Australian International Documentary Conference

The Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) is an Australian conference for the promotion of documentary, factual and unscripted screen content, regarded as one of two major national conferences for filmmakers.

History

First established in 1987, AIDC began life as a biennial conference. Over time the event has moved to several different regions in Australia, mostly being held in capital cities. Over the years it has grown from being a small conference with a few international guests, to being a major annual international event. Serving both the commercial and creative needs of the industry, the conference provides a marketplace for documentary product for national and international buyers and distributors, showcases the work of Australian and international documentary makers, and creates a forum to discuss content, craft, technology and future directions.

It was as a result of the first AIDC, held in 1987 at McLaren Vale, in the heart of South Australia's wine growing region, that the ABC introduced its pre-sale commissioning system.

It was held in Melbourne in 2006 (and possibly previous to this), before relocating back to Adelaide for five successful years until 2015, again moving to Melbourne in 2016. In that year it was held at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), and remained there for four years. In 2020, the event moved to State Library Victoria for one edition. The conference was held online in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, before returning to ACMI for following editions.

Description

AIDC is a not-for-profit organisation committed to supporting and elevating nonfiction storytelling through creative and business opportunities across film, television, streaming, and digital media.

List of Conferences

The Stanley Hawes Award

The annual Stanley Hawes Award for contribution to the documentary in Australia was announced at each AIDC until 2023.

The Stanley Hawes Award was established in 1997 to honour Stanley Hawes as first Producer-in-Chief of the Australian National Film Board and Commonwealth Film Unit. The award recognises the significant support he gave independent filmmakers in the documentary sector and is awarded to a person that makes an outstanding contribution to the documentary sector in Australia.

Previous winners

* Graham Chase (1997)
* John Heyer (1999)
* Pat Fiske (2001)
* Stewart Young (2003)
* Robin Hughes (2004)
* CAAMA Productions (2005)
* John Hughes (2006)
* Michael Gissing (2007)
* David Bradbury (2008)
* Bob Connolly (2009)
* Tom Zubrycki (2010)
* Rachael Perkins (2011)
* Julia Overton (2012)
* Documentary Australia Foundation (2013)
* Chris Hilton (2014)
* Pauline Clague (2015)
* Sonya Pemberton (2016)
* Brian Beaton (2017)
* Curtis Levy (2018)
* James Bradley (2019)
* Janine Hosking (2020)
* Michaela Perske (2021)
* David Tiley (2022)
* Dr Cathy Henkel (2023)

The Southern Light Award

The annual AIDC Southern Light Award was established in 2024 to celebrate luminaries of the Australian documentary and factual industry.

Expanding the eligibility scope of the pre-existing Stanley Hawes Award, presented from 1997 – 2023, the AIDC Southern Light Award is a $5,000 cash prize presented by AIDC to an Australian industry professional for their outstanding contribution to nonfiction screen, digital and/or audio media.

Previous winners

* Karina Holden (2024)

AIDC Awards

The annual AIDC Awards were established in 2021 to recognise outstanding completed works of new Australian documentary and factual content across six categories. The awards are traditionally announced on the final day of the AIDC conference.

David and Joan Williams Documentary Fellowship

The David and Joan Williams Documentary Fellowship was established in 2011 by Kim Williams, former CEO of News Limited, Foxtel and Fox Studios Australia, in honour of his parents. It is intended "to give an independent filmmaker enough money and time to reflect and prepare for his or her next work or to undertake relevant study and research".

The fellowship is given in the form of grants, initially overseen by filmmakers Bob Connolly and Victoria Treole, and administered by the AIDC. The first fellowship was awarded in June 2011, to producer Jennifer Peedom.

In 2015, the fellowship was worth , and became biennial at the same time as transferring its management to the Documentary Australia Foundation.

Other recipients have included Matthew Bate, Juliet Lamont, Lynette Wallworth, Al Hicks (2015), and Erica Glynn (2017).

References

Further reading

Campey, Philippa (2003) ''The 2003 Australian International Documentary Conference: A Report''

External links

*{{official, https://www.aidc.com.au/

International conferences in Australia
Documentary film organizations
Film organisations in Australia
1987 establishments in Australia
Recurring events established in 1987
Annual events in Australia