15 Projects Revealed for FACTory 2023

AIDC’s Industry department is thrilled to reveal the 15 projects and teams set to take part in The FACTory during AIDC 2023, 5-8 March at ACMI, Melbourne.

Proudly presented by VicScreen, The FACTory is AIDC’s centrepiece international pitching showcase for new documentary and factual projects.

Now in its eighth year, the flagship pitching event will feature project teams representing nine nations, with industry decision makers participating both in-person and virtually. 

Selected by a panel of expert industry representatives for their quality stories, unique voices, and strong market potential, project teams will now present their work to a large contingent of national and international decision makers at AIDC 2023 – including funders, broadcasters, streamers, sales agents and distributors.  

Shortlisted teams for The FACTory will pitch across three strands: Central Showcase, New Talent Showcase and Rough Cut Showcase.

“AIDC is so proud to present this stellar lineup of projects for the 2023 FACTory International Pitching Showcase which traverse courageous and engaging stories from Australia, the Philippines, New Zealand, Mongolia, United Arab Emirates, US, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Germany,” said AIDC CEO / Creative Director, Natasha Gadd.

“Following pitch training from our esteemed mentors, these projects will have the opportunity to pitch their projects to a world-class line up of decision makers for the chance to secure development funding, commissions, co-productions, acquisitions, international sales and distribution deals. On behalf of AIDC and Principal Partner VicScreen, we congratulate all teams and wish them luck in their live pitch at AIDC 2023!”

CENTRAL SHOWCASE PROJECTS

AQUARIUS 

Fifty years after the Nimbin Aquarius Festival, newly uncovered archival footage and extensive interviews examine these ten days of social and cultural exploration that changed a generation.

Co-Director/Writer: Wendy Champagne; Co-Director: Oren Siedler; Producer: Sam Griffin

Tilt Media & Entertainment (Australia)

BUKAL BUKAL

Henrietta Marrie sets out to return her family’s inheritance, but first she must face not only the British Museum that holds it, but also the worldwide racism that keeps it there.

Director/Writer: Rhoda Roberts AO; Producer/Writer: Julie Nihill; Executive Producer: Henrietta Marrie AM

EarthStar Films (Australia)

FRAMED

A terrorist plot to blow up an iconic Sydney landmark, a global news story, a love triangle, and jail for an innocent overseas student are part of this untold Australian story.

Producer/Writer/Director: Anupam Sharma

Framed Film (Australia/Sri Lanka)

LOVE SAFARI

Love Safari reveals a subversive natural world, where fact is stranger than fiction, where LGBTQIA+ species live without discrimination, where sexuality can be fluid – not fixed or static.

Director/Producer: Randall Wood; Producers: Madeleine Hetherton-Miau & Producer: Rebecca Barry

Media Stockade & Storyland (Australia)

STELLA: YOU GET PROUD BY PRACTICING

When Stella Young died suddenly aged 32, she had the world at her fingertips. Learn more about this Australian icon who was a disability activist, comedian, feminist, and so much more.

Director/Co-Producer: Sarah Barton; Producer: Liz Burke

Defiant Lives Productions (Australia)

THE CLIMATE CANARY

Exploring an extraordinary ecosystem sandwiched between the Antarctic sea ice and the ocean, a team of scientists discover subtle changes signalling huge challenges ahead for Antarctica and our global coastlines.

Producer/Director: Vanessa Wells; Writer/Researcher: Rebecca Priestley; Editor: Richard Lord

Elanti Media (New Zealand)

WINTER HERD

A new generation of nomadic herders revive one of Mongolia’s most dangerous winter rituals in a last ditch attempt to preserve their ancient way of life.

Director: Kasimir Burgess; Producers: Ben Golotta & Chris Kamen

Repeater Productions (Australia/Mongolia)

NEW TALENT SHOWCASE PROJECTS

ARCHITECT

Investigating the physical dimensions of trauma, refugee and architect Elahe Zivardar unravels six years of brutal detention by constructing a photo-realistic 3D simulation of Australia’s infamous Nauru Regional Processing Centre.

