2022 AIDC Awards Nominees & Winners

See below for full details of the nominees  and winners acknowledged at the 2022 AIDC Awards.

We wish to thank the Awards Jury and Awards Pre-Selection Committee, and proudly acknowledge the support of our 2022 AIDC Awards partners Film Finances and AFTRS.

 

2022 Best Feature Documentary Nominees

I’M WANITA (WINNER)
PEOPLE PRODUCTIONS | 2020

I’m Wanita is the story of a renegade country music singer from Tamworth, Australia, hellbent on realising her childhood dreams of stardom. Self-crowned as ‘Australia’s Queen Of Honky Tonk’, Wanita is still waiting for the recognition she knows she deserves. Wanita embarks on a quest to record an album in the country music Mecca of Nashville, but her inability to toe the line threatens to derail her plans – can she keep her date with destiny? Director: Matthew Walker | Producer: Carolina Sorensen, Clare Lewis, Tait Brady

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MY NAME IS GULPILIL
VERTIGO PRODUCTIONS & ABCG FILM | 2021

And this story, it’s about me. And no one else can do the life of me, it’s only me. I can do the life about me. David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu. Director: Molly Reynolds | Producer: Peter Djigirr, David Gulpilil, Rolf de Heer, Molly Reynolds  

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THE BOWRAVILLE MURDERS
MINT PICTURES & JUMPING DOG PRODUCTIONS | 2021

The Bowraville Murders takes viewers on an emotional roller-coaster spanning 30 years through three parallel plot-lines: the families’ Herculean battle for justice; the reinvestigation into the murders by homicide detective Gary Jubelin on the trail of the suspected killer; and the wider story of racism that connects Bowraville to the Frontier Wars and the Black Lives Matter movement. The story is driven by powerful retrospective interviews, raw obs-doc actuality following the families all the way to the High Court of Australia, and extraordinary archive that documents the racism from the time the three children went missing…exactly 30 years ago. Director: Allan Clarke | Producers: Stefan Moore, Dan Goldberg, Susan Lambert, Adam Kay, Mint Pictures & Jumping Dog Productions

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VALERIE TAYLOR: PLAYING WITH SHARKS
WILDBEAR ENTERTAINMENT | 2021

Valerie Taylor: Playing With Sharks is the extraordinary life story of ocean conservationist and pioneering scuba diver Valerie Taylor. Featuring a stranger than fiction script, the making of Jaws, a magnetic heroine, and of course the sharks; this powerful and visually sumptuous 90-minute documentary draws on incredible re-mastered film footage captured over 50 years. Producer: Bettina Dalton | Director: Sally Aitken

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2022 Best Documentary/Factual Series Nominees

LAURA’S CHOICE
VIRGO PRODUCTIONS | 2021

Laura Henkel is eccentric, outspoken, feisty and 90 years old. She has decided she wants to end her life on her own terms. Unlike other subjects of documentaries on this topic, she does not have a terminal illness. She is simply old, wants to be in control of her death, and be allowed to go with dignity. And she asks her daughter Cathy and granddaughter Sam, both filmmakers, to make a film about it. LAURA’S CHOICE is a controversial 2-part series that provokes families everywhere to ask themselves – who gets to decide when we die? Director/Producers: Sam Lara, Cathy Henkel | Producers: Ryan Hodgson, Melissa Kelly

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LIFE IN COLOUR WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH
SEALIGHT PICTURES & HUMBLE BEE FILMS | 2021

This blue-chip series explores why animals are so colourful. From the depths of the Great Barrier Reef to the snow-clad Scottish Highlands, we reveal the extraordinary ways animals use colour.  New camera technologies – some developed especially for this series – allow us, for the first time, to see the world as animals do, revealing colours and patterns usually invisible to our eyes. From the bold and brilliant, to the deceptive and bizarre, Life in Colour with David Attenborough is a visual feast that will surprise, enchant and dazzle the senses. Director: Adam Geiger | Producers: Colette Beaudry, Sharmila Choudury

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THE SCHOOL THAT TRIED TO END RACISM
SCREENTIME AUSTRALIA | 2021

Hosted by Marc Fennell, The School That Tried to End Racism is a documentary series that explores a ground-breaking school programme that tests racial bias in an ordinary class of primary school students. It is  led by specially trained teachers and overseen by race expert, Professor Fiona White Ph.D where pupils t will challenge everything they thought they knew about race. Providing greater empathy for fellow students and offering tools for breaking down the social divides. Series Director: John Karabelas Executive | Producers: Deb Spinocchia, Johnny Lowry | Producers: Erica foley, Emily Gardner, Farz Edraki, Ryan Lee, Jennifer Woodward, Suresh Devadas, Mariel Thomson

