Celebrating its 10th Anniversary in 2025, The FACTory is AIDC’s international pitching showcase for new documentary and factual projects, proudly presented by VicScreen.
Do you have a unique documentary or series project in development that has global appeal and is market-ready? Would you like the opportunity to pitch your project to a world-class line-up of Australian and international broadcasters, streamers, sales agents, funders, festivals, and distributors at AIDC 2025?
Applications for the 2025 edition of AIDC’s international pitching showcase for new documentary and factual projects – The FACTory – are open from Wednesday 18 September 2024.
Up to 15 projects with strong market potential will be selected to pitch to international and local decision makers across three strands: Central Showcase, New Talent Showcase and Rough Cut Showcase. Decision makers will include a wide range of representatives from broadcasters, streamers, sales agents, distributors, funders, and festivals.
In 2025, AIDC welcomes all producers and decision makers to attend the FACTory in-person while still providing the opportunity to participate online if needed.
In 2025, The FACTory will feature:
- an enhanced line-up of international decision makers assessing and providing feedback on projects;
- access to tailored online mentoring conducted by experienced screen practitioners, in addition to group and individual pitch training;
- greater opportunity for one-on-one meetings with key decision makers by having high visibility and priority in the marketplace.
Over the last nine editions, AIDC has supported 117 project teams to participate in The FACTory. Don’t miss your chance to pitch to the people who can help take your project to new heights!
For all details and deadlines, see below.
AIDC’s Industry Team works closely with an international assessment committee to shortlist projects for the prestigious FACTory program.
The program will offer tailored feedback and training from industry experts in the lead-up, and increased opportunities for business outcomes by hosting both a live pitch and a tailored one-to-one meeting program with decision makers during AIDC.
Selected projects will pitch and present their trailers over 7 minutes (or 15 minutes for Rough Cuts), and will also be required to submit a pre-recorded pitch ahead of AIDC (with trailer or footage included in this edit), to be made available to decision makers who cannot physically attend. Select decision makers will then:
- Request meetings with projects to occur during AIDC
- Provide feedback on the projects
Entry to the FACTory is competitive, so please ensure your projects are original ideas that will appeal to buyers across Australian and international markets.
The FACTory’s Central Showcase is designed to present experienced project teams to international decision makers, including commissioners, funders, streamers, distributors, sales agents, and festivals. Projects in development and production demonstrating strong international potential will be automatically considered for this showcase.
The FACTory Central Showcase will be held in The Edge amphitheatre at Fed Square. Click ‘Read More’ below for information about Applicant Eligibility and Project Eligibility.
Applicant Eligibility
- Australian and international filmmakers are eligible to apply.
- Individuals, teams or companies may apply.
- Applicants must be the rights holder in the work.
- Applicants must be 18 years of age or over.
- There is a fee to cover handling and administration of your application.
- Entry for each project must be submitted via the FACTory portal (see below).
Project Eligibility
- Entry is open to feature films, singles, and series.
- Projects should be at development or production stage (projects in post-production may be eligible for the FACTory’s Rough Cut Showcase – refer to the submission guidelines below for this strand).
- Projects need to be recognised factual or documentary formats intended for broadcast and distribution. The Australian Content Standard defines documentary as ‘a program that is a creative treatment of actuality other than a news, current affairs, sports coverage, magazine, infotainment or light entertainment program’. For more info, visit the ACMA website.
If successful, applicants will be required to purchase an All Access Pass at a discounted FACTory participant rate in order to pitch. Refer to relevant Submission Guidelines for further details.
The FACTory’s New Talent Showcase is designed to present the brightest new screen talents to decision makers and production companies around the world. Projects in development and production featuring a director or producer presenting their first major work will be automatically considered for this showcase.
The FACTory New Talent Showcase will be held in The Edge amphitheatre at Fed Square. Click ‘Read More’ below for information about Applicant Eligibility and Project Eligibility.
Applicant Eligibility
- Australian and international filmmakers are eligible to apply.
- Individuals, teams or companies may apply.
- Applicants must be the rights holder in the work.
- Applicants must be 18 years of age or over.
- There is a fee to cover handling and administration of your application.
- Entry for each project must be submitted via the FACTory portal (see below).
PLUS
- The director or producer must be presenting their first major documentary or factual work (excluding shorts).
- The director or producer may have experience working in XR, online, commercials, fiction or theatre, and previous credits in these fields will not disqualify them.
