2023 AIDC Awards winners AND Factory Pitch Prize winners announced

The Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) announced the winners of the 3rd Annual AIDC Awards at a special presentation event hosted at ACMI, Melbourne on Wednesday 8 March

Hosted by Australian radio and television journalist Ash London, the AIDC Awards ceremony marked the conclusion of the four-day conference for the documentary and factual industry, with three more days of International Marketplace meetings still to come (9-11 March).

The 2023 event saw the attendance of over 780 delegates, including the participation of 147 local and international speakers, and 106 local and international decision makers in a program of 40-plus sessions and over 600 curated meetings, with many more spontaneous meetings made throughout the event.

The AIDC Awards provided the perfect capstone to the 2023 conference, acknowledging the very best in Australian documentary and factual from the past 12 months.

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THE WINNERS OF THE 3RD ANNUAL AIDC AWARDS, AS SELECTED BY THE AIDC AWARDS JURY, ARE:

BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY

With a $5,000 cash prize presented by Film Finances

WINNER | WASH MY SOUL IN THE RIVER’S FLOW | 2022

Philippa Bateman, Archie Roach (AC), Kate Hodges, Ian Darling, Emma Donovan

JURY STATEMENT: “Philippa Bateman’s Wash My Soul in the River’s Flow celebrates the talents and carries the passions of two of Australia’s most revered and beloved musicians – Archie Roach (AC) and Ruby Hunter – through a performance of their sublime Kura Tungar: Songs from the River song cycle. Elegant, confident, and intimate to its magnetic subjects, Bateman’s film so impressively captures a setting and a stage where music compels the story of their lives, and where it stands proudly in resistance against the injustices of our history.

Through an ambitious and outrightly beautiful combination of concert film, biography and political struggle, ‘Wash My Soul in the River’s Flow’ is a profound sharing of Roach and Hunter’s own gifts of storytelling; a film full of heart, the beauty of song, and the transcendent power of art to confront pain, and to heal.”

BEST DOCUMENTARY / FACTUAL SERIES

WINNER | THE AUSTRALIAN WARS | 2022

Rachel Perkins, Darren Dale, Jacob Hickey

JURY STATEMENT: “From the opening minutes, we all agreed that The Australian Wars stood out as a superbly crafted piece of television. But as those opening minutes went by, it quickly became apparent how such masterful craftsmanship was serving a story of far-reaching significance. The direction, editing, writing and music fused seamlessly together to draw us into a heart stopping narrative that illuminated another dark corner in Australia’s colonial history.

Rachel Perkins and her team took an incredible and creative approach toward this mini-series, making some bold and beautiful choices along the way to manifest some ugly truths that may affect common historical narratives. The dramatic reenactments were some of the best all of us had seen, and the sheer calibre and diversity of expert historical analysis elevated this miniseries to the realms of essential classroom viewing – possibly filling the gaps left open by current Australian and European textbooks. Bravo to the entire team behind The Australian Wars.”

BEST DOCUMENTARY / FACTUAL SINGLE

With a $5,000 cash prize presented by Artisan Post Group

WINNER | STILL WE RISE | 2022

John Harvey, Anna Grieve, Leon Rodgers, Patrick McCabe

JURY STATEMENT: “We were very impressed by the combination of a retrospective story feeding into a timely present day political conversation, creating a mosaic of archival material which brought Indigenous history through in a modern way, which would appeal to both an Australian and global audience, whether familiar with the story and material or not. We loved the way it avoided didactic narration and used sound and music to make something radical for a mainstream TV audience. This was exciting modern filmmaking.”

BEST SHORT-FORM DOCUMENTARY

WINNER | EDEN ALONE SURPASSES THEE | 2022

Tom Chapman, Gabriel Morrison, Finn Clarke, Geri Docherty

JURY STATEMENT: “Eden Alone Surpasses Thee is a compelling and thought-provoking piece of cinema. The filmmakers have done a beautiful job of portraying the struggles of young men with empathy and compassion. Through intimate and striking cinematography, they have crafted a thoughtful film that tackles a complex topic, demonstrating that communication can play an essential role in the healing process. ‘Eden Alone Surpasses Thee’ is a powerful and necessary film that all should see.”

BEST AUDIO DOCUMENTARY

With a $3,000 cash prize, presented by AFTRS.

WINNER | THE GREATEST MENACE: INSIDE THE GAY PRISON EXPERIMENT | 2022 / 2023

Patrick Abboud, Simon Cunich

JURY STATEMENT: “Patrick Abboud’s investigation into the world’s only ‘gay prison’ combined forensic reporting with personal insight to tell a story that was by turns shocking, heartwarming, funny, and gripping. It carefully excavates a dark history full of painful truths about systemic homophobia and the legacy it leaves behind, never shying away from the intricacies and unusual moments that Pat comes across along the way. The makers demonstrate an expertise in the form, and it was the sort of series that reminded us of why we love audio storytelling.”

