The Australian International Documentary Conference has announced the full programme for its 2026 event – including over 50 sessions, screenings and events, more than 100 speakers and 80+ industry decision-makers – taking place in-person at ACMI in Melbourne/Naarm from 2-5 March with an online-only international marketplace on 11-12 March.
Inspired by the theme ‘Hold True’, the AIDC 2026 programme features “talent working at the cutting edge of every facet of documentary and factual storytelling”, including Oscar and Emmy-nominated filmmakers, groundbreaking Australian and international creators, and some of the industry’s most successful business insiders.
The line-up welcomes a high-profile addition to its Spotlight Sessions, with the double Academy Award-nominated Geeta Gandbhir, director of the highly-acclaimed and starkly compelling Netflix release The Perfect Neighbor (2026 Best Documentary Oscar nominee) and co-director of The Devil Is Busy (2026 Best Documentary Short Oscar nominee).
Inventive filmmaker Adam Bhala Lough, co-director of the hit HBO documentary series Telemarketers, also joins the programme to discuss his provocative and irreverent new hybrid doc Deepfaking Sam Altman, produced by comedian Kevin Hart.
As previously announced, other AIDC 2026 Spotlight speakers include the Emmy Award-winning documentary director-producer-cinematographer Rita Baghdadi, maker of lauded character-driven docs like Sundance hit Sirens and Nat Geo’s Photographer series episode “Muhammed Muheisen: Finding the Light”; head of documentaries at Louis Theroux’s Mindhouse, Aloke Devichand, discussing his innovative approach to commissioning and producing distinctive global stories; and National Geographic’s EVP of content, Tom McDonald, providing an insider’s perspective on working with one of the world’s most recognisable nonfiction brands.
This year’s programme also sees the additions of Samoan/New Zealand filmmaker Ursula Grace Williams, director of the hit Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua – Two Worlds; multi-talented journalist and documentary maker Patrick Abboud; factual format innovator Kirk Docker, co-creator of You Can’t Ask That and I Was Actually There; plus historian and journalist Dr Esmé Louise James, creator of the wildly popular Kinky History and co-producer of SexTistics with companion AIDC guest Dr. Naomi Koh Belic.
Additional high-profile speakers include ocean documentary specialist Sarah Beard, producer of National Geographic’s Paul Rudd-narrated Secrets of the Octopus; prolific radio personality, satirist, documentary maker and author John Safran (Shut Your Big Fat Mouth John Safran); and acclaimed First Nations filmmaker Trisha Morton-Thomas, director of Journey Home, David Gulpilil.
On the marketplace front, a wide range of decision-makers from local and international media brands, platforms and broadcasters will participate in-person and virtually at AIDC 2026, including ABC, Al Jazeera, American Documentary | POV, ARTE France, Asahi Television Broadcasting, bilibili, Channel 4, EBS Korea/EIDF, Hulu, National Geographic, Netflix, NHK, NITV, Paramount, SBS, TRT World, TVNZ, Whakaata Māori and more.
Sales agents, distributors and production companies include Asian Shadows, Autlook Filmsales, Boardwalk Pictures, CAT&Docs, Dogwoof, Impronta Films, Journeyman Pictures, Love Nature/Blue Ant Media, Madman Entertainment, MetFilm Sales, Mindhouse Productions, Sideways Film, Together Films, and TVF International.
Natasha Gadd, CEO/creative director, AIDC, said, “Storytelling is at the heart of documentary and factual filmmaking, driven by the bold, courageous and creative storytellers whose works provide a lens through which to explore the world in all its diversity, complexity, brutality, and beauty.
“In 2026 we find ourselves in an era in which the very foundations of our storytelling practice are increasingly under threat. Through our 2026 theme ‘Hold True’, we ask, how can we come together in solidarity to protect storytelling that speaks truth to power, champions change, sparks curiosity, and reveals the wonders, challenges, and potentialities of the world around us? And, most pressingly, how can we hold true to each other, to our creative practice, and to the stories that demand to be told?
“We are thrilled to unveil our 2026 programme of speakers and sessions, all of which are designed to challenge thinking, spark dialogue, and inspire action.
“Joined by our industry programme’s impressive line-up of local and international decision makers and complemented by an original suite of marketplace initiatives, AIDC 2026 is set to support the creation of bold new works, drive new outcomes and build new collaborations.”
More information is available on the AIDC website.
