The Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) is the Southern Hemisphere’s premier gathering and marketplace for documentary and factual content, taking place from Sunday 3 March – Wednesday 6 March 2024 at ACMI, Melbourne / Naarm, followed by an online international marketplace, 7- 8 March 2024.
The AIDC 2024 program of spotlight sessions, industry panels, screenings and initiatives will explore the integrity, urgency, and creative potential of nonfiction storytelling via the theme Frontlines: Shaping the Future of Documentary & Factual Storytelling. The AIDC event is produced by a dedicated team of doc film buffs.
Minding the Gap
Bing Liu's 2018 Academy-Award nominated debut feature Minding the Gap is a masterpiece. I remember seeing it in cinemas for the first time and my jaw-dropping wondering if everyone else was seeing what I was? This stunning skateboarding documentary is also an achingly tender portrait of friendship, economic inequality, domestic violence and masculinity in Rust Belt America. Over ten years, Bing Liu turns the camera on his friends, and eventually his own family, and what eventuates is not only a gorgeously filmed skateboarding documentary but also an epic story that stays with you for a long time.
Alice McShane, Conference Programmer
Flee
The history-making, triple-Oscar nominated Flee will certainly be remembered as one of the finest documentaries of our time. This boundary-pushing animated hybrid documentary is a masterclass in creatively crafting memories of the past in nonfiction through beautiful animation, radio documentary technique and archival editing. A profoundly emotional story with startling modern-day relevance, what also makes this film so special is the heartfelt longstanding friendship between protagonist Amin (a pseudonym) and filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen. This documentary demonstrates the boundless creative possibilities of what a documentary can be! And that is the kind of documentary that I love the most.
Lauren Valmadre, Industry Manager
Welcome to Chechnya
A powerful and harrowing documentary that delves into the ongoing LGBTQ+ persecution in Chechnya. The innovative use of technology to protect the anonymity of its subject through digital manipulation techniques effectively shields the identities of the courageous individuals sharing their stories, allowing them to speak truthfully without fear of reprisal. This approach not only underscores the urgency of the issue but also highlights the lengths to which these activists and survivors must go to protect themselves in a society plagued by violence and discrimination. By prioritising the safety of its subjects, Welcome to Chechnya provides a look into a humanitarian crisis while honouring the dignity and resilience of those fighting for justice. A gripping documentary that sheds light on a pressing human rights issue while demonstrating the potential of technology to amplify marginalised voices.
Melanie DiMattina, Event Manager
Ghosthunter
This Australian documentary is a real slow-burn. What starts as a film about Sydney security guard Jason’s side-hustle as a ghosthunter uncovers deep truths about memory, trauma, poverty and family. Shot over several years, we see Jason chip away at the near total amnesia of his childhood as siblings and old friends reappear in his life. The ghosts he hunts become more personal than supernatural. Though the details of Jason’s early life are hard to see come to light, this is also a story of resilience, collective healing and not being defined by your past.
Natalie May, Industry Coordinator
The Giants
This film entwines the magnificent, ancient forests in Tasmania with a poetic portrait of Bob Brown, who started the world’s first Greens party. We are equal-parts mesmerised by the trees that look like something out of a fantasy-film and the trajectory of a leader who didn’t set out to be one. I’m biased because I had a part in helping make this film. I still marvel at the myriad of elements coming together - aerial and ground shoots, LIDAR forest scans fed to an animator who made an other-world, and the archive trawled through to map the life of Bob Brown. Like the man himself, the film is not all about him and really, it’s all about the majestic forests that inspire us to feel wonder and make change.
Joany Sze, Partnerships and Industry Development Manager
