Spotlight on AIDC's $2.4M Industry Development Program

While sector knowledge and business opportunities are central to what AIDC offers, participating in AIDC’s wider INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM can also make a real difference to professional and project development outcomes.

AIDC’s Industry Development efforts are focused on creating custom initiatives that deliver concrete creative and business outcomes for delegates.

Combined, AIDC’s Sessions, Marketplace and Industry Development programs provide vital knowledge and support for filmmakers at all career stages, and for projects from very early development to the cusp of completion.

INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Since its 2019 launch, AIDC’s Industry Development program has generated an impressive $2.4 million in project development, commissioning, professional development funds, awards and prize money for attendees, working with industry partners to create over 890 opportunities for our stories and storytellers.

Prior Industry Development initiative highlights include The Witness Pitch (presented with Al Jazeera and Screen Australia), Raw Data, Real Stories (presented with the Google News Initiative), the Sound it Out Pitch (presented with Audible), Pitch Australiana (presented with Screen Australia and VICE Australia), Untold Australia (presented with SBS), Fresh Cuts (presented with Screen Australia), and Doc.Lab.Interact (presented with VicScreen), to name only a few.

Current initiatives include the Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch (presented with Shark Island Foundation) and The Post Lounge Doc Pitch (presented with The Post Lounge).

These initiatives have supported 192 projects through development, commissioning, philanthropic funding and equity investment.

Additional programs include the Leading Lights program (presented with AFTRS and ECU), the Indigenous Creators Program, the Indigenous Documentary Placement (presented with ABC Indigenous), and the AIDC Awards and Southern Light Award, plus mentoring and pitch training for AIDC marketplace pitches.

The Industry Development program connects with AIDC’s Marketplace through mentoring and pitch training for The FACTory, a competitive international pitching showcase limited to 15 projects annually, and by hosting partnered initiatives like the Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch within the Cut to the Chase meetings program.

The program’s partnered pitch initiatives and AIDC Awards have recognised 49 projects with cash and industry prizes.

“Recognising the amount of impressive stories and storytellers seeking support in a highly competitive market each year, AIDC established the industry development program in 2019 with the sole purpose of creating a suite of original and bespoke initiatives that could unlock new project and professional development opportunities outside of existing industry pathways,” says AIDC CEO / Creative Director, Natasha Gadd.

“Thanks to collaborations with our industry partners, we are so proud to have unlocked over $2.4 million to support 192 new doc and factual projects and over 890 practitioners since launching the program. Feedback from those who have participated in these initiatives is testament to the tangible difference that this program can achieve to develop new pathways for projects and practitioners to drive local and global industry outcomes.”

ANDY HUANG AND CHOUWA LIANG PITCH THE SHORT VERSION OF REPLICA AT FRESH CUTS 2023 | PHOTO BY MELISSA BUTTERS

SHARK ISLAND FOUNDATION FEATURE DOCS PITCH TAKING PLACE DURING CUT TO THE CHASE MEETINGS, AIDC 2024 | PHOTO BY WILLIAM HAMILTON-COATES

2024 LEADING LIGHTS PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS | PHOTO BY NED MANSFIELD

INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT SUCCESS: REPLICA

AIDC’s Industry Development initiatives have real global outcomes. In 2022, China-based director Chouwa Liang and Brisbane-based producer Andy Huang were selected to pitch their project Replica in the inaugural Fresh Cuts Documentary Pitch, securing $30,000 in development funding from Screen Australia.

Following the pitch, Fresh Cuts decision maker Christine Kecher of The New York Times Op-Docs met with the team to track Replica and also acquired their previous short film My AI Lover, which was released in 2023.

Following their Fresh Cuts success, Chouwa and Andy applied for The FACTory New Talent Showcase and were selected to pitch in 2024. Replica was again met with an enthusiastic response, securing 27 marketplace meetings with major industry players including Hulu, The Whickers, BBC Storyville and Sundance.

“The AIDC experience has been instrumental in our project’s current success,” said Chouwa, after AIDC 2024.

“The conference was not only a platform for showcasing our work but also an invaluable opportunity for networking and receiving constructive feedback. The meetings following the conference have been incredibly productive.”

Later in 2024, Replica was selected to pitch at Taiwan’s CCDF, France’s Sunny Side of the Doc Global Pitch (where it won Best Pitch), and Sheffield Doc Fest’s The Whickers Pitch, where it won the £20,000 Whickers Development Prize – coming in second to their fellow FACTory 2024 pitching team Camels of the Sea, which won the £100,000 Main Prize.

Andy Huang and Chouwa Liang pitch the feature-length version of Replica at The FACTory 2024 | Photo by Melissa Butters

Chouwa Liang with The Whickers Development Prize at Sheffield DocFest 2024 | Image courtesy The Whickers

INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT SUCCESS: LEANNE TORPEY

Producer Leanne Torpey had a similar experience with the AIDC Industry Development and Marketplace programs, first selected to participate in Leading Lights in 2023.

