ACMI & AIDC Present: The Mission
Australian Premiere Screening & Director Q&A
AIDC and ACMI have partnered to bring nonfiction-loving audiences in Melbourne a year-round series of special screenings and talks featuring new and unseen feature documentaries.
Coming up Saturday 2 December 2023 is the Australian Premiere of National Geographic’s The Mission, a gripping documentary about American missionary John Chau, who was killed while attempting to illegally make contact with one of the world’s most isolated Indigenous peoples on remote North Sentinel Island.
Through exclusive interviews and with unprecedented access to Chau’s secret plans, personal diaries, and video archives, The Mission examines the mythology of exploration that inspired him, the evangelical community that supported his quest, and reveals his own father’s heartbreak as Chau’s youthful thirst for adventure became a fatal obsession.
The Mission’s directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss will take part in a Zoom Q&A following the 2.30pm screening on 2 December, exploring the complexities of telling a story deeply rooted in the legacy of religious imperialism. The Q&A will be hosted by journalist, author and filmmaker Santilla Chingaipe.
McBaine and Moss have been filmmaking partners for 20 years and directed the Sundance and Emmy award-winning Boys State (Apple), which was also Oscar-shortlisted. They are currently working on the follow-up, Girls State, for Apple. Their past credits include Mayor Pete (Amazon Studios) and The Overnighters (Netflix).
Tickets are available now for this exclusive screening. Book now via the ACMI website.
AIDC initiatives are made possible through the support of Principal Partner VicScreen and Presenting Partners ACMI and Screen Australia.
Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss
Santilla Chingaipe