unmissable programme of information, networking, and business prospects. Exclusive keynotes by Eva Orner, director of the acclaimed documentaries Burning and Chasing Asylum and co-producer of Taxi to the Dark Side. Ted Hope, producer of over 70 features and former Head of Movies at Amazon.

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The annual international pitching showcase is AIDC’s centrepiece pitch for a new documentary and factual project. The AIDC Awards, now in their second year, honour the best new Australian documentary and real movies, series, podcasts, and more. Cut to the Chase is a curated online marketplace that pairs artists and producers with industry decision-makers for one-on-one encounters. Co-presented with ACMI, a public access programme of captivating film screenings and conversations. AIDC 2022 provides a variety of pass choices based on participant demands and budget, including All Access passes for those who want access to sessions and the marketplace and Focus passes for those who wish to access sessions. In addition, the Hybrid pass option allows delegates to attend in person, while the Virtual pass option allows them to participate anywhere. Now is the time to register.

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