“Leading Lights was the best way to navigate AIDC,” says Leanne.

“Entering the film industry can feel like trying to get entry into a secret society, and Leading Lights feels like you are being guided to an open door and handed a map. You have a ready-made community of other awesome filmmakers to connect with, alumni to draw on, and the guidance of the staff in the program who continue to be a source of knowledge as our projects shape up.”

Leanne returned in 2024 as a producer on Fresh Cuts project Fridge Foraging (directed by fellow AIDC 2023 Leading Light, Bree Sanders), and also with three projects for AIDC’s Cut to the Chase pitch meetings market, including In Focus (FKA In Frame, directed by 2024 Leading Light, Barat Batoor).

Fridge Foraging received development funding from Screen Australia as part of Fresh Cuts, while In Focus was awarded $15,000 in development funding in the Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch, and $10,000 in post-production services in The Post Lounge Doc Pitch.

During Cut to the Chase, the In Focus team met with the International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA), which led to an invitation for the team to pitch in the Refugee Voices Pitch at Cannes Docs Marche. Here, they used their funds and support from The Post Lounge to create a trailer to present in the market. The project is now applying for production funds.

“The marketplace at AIDC completely changed the course for several of my projects,” Leanne confirms.

“It opened an international market that I never would have even conceived of without the opportunity to gain insight from industry experts and meet decision makers.”

PRODUCER LEANNE TORPEY, ATTENDING AIDC 2023 AS PART OF THE LEADING LIGHTS PROGRAM | PHOTO BY WILLIAM HAMILTON-COATES

FRIDGE FORAGING PITCH DURING FRESH CUTS 2024 | PHOTO BY MELISSA BUTTERS

INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT FOCUS: THE SHARK ISLAND FEATURE DOCS PITCH

The $15,000 awarded to Leanne’s project In Focus as part of the Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch highlights the real impact that AIDC’s Industry Development initiatives and partnered pitches have on projects that need support.

“The Shark Island [Foundation] initiative is a vital part of the ecosystem we need to be able to tell inspiring Australian stories, especially those that reflect the diversity of our communities,” affirms Leanne.

First programmed in 2023, the pitch saw the philanthropic Shark Island Foundation collaborate with AIDC to offer $50,000 in development grants for character-driven feature documentaries with distinctive points of view, creative vision, clear artistic style and the potential to shift thinking. The first year of the pitch saw three projects supported – Chasing Giants ($25,000), Streetside ($10,000), and All of Us ($10,000).

After such a successful first year, the Shark Island Foundation raised the grant amount on offer to $100,000 for 2024. However, the resulting pitches were so strong that the Foundation increased the grant amount again to $150,000, announcing during the 2024 AIDC Awards presentation that the funds would be shared among six projects – It’s Not About The Food ($15,000), Body Heat ($20,000), Streetside ($20,000), In Focus ($15,000), War Criminals ($30,000), and The C Word ($50,000).

A number of the projects across the two years of the pitch have seen significant progress since receiving funding, including the aforementioned In Focus.

“It’s incredibly gratifying to hear when producers and the projects we’ve supported in development go out into the world and achieve success,” says Kate Hodges, Executive Director of the Shark Island Foundation.

“After only two years of the Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch at AIDC, we have seen those teams unlock further funding, find platforms, pitch internationally and move into full production funding.”

Chasing Giants has received further development funding from Screen Australia and Screen NSW, and has signed with an international sales agent. The project is travelling to Canada to film a key sequence and is moving into full production.

It’s Not About The Food has been able to work on development materials, an impact campaign strategy and engaging impact partners. The film was awarded Screen Australia development funds in July and aims for production in 2025 with a release in 2026.

Streetside received two development grants through the Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch at AIDC, the first in 2023 assisting to get the project pitch-ready to take to the marketplace, and the second in 2024 allowing the team to respond to the positive marketplace feedback they received by capturing time-critical material and following story threads that proved most compelling.

“We are incredibly proud of the contribution the Foundation can make to Australian feature documentaries, and Shark Island Foundation has committed to another $100,000 of development grants for projects at AIDC 2025,” says Kate.

You can find out more about The Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch, and all of AIDC’s active Industry Development and Marketplace Programs on the links below.

BARAT BATOOR PITCHING IN FOCUS TO SHARK ISLAND FOUNDATION CEO IAN DARLING AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR KATE HODGES DURING CUT TO THE CHASE AT AIDC 2024 | PHOTO BY NED MANSFIELD

PRODUCTION STILL FROM STREETSIDE, SHARK ISLAND FOUNDATION FEATURE DOCS PITCH GRANT RECIPIENT 2023 & 2024

IAN DARLING AT THE 2024 AIDC AWARDS PRESENTATION, ANNOUNCING THE SIX PROJECTS SET TO RECEIVE DEVELOPMENT GRANTS