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SEE WHAT YOU MADE ME DO (WINNER)
NORTHERN PICTURES | 2021

A series about love, abuse and power. Over three episodes, Jess Hill reveals the phantom which is domestic abuse. She asks what needs to be done to keep victim survivors safer and hold perpetrators to account. We hear the testimonies of women and their families whose worlds have been destroyed by abusive partners. We learn about the insidious shadow that non-violent behaviours can cast over strong, independent people, stripping them of friendships, free will and a sense of hope for the future. The series illustrates radical strategies in other countries which are proving to be game changers in the battle to curb abuse and homicides. She explains why these initiatives, and others underway in Australia, could make a fundamental difference to the size and spread of this devastating crisis. Director: Tosca Looby | Producer: Karina Holden 

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2022 Best Documentary/Factual Single Nominees

BRAZEN HUSSIES
FILM CAMP | 2020

BRAZEN HUSSIES shows us how a daring and diverse group of women joined forces to defy the status quo, demand equality and create profound social change – contributing to one of the greatest social movements of the 20th Century. The film interweaves freshly uncovered archival footage, personal photographs, memorabilia and lively accounts from the bold women who reignited the feminist movement in Australia, at times at great personal cost. Director: Catherine Dwyer | Producers: Andrea Foxworthy & Philippa Campey

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OUR AFRICAN ROOTS (WINNER)
CHEMICAL MEDIA | 2021

At a time when African Australians are increasingly made to feel that they don’t belong in this country, journalist and author Santilla Chingaipe unearths Australia’s forgotten African history and reveals the central role people of African ancestry have played in events that shaped our nation – from the First Fleet to the Eureka Rebellion and beyond. Although their stories have largely been overlooked, Santilla discovers men and women of African descent who left an indelible mark on Australia – becoming bushrangers, feminists, freedom fighters, war heroes and sports stars. She sets out to write them back into our national narrative. Producers: Santilla Chingaipe, Tony Jackson, David Collins 

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STACKORAMA!
RUN WILD PRODUCTIONS | 2021

Jaydyn Coggins (15), the best cup stacker in Australia, travels from South Australia to Orlando, Florida with his family as the only Australian competitor at the World Sports Stacking Championships. Struggling after a surprise de-selection from the Australian team, Jaydyn is forced to push past internal tensions to make it to the tournament. Rich with social inclusion and social justice themes, this one hour documentary explores the hero’s journey of one young boy with autism and his family who will do anything to open the world to him. Director/Producer: Scott Baskett

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2022 Best Short-Form Documentary Nominees

CAPTURING CHANGE
MELT STUDIO | 2021

The 2019-2020 Australian bushfires became one of the world’s worst ecological disasters with millions of hectares scorched and over 3 billion animals perished. Photojournalist Matthew Abbott returned to the front-line continuously to document the apocalyptic reality; meeting exhausted firefighters, overcrowded animal sanctuaries and traumatised victims – narrowly avoiding personal injury in his dogged pursuit of compelling imagery. His photos became iconic, broadcast and published by major international media. They would exacerbate a fierce global debate about the impact of climate change in the present, and positioning Australia’s Black Summer as an urgent warning to the world. Key Creatives: Chris Phillips, Katy Roberts

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FREEDOM SWIMMER (WINNER)
NO THING PRODUCTIONS & SACREBLEU PRODUCTIONS | 2021

In order to understand the present, we need to shed light on the past. The story of a grandfather’s perilous swim from China to Hong Kong that parallels his granddaughter’s own quest for a new freedom. Director: Olivia Martin-McGuire | Producers: Brooke Silcox, Ron Dyens, Olivia Martin-McGuire

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LOST CONTACT
2021

Feeling like he comes from another planet, Aldo searches for meaning in the esoteric and for connection with people who understand him. Filmmakers: Amelia Paxman, Jaina Kalifa

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WHERE IS MY DARLING?
2021

“Where is My Darling?” follows Lanz Priestley, a charismatic homeless man who owns nothing but a phone and a Facebook page. When Lanz discovers that taps have run dry in the drought-stricken outback, he raises the money to deliver drinking water himself. Director/Producer: Adam Finney

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2022 Best Audio Documentary Nominees