- The director or producer may have experience working in documentary, factual or unscripted production, in roles other than their Central credit on the submitted project (e.g. cinematographer, editor, assistant director, etc).
Project Eligibility
- Entry is open to feature films, singles, and series.
- Projects should be at development or production stage (projects in post-production may be eligible for the FACTory’s Rough Cut Showcase – refer to the submission guidelines below for this strand).
- Projects need to be recognised factual or documentary formats intended for broadcast and distribution. The Australian Content Standard defines documentary as ‘a program that is a creative treatment of actuality other than a news, current affairs, sports coverage, magazine, infotainment or light entertainment program’. For more info, visit the ACMA website.
If successful, applicants will be required to purchase an All Access Pass at a discounted FACTory participant rate in order to pitch. Refer to relevant Submission Guidelines for further details.
The FACTory’s Rough Cut Showcase is designed to present projects in late stages and post-production that need to close financing gaps, and secure sales, distribution and festival opportunities.
The FACTory Rough Cut Showcase will take place in ACMI, Fed Square. Click ‘Read More’ below for information about Applicant Eligibility and Project Eligibility
Applicant Eligibility
- Australian and international filmmakers are eligible to apply.
- Individuals, teams or companies may apply.
- Applicants must be the rights holder in the work.
- Applicants must be 18 years of age or over.
- There is a fee to cover handling and administration of your application.
- Entry for each project must be submitted via the FACTory portal (see below).
Project Eligibility
- Entry is open to feature films and singles at post-production stage that will not be completed before AIDC in March 2025.
- Applicants must submit up to 20 minutes of footage (max), which can comprise of either a length of consecutive film or an assembly of sequences, provided in a single streamable link. Please do not submit an entire film.
- In addition to the Rough Cut footage submission, you may supply a trailer or teaser of up to three minutes.
- If selected, the team will have 15 minutes to pitch (approximately 5 minutes for a verbal pitch and 10 minutes of footage).
- Projects need to be recognised documentary formats intended for broadcast and distribution. The Australian Content Standard defines documentary as ‘a program that is a creative treatment of actuality other than a news, current affairs, sports coverage, magazine, infotainment or light entertainment program’. For more info, visit the ACMA website.
If successful, applicants will be required to purchase an All Access Pass at a discounted FACTory participant rate in order to pitch. Refer to relevant Submission Guidelines for further details.
“WE HAD THE PLEASURE OF BEING PART OF THE FACTORY 2024 COHORT, WHICH WAS AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE THAT ADDED EXTRAORDINARY VALUE TO OUR PROJECT. FROM THE BEGINNING, THE INDUSTRY TEAM WAS SUPPORTIVE, CONSIDERATE AND ENERGETIC. THEY REALLY CREATED SUCH VALUABLE SPACE FOR FIRST-TIME PITCHERS. WE FELT SUPER-PREPARED WALKING INTO OUR DAUNTING LIVE PITCH, WHICH BECAME A KEY PART OF THE PROJECT’S TRAJECTORY. THE FACTORY GAVE US A FANTASTIC PLATFORM WITH WHICH TO LAUNCH OUR DOCUMENTARY. WITH ACCESS TO MANY OF THE KEY INTERNATIONAL DECISION MAKERS. THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT PROGRAM FOR AUSTRALIAN FACTUAL CREATIVES.”
– ANNA CHARALAMBOUS
GOOD THING PRODUCTIONS
All 2025 submissions for the FACTory will be independently assessed by a panel of highly experienced screen professionals hand-picked by AIDC.
Projects are assessed and shortlisted based on the following criteria:
- Strength and originality of the project;
- The commercial viability of the project in the marketplace;
- The project’s international appeal;
- The track record of the creative team and any finance already in place.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to provide visual materials (trailer, teaser, or footage from the project) as part of their submission.
MEET THE ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE
- Marissa McDowell, Producer, Black & White Films (AUS)
- Maria Santos, IDA Funds Officer, International Documentary Association (USA)
- Yukari Misaizu, Senior Producer, NHK Enterprises (JPN)
- Jim Kolmar, Film Curator, SXSW (USA)
- Krishan Arora, International Consultant SBS (AUS/UK)
- Imogen Sutton, Acquisitions & Festivals Manager, Autlook Filmsales (AUT)
CLICK HERE to learn more about the Assessment Committee members.
