AIDC 2010 - Screen Hub Coverage

Convergent Media - "If You Build it They Won't Come"

Kirsty Hunter, Head of Interactive at Lion Television in the UK, Australian Jennifer Wilson, Director of The Project Factory, and Canadians Michael McMahon, Executive Producer, Primitive Entertainment and Silva Basmajian, Executive Producer at the National Film Board of Canada, dazzled all with their powerpoint presentations.

Natural History, History and Science Docos at the ABC

Alan Erson ABC Commissioning Editor ABC in History, Natural History and Science, Stuart Menzies, Head of Documentaries, want to see Australian native producers petting (or being eaten by) Australian native animals: “(Ant) Lions and (Tasmanian) Tigers and (Drop) Bears, oh my!” - to paraphrase Marilyn Monroe.

Matt Campbell - SBS on the Spot

Veteran journalist and interview wrangler Sandy George faced Matt Campbell, who has steered SBS on a long, strange path between advertising, squeezed budgets, and a wonderful documentary heritage.

Science Behind Science

The Science behind Science programs of course is an art, as wrangled by Alison Leigh, the editorial director of the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers, with producer Sonya Pemberton, Amanda Tyndall from the newly formed Royal Institution of Australia, and Dr Judy Ford.

Cathy Henkel and The Offset that Haunts Us All

There’s no question that the producer’s offset has changed the filmmaking landscape in Australia. There’s also no question that not everyone is singing hosannas about it. Or that some producers are finding a map to the promised land.

Snakes, Angels and Sustainable Visions

AIDC 2010 formally opened at the Hawke Centre in the University of South Australia, an elegant gallery space with an elegant lecture theatre full of elegant documentary tragic with a sound system that might have worked for a ventriloquist suspended from a crane.

Stanley Hawes Address

Tom Zubrycki delivered the awards address on the first evening of the Conference. Here is the full text. Starting anecdotally, in reflective mode about his past, he moves on to critical issues which are central to the evolution of documentary as a culture and an enterprise.

In conversation with SBS

By SBS’s own admission and in their own words “for the past year, things haven’t been as clear as they could have been because of the new team at SBS, a bit like Screen Australia perhaps. There has been a fair bit of uncertainty…” but this afternoon proved they believe they are alive and kicking.

In conversation with the ABC

Stuart Menzies and Dasha Ross provided an overview of the ABC’s documentary programming wish-list – for both contemporary and indigenous documentary program making.

In conversation with Alan Rosenthal

Alan Rosenthal, a long term independent, now the Professor of Communications at Hebrew University, Jerusalem, has lived, worked and taught in the UK, America, Israel, Australia, and Mexico. He reflected upon his fifty documentary and docu-drama films, and his obsession with the genre... which he fell into by accident.

AIDC 2010 - Screen Hub Coverage

Jonathan Stack - Nigeria, Liberia & Angola (the prison, not the country)

Jonathan Stack is a New Yorker and a documentary filmmaker whose first film led to a fifteen year engagagement with Angola Prison, Louisiana (the only way to get out of there was to be executed or die of old age). He has filmed in some of the most dangerous places in the world, and changed that world with his prison docs.

Helping Your Documentary Reach Out and Educate

Thirteen rules for social and educational documentary filmmaking. There's a market in them thar non-government organisations!

Co-Productions and Offsets: Getting them to Work

For many producers, the idea of getting a co-production off the ground seems nothing short of a black art. The same goes for trying to negotiate the producer’s offset. So it isn’t surprising that a session at the Australian International Documentary Conference called Making Co-Pros and the Producer Offset Work For You – Tricks of the Trade was standing room only. What was on offer was a barrage of information that ranged from simple ground rules to tips for the pros.

From Sylvania Waters to The Family

Sylvania Waters has an odd meaning in the history of Australian culture. It is probably the first time since Damien Parer that the public cared about a documentary and then only to hate the thing. But it turned open a door to the future which has turned documentary into a national addiction. A local version of The Family will be made for SBS by Shine Australia.

Compass - Religious Warhorse Beatified by Independent Filmmakers

Compass, the venerable ABC TV concession to matters of belief and ethics, is a significant sacred zone for thoughtful filmmakers who agree to keep their visions modest. In its quiet way, it is racking up some successes with independent filmmakers.

Convergent Media "If You Build it, They Won't Come"

An Adventure with Trailer Trash

Every time you see a trailer you make a decision: do I want to see this program, or not. It’s yeah vs. meh. A good pitch trailer can be the difference between your project getting picked up, or not. A good release trailer is often the difference between box office and ratings glory, or not.