AIDC 2027 unveils REFRAMED theme and first speakers for Sydney return – The Australian International Documentary Conference has revealed its REFRAMED theme, first six speakers and an expanded marketplace line-up for its 40th-anniversary edition in Sydney.
AIDC 2027 will bring the documentary and factual sector back to New South Wales for the first time in more than 20 years. The move gives filmmakers, producers, commissioners, buyers and funders a new Sydney conference precinct while retaining the international marketplace that connects Australian projects with global partners.
The in-person conference runs from Monday, 8 March to Thursday, 11 March 2027. Its venues are the Art Gallery of New South Wales, State Library of NSW and Botanic Gardens of Sydney. An online international marketplace will follow on Tuesday, 23 March and Wednesday, 24 March.
AIDC 2027 asks who gets to frame the truth
REFRAMED focuses on the contested idea of truth in documentary and factual storytelling. AIDC says the theme will examine how familiar realities change through different lenses. It will also consider what happens when long-accepted narratives are challenged.
Across sessions, screenings and speaker appearances, the program will address propaganda, misinformation, censorship and distorted realities. It will also explore how filmmakers can restore silenced voices and expose what earlier frames omitted. Another focus will be bringing contemporary perspectives to established stories.
For the conference’s 40th anniversary, that theme provides a way to examine AIDC’s history and the future of nonfiction practice. The program will bring together filmmakers, advocates, policy makers and industry leaders. Their discussions will address the creative, ethical and commercial foundations of documentary storytelling.
AIDC CEO and creative director Natasha Gadd said the anniversary conference would combine industry celebration with debate about the sector’s future.
Celebrating our 40th anniversary as we embark on a new era, AIDC 2027 will be an essential gathering place for the documentary and factual sector to showcase not only what our diverse and creative storytelling community continues to create but to also actively reframe what the future could hold through bold thinking, innovative practice and radical solutions to complex sector challenges.
Through our 2027 theme, REFRAMED, AIDC provides a vital forum to explore and interrogate who gets to frame the truth, the forces that shape our understanding of reality, and to consider what becomes visible when we change the frame.
Alongside AIDC Principal Partner, Screen NSW, we look forward to hosting the Southern Hemisphere’s premium gathering of documentary and factual storytellers in the heart of Sydney and warmly welcome you to AIDC 2027.
Natasha Gadd, AIDC CEO and Creative Director
Screen NSW partnership brings AIDC to Sydney
Screen NSW is the conference’s new principal partner. Screen Australia returns as presenting partner, while the ABC and SBS are major partners.
The Sydney edition places AIDC in three major cultural institutions close to the CBD. It also puts the marketplace near a large concentration of documentary and factual production companies, practitioners and buyers based in New South Wales.
Screen NSW executive director Kylie Munnich said the event would reinforce the state’s role in production, commissioning and financing.
Screen NSW is proud to support the return of AIDC to NSW for its landmark 40th anniversary edition. With a packed line-up of compelling speakers and sessions, AIDC is set to bring together the best minds in documentary filmmaking, commissioning and financing from around the world.
We’re excited to see Sydney become a hub for discussion and collaboration, reinforcing NSW’s position as a leading destination for the screen industry. We’re also delighted to present the FACTory International Pitching Forum, which continues to connect talented creators with decision makers and to champion bold new documentary projects.
Kylie Munnich, Screen NSW Executive Director
First AIDC 2027 speakers
The first six confirmed speakers span filmmaking, producing, festival programming, archival practice and international documentary leadership.
Poh Si Teng
Poh Si Teng is the founder of TinyBoxer Films and director of the feature documentary American Doctor. The film was nominated for the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
Her producing work includes the Oscar-nominated St. Louis Superman. She also executive produced the Emmy-winning Patrice: The Movie. Her previous roles include creative executive at ABC/Disney and grants director at the International Documentary Association. She was also senior commissioning producer for Al Jazeera’s Witness. As a journalist at The New York Times, she received an Emmy nomination and awards recognition for Flirting With the Islamic State.