Building on previous offerings of support to FACTory pitching teams, AIDC is increasing the opportunities available to selected projects. Teams will be paired with a mentor/tutor in the lead-up to AIDC, and sessions will focus on:
- Story interrogation
- Budget and finance interrogation (if needed)
- Pitch training
- Trailer consultations
2025 FACTory Mentors
Peter Yam, Owner & Producer, 70 Plus Production Company Limited (Hong Kong)
Debra Zimmerman, Executive Director, Women Make Movies (USA)
Grant Keir, Film Consultant, Owner & Producer, Faction North Ltd (Scotland)
Miao Wang, Director, Producer & Founder, Three Waters Films (USA).
Learn more about the mentors HERE.
Each year, AIDC partners with international documentary industry events to provide FACTory pitch prizes, allowing successful projects to attend and / or participate in other forums and marketplaces.
2025 FACTory Pitch Prizes
- Two passes to participate in DOK Leipzig 2025 (Leipzig, Germany)
- Two passes to participate in Doc Edge 2025 (Auckland, New Zealand)
- Two festival passes to participate in Sheffield DocFest 2025 (Sheffield, UK)
- Two passes to participate in DMZ Docs Industry 2025 (Paju, South Korea)
- Two passes to participate in Sunny Side of the Doc 2025 (La Rochelle, France)
- Two passes to participate in Docs by the Sea 2025 (Bali, Indonesia)
- Two passes to participate in Visions du Réel 2025 (Nyon, Switzerland)
“I ATTENDED MY FIRST AIDC CONFERENCE THIS PAST FEBRUARY AND IMMEDIATELY DETERMINED IT IS A MUST-ATTEND EVENT. THE CURATION, INCLUSION AND TOP-NOTCH PRODUCTION MAKE IT, IN MY OPINION, ONE OF THE TOP INTERNATIONAL PLATFORMS FOR NONFICTION WORK. I WAS PARTICULARLY EXCITED TO CONNECT WITH THE INDIGENOUS FILMMAKING COMMUNITIES – A LINK WHICH THE FESTIVAL HAS CLEARLY CULTIVATED WITH INTENTION.”
– OPAL H. BENNETT
SENIOR PRODUCER, POV & EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, POV SHORTS (USA)
CENTRAL SHOWCASE PROJECTS
ATOMIC PARADISE
Atomic Paradise is a powerful theatrical documentary experience that reframes the atomic bomb testing program of the Pacific region through a First Nations lens in a new and prophetic light.
Director: John Harvey; Producer: Sally Aitken; Executive Producer: Aline Jacques
SAM Content (Australia)
HEART
A son’s love for his dying father propels one of the greatest medical breakthroughs in history. A machine to replace the human heart.
Director: Alaneo Gloor; Producer: Matt Blyth; Executive Producer: Alex West
Millstream Productions (Australia)
HIP HOP LAND
Hip Hop Land is a groundbreaking music documentary series illuminating Indigenous hip-hop’s cultural revolution.
Director: Kim O’Bomsawin; Producer: Chaz Beaudette
Nikan Productions (Canada)
THE PALM PRINT
An international forensic expert and an award-winning journalist investigate a British psychopath who killed twice in Australia, exposing his deception, arson, and extraordinary ties to three unsolved UK murders.
Producer: Claire Forster; Executive Producer: Celia Tait
Artemis Media (Australia)
THE SHAPE OF BLUE
Two Japanese indigo dyers embark on a transformative, inner journey: one uncovers the profound meaning within the hues of blue, while the other gains a new way to see through his colourblindness. Together, they fight to revive a century-old tradition on the brink of disappearing.
Director: Sybilla Patrizia; Producer: Ina Fichman
Intuitive Pictures (Canada, Japan)
TESTIMONY
As the climate emergency rises before them, Torres Strait Islanders rise up and sue the Australian Government for climate harm. This is their testimony.
Director: Maya Newell; Producers: Barbara Ibuai, Larissa Behrendt, Sophie Hyde, Lisa Sherrard, Alex Kelly
Closer Productions (Australia)
TROUBLEMAKER
A massacre survivor and a filmmaker form an unlikely bond as they slip down the rabbit hole of paranoia, in a desperate search for solace and truth.
Directors: Jared Nicholson & Ben Lawrence; Producer: Rebecca Barry
Media Stockade, Run Wild Productions (Australia)
NEW TALENT SHOWCASE PROJECTS
CROSSING THE TIDELINE
A surfer is attacked by a great white shark, chillingly captured on drone. The life-changing experience sends him on a journey to reconnect with himself and the ocean.