Co-Director/Producer/Editor: Jaydn Gosselin; Co-Director/Executive Producer/Protagonist: Elahe Zivardar; Producer: Jacob Fertig

Denizen Studios & Shakiba Productions (Australia/USA)

CONVERSION

A group of LGBTQIA+ Australians reveal how religious conversion therapies continue out of sight, causing trauma and suffering for vulnerable people.

Director: Amelia Tovey; Producers: Philippa Campey & Molly O’Connor

Film Camp (Australia)

I THOUGHT JESUS WAS KOREAN

Forty years after her parents’ mass wedding at Madison Square Garden, a Kiwi-Japanese filmmaker seeks answers after learning her Korean Jesus was a fraud.

Director: Elina Osborne; Producer: Alex Lee

Yalla Media (New Zealand)

NOTHING CALLED HOME

Two survivors of the Christchurch mosque attack, Iraqi immigrants Adeeb along with his son, Ali, take us on their 24-year-long search to find a safe home for their family.

Director: Arkus; Producer: Gargi Chakrabarti

Maurice & Morrise (UAE)

UNTYING THE KNOT

In the Philippines, the last country outside the Vatican where divorce is illegal, women in troubled and abusive marriages risk their lives for freedom.

Director/Producer: Chona Mangalindan; Producer: Anne Sobel; Executive Producer: Rosie Garthwaite

Mediadante & Monsoon Films (Philippines)

ROUGH CUT SHOWCASE PROJECTS

GHOST BOAT

Amena’s son was illegally trafficked by boat from southern Bangladesh. She teams up with trafficking survivor Abdus to retrace her son’s steps, exposing the impact of human trafficking on those left behind.

Director: Tanim Yousuf; Director, Cinematographer: Kauser Haider; Producer: Patrick Hamm

Bulldog Agenda & Mastul Productions (Bangladesh/USA/Germany)

TWILIGHT TIME

The life and times of Desmond Ball, the barefooted academic from ‘down under’ hailed by Jimmy Carter as “the man who saved the world”.

Writer/Director/Producer: John Hughes; Producer: Philippa Campey

Early Works (Australia)

WITHOUT ARROWS (working title)

Filmed with vérité intimacy over the course of twelve years (2011 – 2022), Without Arrows chronicles the choices, events, and relationships that shape a Lakota family’s legacy.

Co-Director/Co-Producer: Jonathan Olshefski; Co-Director/Co-Producer: Elizabeth Day

Without Arrows LLC (USA)

The selected projects will have access to extensive pitch training conducted by experienced screen practitioners, including Karolina Lidin, Senior Advisor Documentary, Nordisk TV & Film Fond (Denmark), Krishan Arora, International Consultant, SBS (UK/Australia), and Brigid O’Shea, Founder, Documentary Association of Europe (Germany)

All projects in The FACTory 2023 will be eligible to win pitch prizes, including two complimentary festival passes to participate in Sheffield Doc/Fest 2023 (Sheffield, UK), two complimentary passes to participate in Hot Docs Industry 2023 (Toronto, Canada), two complimentary passes to participate in DOK Leipzig (Leipzig, Germany), and two complimentary passes to participate in Sunny Side of the Doc 2023 (La Rochelle, France).

Thanks to Getty Images and AIDC, project teams will also have access to a free selection of clips from the Getty Images online library of over 17.5 million clips to help them prepare their pitch.    

Since The FACTory began in 2016, international and local decision makers have backed a diverse range of projects across multiple genres, with AIDC supporting more than 90 project teams to participate in the pitching showcase.

The FACTory pitch will take place during AIDC 2023, 5 – 8 March 2023 at ACMI, Melbourne, with follow-up meetings happening in-person and also during our online international marketplace 9-11 March 2023.

Main Image: Bukal Bukal, photo by Cristina Bevilacqua