Darren Dale
Blackfella Films managing director Darren Dale has produced documentary, factual and drama programs since 2000. He makes his directorial debut with 2.6 Seconds: Death in the Outback, which he also produced. The series examines race, justice and colonial policing. It premiered internationally at the Toronto International Film Festival and is due to premiere locally on SBS on 10 November.
Dale’s producing credits include First Australians, two seasons of First Contact, First Wars, Filthy Rich and Homeless, The Tall Man and The Dark Emu Story. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Dale also serves on the boards of Screen Australia, the Sydney Film Festival, NIDA and Sydney Festival.
Tamara Kotevska
North Macedonian filmmaker Tamara Kotevska made Academy Awards history with Honeyland. It became the first documentary nominated simultaneously for Best Documentary Feature and Best International Feature Film. The film had earlier won the three major documentary awards at Sundance in 2019.
National Geographic acquired her latest work, The Tale of Silyan, which received the Venice Film Festival’s Muse Award. It has also collected more than 10 Grand Prix honours. Further recognition has come from the International Documentary Association, Chicago International Film Festival, Producers Guild of America and Critics Choice Documentary Awards.
Rachel Antell
Rachel Antell has worked in documentary production for 25 years, including more than a decade as an archival producer. Her credits include the Oscar-nominated Crip Camp, executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions. She also worked on the Emmy-nominated The Way I See It, directed by Dawn Porter and produced by Laura Dern.
Antell co-founded the Archival Producers Alliance in 2023. The organisation has published industry guidelines and a toolkit for responsible generative-AI use in documentary. She also co-founded the Trust in Archives Initiative. It develops tools to protect audiovisual collections in an era of synthetic media.
Basil Tsiokos
Basil Tsiokos has worked with the Sundance Film Festival since 2005. He is now a senior programmer specialising in nonfiction features. Previously, he served as director of programming for DOC NYC and the Nantucket Film Festival. He was also artistic and executive director of NewFest: The New York LGBT Film Festival.
Tsiokos has contributed to the feature-nomination committees for the Cinema Eye Honors and IDA Awards. He co-produced The Canal Street Madam, which premiered in competition at SXSW in 2010. Tsiokos also wrote extensively about documentary film for IndieWire and will attend AIDC as a marketplace decision maker.
Mandy Chang
Mandy Chang was appointed chief executive of the United Kingdom’s Documentary Film Council in 2026. She continues to produce through Undeniable Productions and consult on independent projects.
Her previous positions include global head of documentaries at Fremantle and commissioning editor of the BBC’s Storyville. Chang was also head of ABC Arts in Australia. Her credits span directing, producing, executive-producing and commissioning. They include The Mole Agent, Writing with Fire, One Child Nation, Welcome to Chechnya, Mischa and the Wolves, It’s Never Over: Jeff Buckley and One in a Million.
New marketplace decision makers and buyers
AIDC has also named the first group of decision makers and buyers new to its market. Some will attend in person for the first time. They include Foxtel and Binge head of unscripted originals Howard Myers-Rifai and Sundance senior programmer Basil Tsiokos.
Other new participants are The Whickers assistant director Denise Barren; CAT&Docs head of sales Aleksandra Derewienko; Icon Entertainment head of development Jane Nice; ESPN original-content development coordinator Cynthia Paribello; and NITV commissioning editor Caden Pearson.
Returning commissioners and funders include TVF International acquisitions and productions manager Zoe Stinson, Limonero Films chief executive and managing director Pamela Martínez, and bilibili factual head of international Bo Zhang.
The returning group also includes PTS and Taiwan Plus program-development director Jessie Shih, TRT World commissioning editor Choy Lin Mok, Sideways Film head of sales and acquisitions Kazz Basma, and Madman Entertainment co-founder and chief executive Paul Wiegard.
