Forging New Pathways To Audience: Reflections from AIDC 2025 - Part 2
Hear more advice, insights and learnings from Australian documentarians that attended this year’s AIDC.
Top L-R: Chris Kamen, Grace Akosua
Bottom L-R: Cody Greenwod, Ivan O'Mahoney
Held annually in March, the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) is a fixture in the Australian non-fiction calendar. This year’s theme Future Telling: New Horizons in Documentary & Factual Storytelling invited attendees to imagine possible and alternative paths for the sector. After the energetic, on-the-ground pace subsided, filmmakers and producers had time to deeply reflect on some of the key learnings from the conference.
We asked a few what they’re still thinking about, and their advice for how to embrace technology, audiences and authenticity in your own creative practice. Check out more from AIDC 2025 in part 1.
CHRIS KAMEN
With over 20 years in the film industry, Chris Kamen has a broad business, legal and creative skillset spanning film and TV production, distribution and marketing, and works at leading Australian production company Media Stockade. His latest project Iron Winter was pitched at FACTory 2023, and will screen at Visions du Réel and MIFF in 2025. His previous feature documentary AACTA and Walkley Award nominated Franklin became the second highest-grossing Australian theatrical documentary for the year. Previously, Chris has pioneered crowdfunding and self-distribution methods on several feature-length documentaries, including Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, Small is Beautiful and Vitamania.
With some 600+ meetings organised by the indefatigable AIDC team, it was a whirlwind conference as usual! I love coming to AIDC each year to catch up with friends and debate about what stories the world needs right now. Personally – in the wake of the US election and the zeitgeist’s apparent lurch to the right – AIDC was an opportunity to recalibrate.
YouTube IS firmly in producers’ sights
- This year at AIDC it was great to see producers finally taking YouTube seriously. The decline of free-to-air broadcasting is being keenly felt as YouTube continues to steal swathes of audiences on smart TVs. With the YouTube algorithm incentivising the creation of engaging long-form content, opportunities are opening for traditional long-form producers if (and it’s a big “if”!) we can evolve our business models to suit the creator economy.
International co-productions are the pathway for premium projects
- At the premium end of the market it remains difficult for Australian producers to crack commissions from the big global streamers. Whilst Netflix et al dominate the global premium factual market there are still opportunities in the niches – particularly with public broadcasters around the world. Here co-productions are key to cobbling together multiple commissions for bigger budget projects.
Grace Akosua Williams
Grace Akosua Williams is a human rights lawyer, social entrepreneur and the founder of Citizen Tasmania. A filmmaker and creative cultural practitioner, she is internationally recognised for her advocacy work for forcibly displaced communities as a 2022 Echoing Green Global Fellow and a 2023 United Nations Human Rights Fellow. In 2018, Grace received the Tasmanian Human Rights Award Youth Award for her documentary film Citizen, and currently works within the industry to build the capacity of young Tasmanians to share their stories.
I went to AIDC to connect with filmmakers from around the world who are interested in telling stories about nature, culture and our shared humanity to challenge historically divisive narratives that are socially entrenched so that we can build understanding across cultures.
INCLUSIVE FORMATS make powerful storytellers
- What interested me most were the conversations on the panel of "A Vision For The Future of Documentary". As a Gen-Z, I was curious about what leading experts in the industry had to say about where we are going and what their advice would be about future telling. The discussion explored Impact Production and Shark Island Institute’s Ian Darling proposed the concept of the Middle World, integrating multiple perspectives and multiple voices to create more inclusive conversations that enable people to uncross their arms and maybe even change their opinions.
Online storytelling opens paths to NEW audiences
- A key takeaway was that YouTube is here to stay as an affordable and accessible platform to share diverse stories. Growing up watching YouTube tutorials of how to tie a tie and how to poach an egg, I didn't realise it had become such a force to be reckoned with when it comes to building an audience base. After attending the “Harnessing the Creator Economy” panel, I completely changed my mind and made a YouTube channel while at AIDC!
Cody Greenwood
Cody Greenwood is the founder of Rush Films. She recently produced Stan Original documentary Otto by Otto (Winner AACTA 2025) which premiered at Sydney Film Festival, and Renee Gracie – Fireproof (Winner ADG 2025). Her previous work includes feature film Under the Volcano, which premiered at SXSW, and the multi-award-winning documentary Girl Like You. She has recently completed feature film Birthright, written and directed by Zoe Pepper. The film will be distributed by Madman in late 2025.
My focus for AIDC 2025 was meeting new filmmakers and one-on-one pitching to market. The conference was jam-packed, but productive, and the sessions were incredibly insightful.
Partnerships are key to audience and financing
- It was encouraging to see conversations between local producers looking to collaborate together on productions. The formation of new partnerships in the Australian landscape will allow companies to leverage each other's expertise and grow as an industry.
- There is no doubt that the market remains challenged, both domestically and internationally. Producers need to be savvier and more strategic than ever when it comes to creative development and financing, and having a global outlook and building international relationships is crucial. I’ve found that bringing projects to AIDC with existing ROW partners in place has accelerated decisions around market attachment/financing. I am increasingly choosing to co-produce and this creative and financial partnership is beneficial in moving projects forward.
- It was also inspiring to hear about the upcoming work of other Australian directors and producers. I watched the FACTory pitch and it is evident that the talent pool in Australia is extraordinary. It was a glimpse into the future of Australian filmmaking, and despite industry challenges the future looks bright.
Ivan O'Mahoney
The founder of production house In Films, Ivan O'Mahoney is a critically acclaimed television producer and documentary director. His work received several Rose d'Ors, AACTAs and Walkleys, as well as the Golden Nymph, Prix Europa and Robert F Kennedy Journalism Award. Ivan holds degrees in journalism and international law, and has produced for major networks - HBO, BBC, ARTE, CNN, PBS, C4 & ABC. Titles include Baghdad High, The Queen & Zak Grieve, Firestarter – The Story of Bangarra, Folau and his latest project Unbreakable: the Jelena Dokic Story.
In addition to pitching our slate to buyers, I stuck mostly to seeing and listening to other storytellers. The highlight was the public pitch competition, both the morning session for experienced teams and the afternoon session for emerging talent. As producers we spend a lot of time second-guessing or trying to assess what buyers/financiers want, and not always enough time on what we would like to produce.
nO ONE WILL INSPIRE YOU MORE THAN FELLOW STORYTELLERS
- The pitch comp is about passion, it brings everything back to basics in the best possible way - someone has an idea, works tirelessly to get it to a presentable form, and then works their bollocks off to bring others on the journey. When an extraordinary story is pitched - and there were many this year - there is a palpable energy in the room that sort of says ‘f*** yeah, that’s what it’s all about.’ A sort of vicarious pride in each other's efforts, because we all know how tough this game is. I loved it.
Don’t overcommit YOUR TIME
- Leave time in your schedule for random meetings. Take an hour here or there for a coffee and just see what happens. See who shows up, who introduces who, or who you might end up next to while having a sandwich. I don’t mean just people who could be ‘of use’ to your projects - I mean people to whom you might be of use, typically early-career filmmakers. We have all been in their shoes and should appreciate how hard it is to get traction. You’re likely to hear the kind of crazy stories you gave up on years ago because they are too bloody off the wall, but they will fill you with joy. And you might just say yes to one of them regardless.
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