Director: Andrew Kaineder; Co-Writer: Brett Burcher; Producer: Anna Kaplan
Regen Studios & Stitch Films (Australia)
IN FOCUS
On a quest to unveil the truth about his community, photojournalist Barat Ali Batoor has no idea that he is about to become the subject of his greatest story yet.
Directors: Barat Ali Batoor & Joseph Nizeti; Producer: Leeanne Torpey
Chaos & Co. Productions (Australia)
THE MYTH OF MONSTERS
How far will you fight to belong? Filmmaker Beatrice bares her soul, confronting autism, misdiagnosis, and institutionalisation. She turns her pain into activism to reclaim her story and transform outcomes for women like her.
Director: Beatrice Leong; Producer: Panuksmi Hardjowirogo
M’GO FILMS (Singapore, Malaysia)
RESTLESS FAREWELL
Young migrant workers left out of the system, gaining self-awareness on assembly lines. Approaching the end of their youth with a meagre salary and fragile friendships, can they escape their parents’ fate?
Directors: Nan Yang & Peiyun He; Producer: Shuhao Tse
Independent (China)
UMBRELLAS OF THE ACROBATS
A young acrobat realises his vision is failing, he uses his powers of imagination and storytelling to retain his foothold in a nomadic circus community.
Director: Mukesh Subramaniam; Producer: Ponvishal Chidambaranathan; Co-Producer: Peter Yam
Elsewhat & Potato Eaters Collective (USA, India)
ROUGH CUT SHOWCASE PROJECTS
ABSTRACT
Two searches are underway in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands. One seeks the dead, the other stalks the living. Each pursues the migrant body beyond recognition.
Director: Jaydn Ray Gosselin; Producers: Brianda Gosselin-Hickey, Jacob Fertig, Chelsea Hernandez
Denizen Studios (USA, Mexico)
JENIN & THE NAKBA BETWEEN US
A diasporic Palestinian filmmaker struggles to make a contemporary portrait of Jenin, her parents’ hometown in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, when her footage takes on radically new meaning post-October 7th.
Director: Serene Husni; Producers: Marc Serpa Francoeur, Rula Nasser
Lost Time Media, The Imaginarium Films (Canada, Jordan)
SWEAT IT OUT!
The wild untold story of Oz Rock, of Australia forging its identity through music and an ethos of bands that toured longer, drove further and played harder.
Director: Mark Hartley; Producers: Cathy Rodda, Craig Griffin
Sweat It Out Productions (Australia)
Applications open: Thursday 19 September 2024 at 11:00 AEST
Regular Deadline: Wednesday, 13 November 2024 at 23:59 AEDT
Submission cost AUD $55.00 (inc GST) per project*
Late Deadline: Sunday, 17 November 2024 at 23:59 AEDT
Submissions cost AUD $65.00 (inc GST) per project*
Applications for The FACTory 2025 are now closed.
Note: To complete your application you will first need to register for a free MY AIDC account (or login to your existing account). The application form link above will prompt you to register (or login) to your MY AIDC account before you are able to access and complete your form. Please contact info@aidc.com.au if you encounter any issues.
Submissions received after 17 November 2024 at 23:59 AEDT will not be accepted. Once the submission process is complete, submissions can no longer be amended.
Questions? pitch@aidc.com.au
*a 2.5% credit card is added to all purchases at checkout.
Submitting to The FACTory?
To help you prepare your best possible pitch, Getty Images have partnered with AIDC to provide you – absolutely free – access to their extensive library of stills and video you can use for your application.
The Getty Images online library has over 25 million clips, including content from leading editorial video producers such as TVNZ, NBC News Archives, BBC Motion Gallery, ITN and Bloomberg.
Content is available for every subject imaginable – from the moments that define humanity, to wildlife, climate change and sustainability, modern and historical change-makers and much, much more.
For more information or to request archive stills or footage, click the link below.
Audio Network has partnered with AIDC to grant FACTory applicants free access to their extensive music catalogue, featuring original, high-quality tracks from world-renowned artists and composers—to enhance your AIDC pitch.
Finding the right track for your project is fast and easy with powerful search tools like Prompt Search (type in a scenario to find tracks to suit), Search by Link (drop a link in the search) as well as advanced filters for mood, style, instrumentation & BPM .
Whether you need an orchestral piece performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra or engaging underscores, Audio Network has you covered. With a wide selection spanning every imaginable genre — and constant new musical additions — you’ll find the perfect music to elevate your pitch’s narrative and emotional impact.
To register for the Free Music Offer, click the link below.
