🥁 And the nominees for BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY at the 2026 AIDC Awards are…

‘The Colleano Heart’ | @wildbeartv | Dir. Pauline Clague | Prod. Kate Pappas

‘Deeper’ | @strangerthanfictionfilms | Dir. & Prod. @jenpeedom | Prod. @blayke_hoffman & Paul Ryan

‘The Golden Spurtle’ | Hytra Films, @hopscotch_films_uk | Dir. @constantinecosti | Prod. @rebeccalamond & John Archer

‘Iron Winter’ | @repeater_productions | Dir. Kasimir Burgess | Prod. @bengolotta, @this_4_riff & Chris Kamen
`Yurlu | Country` @yurlu.country | Illuminate Films | Dir. & Prod. @yaaraboumelhem | Prod. Maitland Parker, @tombannigan & @jamesagsaunders

A $5,000 cash prize is presented by Film Finances to the winner of Best Feature Documentary at the 2026 AIDC Awards Presentation, held at ACMI in Melbourne / Naarm on Thursday 5 March.

🔗 Discover more about the nominated projects at the link in bio

#AIDC2026 #AIDCawards #documentaryawards #documentary #nonfiction #factual

✨ AIDCs Southern Light Award recipients for 2026: Karla Hart & Simon Nasht! ✨

In a first for the award, two winners will be acknowledged for their outstanding contributions to Australian nonfiction screen, digital and/or audio media.

Karla Hart is one of Australia’s most influential First Nations screen practitioners. A Noongar filmmaker, producer and cultural leader whose work has fundamentally reshaped nonfiction and narrative storytelling on national platforms. Karla is speaking at AIDC 2026 on the panel for our ‘Risky Business: Protecting Your Film, Your Team and Yourself’ session.

Simon Nasht has worked all over the world, helping to create hundreds of hours of nonfiction films. He is one of the founders of Smith&Nasht, an advocacy and impact-focused production company participating in The Showroom at AIDC 2026.

Each winner will receive an individual $5,000 cash prize and be invited to speak at the AIDC Awards Presentation on Thursday 5 March 2026.

🔗 Discover more about the recipients at the link in our bio

#AIDC2026 #AIDCawards #documentaryawards #documentary #nonfiction #factual

💫 50 Leading Lights set to attend AIDC 2026 💫

AIDC is set to welcome a record-breaking number of first-time delegates at the 2026 edition through our Leading Lights initiative.

Leading Lights is an AIDC original philanthropic funding initiative designed to enable emerging and diverse practitioners to attend an AIDC event for the first time and participate in a customised professional development program.

Congratulations to all the Leading Lights recipients for 2026. Keep an eye out for these future industry luminaries at the conference this year!

The Leading Lights program is generously sponsored by the donations of 20 individuals and organisations, with program support from partner @aftrs

🔗 Read more about Leading Lights on AIDC Links in our bio

#AIDC2026 #LeadingLights #Documentary #ScreenIndustry #EmergingFilmmakers #Diversity #AustralianFilm

⚡️ 25 production companies and decision makers enter The Showroom at AIDC 2026 ⚡️

Now in its third year, The Showroom is an AIDC original initiative for established production companies with a slate of nonfiction projects in development. A total of 15 international buyers & decision makers will participate from @natgeo, @channel4 and @povdocs + more just announced.

The 10 Australian production companies selected for The Showroom are:
Ambience Entertainment
@artemismediaau
@closerproductions
@ga.ru.wa
@mediastockade
@metamorflix
Smith&Nasht
@strangerthanfictionfilms
@wildpacificmedia
@wildbeartv

🔗 Follow the link in bio for the full Showroom announcement

Photo by @melissa.butters_

#AIDC2026 #documentary #factualtv #theshowroom #australianfilm #pitching

LAST CHANCE! Applications for AIDC 2026’s Cut to the Chase curated pitch meetings program close 11.59 PM (AEDT) Friday 30 January!

Secure meetings with AIDC’s 80+ decision makers and access this year’s special partnered pitching opportunities, like:

• The DocPlay Indie Booster - a new $20,000 initiative for independent feature documentary makers to boost their theatrical screening campaigns. @docplaynow
• The Post Lounge Group Doc Pitch - for documentary features, one-offs or series across any genre, with a share in up to $35,000 of equity investment through development, production, and post-production support. @thepostlounge
• The Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch - for feature-length documentaries to share in up to $100,000 in development grants, as well as four placements to participate in a new Shark Island Kangaroo Valley Development Lab. @sharkislandinstitute

Submitting a project is easy and free for anyone with an AIDC 2026 Business Pass or All Access Pass, with all documentary and factual formats considered across film, broadcast, digital media and audio.

Apply now on link in bio 🔗

#documentary #factual #documentarymarket #pitchmeetings