MEET THE AIDC TEAM: ALICE MCSHANE

ROLE: CONFERENCE PROGRAMMER

We are very excited to announce the appointment of Alice McShane as the new Conference Programmer for AIDC 2023!

A former Program Manager for the Human Rights Arts & Film Festival, Alice has an extensive background in film, screen and arts management, having worked for the Melbourne International Film Festival and coordinated film festivals for Palace Cinemas. 

Previously an Industry Coordinator for AIDC 2022, Alice is thrilled to rejoin the AIDC team as Conference Programmer as it represents an unparalleled opportunity to collaborate with the industry to champion the sector, celebrate craft, and pay tribute to the change-making power of storytelling. 

We can’t wait to see what she has in store for the next AIDC’s keynotes, panels, and masterclasses, with the first look at the AIDC 2023 program coming up on 4 November 2022. In the meantime, let’s get to know a little more about Alice…

WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT AIDC?

I’m developing a suite of programs for AIDC 2023. My job as programmer is to ensure the conference features a robust mix of speakers and sessions that promote business, inspire creativity and ignite social change. With all the wonderful work going on in Australia and around the world, I’m certain we will have a world-class conference program come March 2023. I’m drawing on my knowledge of and passion for the documentary and factual sector across all platforms to make it happen.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST FORAY INTO SCREEN CULTURE?

Growing up in the suburbs, I fell in love with the power of storytelling through endlessly watching (and rewatching) behind-the-scenes featurettes on DVDs. In my undergraduate BA, I specialised in Cinema and Cultural Studies, but had no idea how to make that a career. When I returned to university to study for a Masters, I was introduced to the concept of “programming” (not computers) and haven’t looked back.

My first love is film festivals and their power to bring people together around incredible stories. What’s great about AIDC is being inspired and engaged by what’s in the works and what stories are about to be told. And bringing people together around fearless, ground-breaking, and innovative works. 

FAVOURITE DOCUMENTARY CLASSIC

It may be too young to yet be a classic, but one of my favourite documentaries of all time is Bing Liu’s Minding the Gap. It’s a film that usually makes me cry within the first 10 minutes and I was so thrilled to see this beautiful, intimate, quiet documentary on these young friends and skateboarders recognised to the point of an Oscar nomination.

My other favourite documentaries are the ones that changed the culture, changed the conversation (in my mind), or innovated the craft – films like Paris is Burning, Grey Gardens, City of Gold and On Her Shoulders.

And if I may sneak one more in, Overseas, an underseen documentary that has stayed with me since I saw it a few years ago. It’s a quietly devastating fly-on-the-wall documentary about domestic labour workers in the Philippines. 

WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU SAW THAT REALLY FLOORED YOU?

 I turned up after midnight to catch Gondwana by Ben Joseph Andrews and Emma Roberts at their recent MIFF installation, and I’ve never experienced anything like it. The beauty, the gentleness, the ever-changing nature of the VR. Even the space they’d activated was so thoughtfully done. An incredible example of the power of coalescing space, time, duration, and immersion to create a profound impact on the body and mind.

The last documentary feature that really floored me was When the Camera Stopped Rolling, it left me in an absolute puddle. It’s an exquisite and intimate document of memory and family. 

At the time of writing, I’ve only been able to watch the first episode of The Australian Wars, but it’s an incredible work by Rachel Perkins. A document of history that is undeniable.

CURRENT OBSESSION?

I’m perpetually (unhealthily?) online, so my current obsession accordingly is Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal. I can’t get enough of the think-pieces and takes this series has generated. What’s most fascinating is how a piece of parodic, nonfiction comedy has really elevated questions of ethics, documentary participation, and subjectivity into the mainstream. Topics that feel like they have been circulating in industry quarters for a while now, but never quite this way.

WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL BE THE BIG TOPICS OF DISCUSSION IN RELATION TO DOCUMENTARY AND FACTUAL IN 2023?

My perspective is that things are rarely “new” – but the landscape in which creativity/business/audience operate are always shifting. It’s important to look back as much as it is to look forward and understand how the past informs our present.

Having said that, it’s undoubtedly a boom time for documentary and factual. So how do we collectively harness that? How to make the most of the boom, how to proceed with care, how to utilise this moment to shape the future we want to see for the factual and documentary space. And with opportunity comes pitfalls too – so how do we navigate that?

AIDC 2023 will be a once-in-a-lifetime event, so even though AIDC will go on, this make-up of people, these stories, this assemblage of projects will never happen in the same way again – and I’m excited to see what that yields.

IS THE TRUTH ACTUALLY STRANGER THAN FICTION?

Heavens, it’s one and the same, isn’t it? 

One thing I will say about documentaries and factual, there is a power in seeing the world reflected back to us in the way they do. And if you look at The Teacher’s Pet – documentaries can really inspire action. They’re so powerful that way. 

Main Image: Overseas (2019)