SAMSN'S STRONGER
2021

It takes an average of 25.7 years for males to disclose their experience of childhood sexual abuse. Many never tell anyone what was done to them, or reveal the lifelong impacts. Why? STRONGER explores the personal stories of male survivors of childhood sexual abuse and their families, and bears witness to the resilience which carries them through their ongoing recovery. Featuring insights from allies in psychology, social work and criminal justice, plus observations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, STRONGER builds compassionate understanding around childhood sexual abuse and its unique impacts upon males. Creative Producer: Felicity Blake

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STUFF THE BRITISH STOLE
ABC | 2021

This is the story of the British Empire but told through the objects that were looted during its reign. Each episode hones in on an artifact sitting in a museum and he takes you on the wild, sound-rich, sometimes funny, sometimes tragic mystery of how it got there. There are heists gone wrong, acts of genocide, heroism, justice, and even reconciliation. Like it or not, there are traces of the British Empire in everything, from our borders to education, medicine, and laws. This isn’t really a series about the past. It’s about making sense of the world we have today. Director: Marc Fennell | Producer: Zoe Ferguson

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TENDER: ROIA ATMAR (WINNER)
BROADWAVE | 2021

Chronicling the life of domestic violence awareness advocate, mother and victim-survivor Roia Atmar, Tender invites you into the inner-workings of Roia’s ‘after’: from a solitary hospital bed, to the haunting stare of a room full of police recruits, to crowded Perth pubs, this series captures the complex intricacies of what it means to live with abuse. You’ll meet activists with lived experiences of domestic abuse, racial and religious discrimination and—most importantly—Roia. Being a survivor of domestic violence is a convoluted and extensive reality. Tender makes known the negligible and often misunderstood dimensions of surviving interpersonal violence, the aspects often forgotten in the healing process. Co-Producers: Madison Griffiths, Beth Atkinson-Quinton

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2022 Best Interactive/Immersive Documentary Nominees

EASTERN MARKET MURDER
TRUE CRIME GAMES | 2021

Amongst the shopfronts of Melbourne’s vibrant Eastern Market, a sudden attack on a popular fortune-teller left her husband violently murdered. The culprit? A phrenologist with a steadfast defence, who will get away with the grisly murder if not proved wrong. Blood red radishes, a business rivalry, whispers of false friends. When everything is not as it seems, will you foresee how it ends? With options to play at home, or at the actual crime scenes in Melbourne Australia, Eastern Market Murder is an interactive augmented reality experience that challenges you to step back in time to solve a crime. Co-Founders: Emma Ramsay, Andy Yong

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GONDWANA (WINNER)
PERNICKETY SPLIT | 2022

Gondwana is a multiplayer documentary event that runs for 24 hours at a time. Like the Daintree itself, Gondwana is a system of possibilities. Weather, seasons, and biodiversity shift and change as users freely explore a vast rainforest environment. But a broader narrative stirs below: every 14 minutes, the rainforest jumps forward in time by a year, procedurally degenerating in line with climate data projections. There is a salve, however: the more time users spend in Gondwana, the more resilient this forest becomes. Each showing of Gondwana is unrepeatable and speculative: a meditation on time, change and action in an irreplaceable ecosystem. Director: Ben Joseph Andrews | Producer: Emma Roberts

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RAVI AND EMMA
SBS | 2021

Ravi and Emma is an interactive documentary in Southern Dialect Auslan, initiated by the producers to bring to the forefront Auslan and the Deaf experience. In a world-first, the team leveraged Artificial Intelligence Technology to realise the potential of innovation in storytelling with Auslan at its centre in order to activate understanding, curiosity and empathy for all Australians, including the very young. The project is a clear demonstration of the best use of the potential of the internet to tell inclusive and underrepresented stories. Key Creatives: Kylie Boltin, Ella Rubeli, Ravi Vasavan, Emma Anderson 

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2022 Stanley Hawes Award Winner

DAVID TILEY
SCREEN JOURNALIST

David began his long association with the screen industry as an educational script writer with the South Australian Film Corporation in 1973. This led to an eventful career in educational programs, documentary, script editing and screen funding, before his recruitment as the editor of ScreenHub in 2005. Since then, he has written extensively on changing trends, policy issues and market developments in reams of sharp, fast and playful investigative journalism. A tireless champion of documentary and factual production, and one of our most passionate grassroots commentators on the screen business, David has long been a singular voice in the Australia media. Now freed from the disciplines of daily journalism, he remains completely infused with the spirit of documentary.

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