BEST INTERACTIVE / IMMERSIVE DOCUMENTARY

With a $3,000 cash prize presented by Deakin Motion Lab

WINNER | NIGHT CREATURES | 2022

Isobel Knowles Van Sowerwine, Philippa Campey.

JURY STATEMENT: “Whilst we were impressed by so many of the year’s amazing interactive works, Night Creatures stood out with its impactful use of stop-motion AR characters; activated by the naturally accessible audience of queueing ticket holders. We loved the artful animation style, the appealing characters and the delivery of story fragments that were full of reminiscence, whimsy, and charm.

We appreciated the consideration of the artists to conceive of a work that could be iterated on — creating the opportunity for a long-lived evolving work in the developing field of AR. All up, we found ‘Night Creatures’ to be a wonderful example of intimate storytelling, technology and accessible experience all coming together in a very compelling way and we are thrilled to name it the 2023 winner of AIDC’s Best Interactive/Immersive Documentary.”

STANLEY HAWES AWARD

As part of the AIDC Awards ceremony, the already-announced Stanley Hawes Award was presented to filmmaker, Dr Cathy Henkel.

Cathy began her career in documentary filmmaking in 1988, after previously working as the artistic director for Australian amateur theatre company, the Shopfront Theatre for Young People. Exploring such topics as humanity’s effect on the environment, the importance of ecological activism, and pursuit for justice, Cathy continues to be a champion for change as the Director of the WA Screen Academy at Edith Cowan University.

She is a lasting positive influence in our sector and a passionate advocate for the creative arts. We congratulate Cathy on winning the award and look forward to what inspiring work she does next.

PITCH PRIZES

During the Awards Presentation, AIDC CEO / Creative Director Natasha Gadd also announced the winners of the FACTory Pitch Prizes, awarded to participating projects by international documentary festivals and markets.

The winners include:

Sheffield Doc/Fest Prize

Winner: Winter Herd (FACTory Central Showcase)

Two complimentary festival passes to participate in Sheffield Doc/Fest 2023 (Sheffield, UK)

“We were really impressed by this project’s cinematic quality and how it not only captured the beauty of the vast landscapes, but the perception of its focus on the character relationships.” Mita Suri, FIlm Programme Producer, Sheffield Doc/Fest (UK)

Hot Docs Prize

Winner: I Thought Jesus Was Korean (FACTory New Talent Showcase)

Two complimentary passes to participate in Hot Docs Industry 2023 (Toronto, Canada)

“We are so pleased to support a documentary about uncovering the mystery of followership and obsession, which we find especially relevant in this day and age, even though the inception of the story occurs in the past.”  Heidi Tao Yang, Director Labs & Funds, Hot Docs (Canada)

Sunny Side of the Doc Prize

Winner: Bukal Bukal (FACTory Central Showcase)

Two complimentary passes to participate in Sunny Side of the Doc 2023 (La Rochelle, France)

“Bukal Bukal presents amazing storytelling so relevant to many First Nations people throughout the world. We believe that Sunny Side could be the perfect platform to help find all the worldwide partners this great project deserves!” Jean-Jacques Peretti, Programming, Sunny Side of the Doc (France).

Dok Leipzig Prize

Winner: Untying the Knot (FACTory New Talent Showcase)

Two complimentary passes to participate in Dok Leipzig 2023 (Leipzig, Germany)

Additionally, Ms Gadd announced that all five finalists in the inaugural Fresh Cuts

Documentary Pitch, aimed at supporting documentaries that appeal to younger audiences, will receive $30,000 in Screen Australia development funding for each of their projects – Bimbo Biology Body Breakdown, Dying to Succeed, Glitter Gang, The Real Meaning of Pleasure and Replica.

After the announcement, Alex West, Head of Documentary for Screen Australia, said, “We were blown away with the quality of these pitches and, following the panel’s very positive feedback in the live pitch we decided we couldn’t choose one winner, so we’re thrilled to be able to support all five teams with development funding.”

AIDC congratulates all Awards and FACTory Prize winners, including all the nominees and projects that have participated in the Awards, FACTory and Fresh Cuts programs this year.

BOARD APPOINTMENTS

Also announced at the AIDC AGM on the final day of the conference, four new appointments to the AIDC Board of Directors: Kelrick Martin, Head of Indigenous ABC; Paul Williams, Documentary Executive Screenwest; Bernadine Lim, Unscripted Commissioner SBS; and incoming Company Secretary Marco D’Angele, Partner at Marshalls Dent & Wilmoth, who replaces outgoing Secretary Clement Dunn, also of Marshalls Dent & Wilmoth.

AIDC’s 2023 conference took place at ACMI, Melbourne, from 5-8 March 2023.