Across the wider marketplace, confirmed organisations include the ABC, BBC Storyville, Boardwalk Pictures, Cargo Film & Releasing, DMZ Docs, DocPlay, Documentary Australia, ESPN, Foxtel and Binge, Icon Entertainment, Limonero Films, Madman Entertainment, NITV, Paramount ANZ, SBS, Shark Island Foundation, Sundance Film Festival, The Post Lounge Group and TVF International.
AIDC says more than 750 Australian and international delegates attended its 2026 event. The 2027 market will expand its networking, knowledge-sharing, professional development and project-development opportunities. Further speakers and buyers are still to be announced.
FACTory, Cut to the Chase and The Showroom
The 12th FACTory International Pitching Forum, presented by Screen NSW, is accepting documentary and factual projects across three strands. The Central Showcase is for projects in development with international potential. Meanwhile, the New Talent Showcase supports filmmakers presenting their first major work. The Rough Cut Showcase is for projects seeking sales, distribution and exhibition pathways.
Selected teams will pitch live to decision makers during AIDC 2027. They will also compete for seven international pitch prizes linked to Sheffield DocFest, Visions du Réel, Doc Edge, Docs by the Sea, DMZ Docs, Tokyo Docs and Hot Docs. The final submission deadline is Sunday, 8 November.
Cut to the Chase will again arrange curated meetings between accredited producers and industry decision makers. Those decision makers include commissioning editors, acquisitions executives, distributors, sales agents, financiers and funders. In-person meetings will take place during the Sydney conference, while AIDC will conduct additional international meetings online.
The Showroom returns for its fourth year. The program is designed for established Australian production companies with several nonfiction projects in development. Participating companies receive extended meetings and access to senior buyers from international broadcasters, streamers and sales businesses. Applications open on Wednesday, 18 November.
Across the past seven years, AIDC says its industry-development initiatives have unlocked more than $3.6 million in professional and project-development opportunities, awards and prizes.
More than $275,000 in announced opportunities
The 2027 marketplace will include the fifth $100,000 Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch. Up to four projects can each receive a $25,000 development grant and the chance to take part in the Shark Island Kangaroo Valley Development Lab.
The Post Lounge Group Doc Pitch will share up to $35,000 in equity investment across development, production and post-production support. Meanwhile, the $20,000 DocPlay IndieBooster will support two independent feature documentaries. Each can receive up to $10,000 to strengthen its theatrical screening campaign. Meetings for these initiatives will take place through Cut to the Chase.
Leading Lights returns for its tenth anniversary with a tailored professional-development program. It also includes an exclusive pitch co-presented by the Australian Film Television and Radio School. Applications close Sunday, 6 December. Successful practitioners receive a complimentary AIDC 2027 Sessions Pass.
Together, AIDC’s 2027 marketplace, industry-development and awards programs have announced access to more than $275,000 in project funding, professional development and prizes. Further details about the Indigenous Creators Program, new initiatives and pitching opportunities are expected in the coming weeks.
AIDC Awards and full program dates
The AIDC Awards will close the in-person conference on Thursday, 11 March. Entries are open across seven categories: Best Feature Documentary, Best Documentary Series, Best Factual Series, Best Documentary/Factual Single, Best Short Documentary, Best Audio Documentary and Best Digital First Documentary.
Submissions close Sunday, 22 November, with late entries accepted until Wednesday, 25 November for an additional fee. AIDC members will also be invited to nominate Australian industry professionals for the Southern Light Award, which carries a $5,000 cash prize. Its opening date is still to be announced.
The full AIDC 2027 session program is due to be revealed on Tuesday, 2 February 2027. Business Passes and All Access Passes are already available, alongside Sessions and Networking Passes and Sessions Passes. Individual day passes will be released with the full program.
For more TV Central AIDC coverage, read our report on the conference’s move to Sydney. Visit the official AIDC website for registration and program information.