AIDC - Australian International Documentary Conference

16/09/2026

🏭 THE FACTORY IS OPEN FOR AIDC 2027 🏭

Applications are NOW OPEN for the 12th edition of The FACTory International Pitching Forum - AIDC's centrepiece showcase for documentary and factual projects - presented by Screen NSW and held during AIDC 2027 (8-11 March) in a striking new location - the Art Gallery of New South Wales .

✨ Submit your project in development to pitch to international commissioners, streamers & distributors
✨3 showcase strands: Central, New Talent & Rough Cut
✨Expert mentoring & pitch training

Since 2016, The FACTory has been a platform for 146 remarkable Australian and international projects, including Walkley Award winner 'Delikado', AACTA winner 'Mozart's Sister', and festival hits 'Replica', 'Spreadsheet Champions', 'Iron Winter', 'Yurlu | Country' and more.

Your story could be next! 🎬

Deadlines: 📅 Regular: 1 November 2026 📅 Late: 8 November 2026

Submit today to pitch to the people who can take your project to new heights.

TO APPLY:
🔗 https://www.aidc.com.au/pitches-marketplace/the-factory-2/

Proudly presented by Screen NSW, The FACTory is AIDC’s international pitching forum for new documentary and factual projects.

09/09/2026

AIDC has officially opened Expressions of Interest for the 2027 conference ✨

AIDC’s 40th anniversary edition in Sydney will include a four-day program of relevant and agenda-setting sessions. To ensure that the AIDC program is meeting the needs and demands of the sector, we welcome feedback and input.

We are now accepting submissions for session topics and ideas, and proposals to participate as a speaker, moderator or session producer.

AIDC 2027 is encouraging submissions that address:

💡 Creative expression and new ground in storytelling form;
💡 The changing role of journalism in documentary;
💡 Future funding and financing models;
💡 Discoverability, audience viewing patterns and projections;
💡 Archives: access, preservation, and digitisation;
💡 New content strategies for social media and online platforms;
💡 AI and its implications for documentary ethics and production;
💡 The evolving legal landscape - ie ownership, copyright, and litigation;
💡 Technological innovations across all stages of production and distribution;
💡 The next chapter for streaming and broadcast;
💡 Censorship, interference and disinformation;
💡 Wellbeing, duty of care and field-building;
💡 Sustainability, climate and impact.

Check the link to find out more and to make a submission.

🔗 https://www.aidc.com.au/eye-on-aidc-2027-call-for-session-eois/

Photo by Melissa Butters

09/09/2026

Meet our new Board Co-Chair and Directors 💼

AIDC is pleased to announce the formal appointment of highly regarded screen and creative industries leader and Bundjalung woman Kyas Hepworth - the newly appointed Associate Dean, Indigenous Leadership and Engagement, and Professor at UTS Faculty of Design and Society - to the role of Co-Chair of the AIDC Board of Directors.

Kyas has an expansive understanding of Australia's media and creative industries, having held senior roles with national organisations including SBS/NITV, the AFTRS, Screen Australia, and Screen NSW.

She will join AIDC Co-Chair Sarah Thornton, Head of Unscripted for Paramount ANZ - who was appointed in 2025 after the retirement of Kate Pappas - in sharing the leadership, responsibilities and official duties of running the AIDC Board of Directors.

Alongside Kyas's appointment, AIDC welcomes incoming members Stephanie King, Impact Director, Documentary Australia, and Michael Hilliard, Managing Director, Producer, Boardwalk Pictures Australia, to the AIDC Board of Directors.

The inclusion of three new NSW-based board members follows the recent announcement of Sydney, NSW as the location for AIDC’s 40th Anniversary edition, with support from Screen NSW as Principal Partner.

The appointments come after the completion of two consecutive three-year terms by outgoing Co-Chair Paul Wiegard, and Board members Hollie Fifer and Andrew Arbuthnot. AIDC would like to thank Paul, Hollie and Andrew for their service to the AIDC Board.

Alongside fellow Directors Sarah Thornton (Co-Chair), Matthew Carter (Treasurer), Marco Angele (Secretary), Paul Williams, Kelrick Martin, Bernadine Lim and Marissa McDowell, Paul, Hollie and Andrew have supported the AIDC Management Team in achieving several milestones, including the expansion of both the Indigenous Creators Program and Leading Lights Program to record participation levels, the introduction of The Showroom production company slate pitch and the Southern Light Award for outstanding contribution to the sector, as well as shepherding in a new era for AIDC from Melbourne to Sydney.

Read more 🔗 https://www.aidc.com.au/eye-on-aidc-2027-introducing-our-new-board-directors/

25/08/2026

It’s the news you’ve been waiting for: AIDC is confirmed for 2027 - in a brand new home 🎬

After 11 unforgettable years in Melbourne, we're thrilled to announce that Australia's home for documentary and factual storytelling is moving to Sydney for our 40th anniversary, 8-11 March 2027.

To be held across the iconic Art Gallery of New South Wales, The State Library of New South Wales and Botanic Gardens of Sydney, AIDC 2027 marks an exciting new chapter for the conference and marketplace - backed by our new Principal Partner, Screen NSW, plus returning Presenting Partner, Screen Australia, and Major Partners, ABC Australia and SBS Australia.

We marked the announcement at the Art Gallery of New South Wales last week with Screen NSW Executive Director Kylie Munnich and some of Sydney's own documentary luminaries. Marc Fennell, Karina Holden (Northern Pictures), Alan Erson (WildBear Entertainment), Dr. Naomi Koh Belic, Camilla Mazzaferro (Songbird Studios) and Daniel King (Daniel King Filmmaking) all came out to welcome AIDC to town.

It's the first time AIDC has called NSW home in over 20 years, and we can't wait to welcome our community - and the world's documentary industry - to Sydney.

Early bird passes on sale now, with the first look at the 2027 program to come in October.

Read the full story 👇
https://www.aidc.com.au/40th-anniversary-aidc-to-take-place-in-sydney-in-2027/

📷 Department of Creative Industries, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport

The AIDC is Australia's premier event for the non-fiction screen and digital media industries.

25/08/2026

All of us at AIDC would like to share our deep sadness on the passing of wildlife filmmaker and change agent Bettina Dalton.

Bettina has long been a valued contributor to AIDC and the documentary and factual community, making waves as a leader in her field and her tireless work in championing the sector.

Joining us at AIDC as a speaker, moderator and pitcher, Bettina generously shared her insights, knowledge and passion for documentary storytelling, always leaving audiences inspired and in awe of her commitment to the craft.

Bettina was a member of the AIDC Advisory Committee in 2023 and a regular guest speaker at AIDC’s Regionality events, revelling in sharing her knowledge and insights with her own community of filmmakers in her home of the Sunshine Coast.

She will be greatly missed by everyone at AIDC and the wider documentary and factual filmmaking community. We send our heartfelt condolences to her colleagues at WildBear and to her family and friends.

- Natasha Gadd, AIDC CEO \ Creative Director

All of us at AIDC would like to share our deep sadness on the passing of wildlife filmmaker and change agent Bettina Dalton.

13/08/2026

☀️ 🎥 Enjoy some photos of the SEQ doc community and industry guests gathering at the recent Regionality Sunshine Coast 2026, captured during sessions, meetings and breaks at Maroochy RSL.

If you were there, we hope you had an enjoyable and productive time! It’s hugely rewarding to see practitioners connecting and being inspired by the program.

All photos by Amanda Gooch.

A huge thanks to Regionality Sunshine Coast partners Screen Queensland, Sunshine Coast Council, and Sunshine Coast Screen Collective!

31/07/2026

In advance of her session at next week's Regionality Sunshine Coast 2026, acclaimed documentary maker Chai Vasarhelyi (Free Solo) speaks to Nick L'Barrow for Novastream Network.

Regionality takes place next Friday 7 August at Maroochy RSL, presented by AIDC and Screen Queensland, with the support of Sunshine Coast Council, in association with Sunshine Coast Screen Collective.

https://novastreamnetwork.com/interviews/chai-vasarhelyi-talks-free-solo-observing-through-experience-and-leading-regionality-sunshine-coast-2026/

30/07/2026

We're delighted to welcome a new addition to the Regionality Sunshine Coast 2026 speaker line-up! 🎬

Emmy® Award-winning producer and co-founder of Stranger Than Fiction Films, Jo-anne McGowan, will join the panel for Play the Next Episode: The Art of Documentary and Factual Series - alongside Bethan Arwel-Lewis (SBS), Bettina Dalton (Wildbear Entertainment), and John Harvey (Brown Cabs), moderated by Stephen Oliver (ABC).

Jo-anne's credits include 'David Stratton's Stories of Australian Cinema', Jennifer Peedom's celebrated 'Mountain' and 'River' documentaries, and the Emmy® Award-winning 'Harley & Katya'. She is currently working on 'Empire in Colour', a four-part SBS and TVO/TVF co-production alongside fellow panellist John Harvey.

Jo-anne joins an already impressive lineup led by Academy Award®-winner Chai Vasarhelyi ('Free Solo', 'The Rescue', 'Love+War', and the upcoming 'Everest: The Other Side'), plus Andy Huang, Ivan O'Mahoney, Yale MacGillivray, Allan Clarke and many more.

Regionality Sunshine Coast 2026 takes place Friday 7 August at Maroochy RSL, presented by AIDC and Screen Queensland with the support of Sunshine Coast Council, in association with Sunshine Coast Screen Collective.

👉 Full program and speaker details on the link https://www.aidc.com.au/initiatives/regionality-sunshine-coast/

27/07/2026

Producer Andy Huang - appearing at Regionality Sunshine Coast 2026 as a speaker on the Bearing Witness: Queensland Filmmakers in the Spotlight panel - discusses AI companion doc 'Replica' with The AU Review.

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