ABC and AIDC announce recipient of 2025 Indigenous Documentary Placement

The ABC and the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) are pleased to announce Dylan Nicholls as the recipient of the Indigenous Documentary Placement for 2025.

The annual placement provides emerging filmmakers with an opportunity to develop their craft within the ABC’s Factual and Indigenous teams. Dylan will spend four months based at the ABC in Sydney starting next month, furthering his skills in documentary and factual development and production.

Dylan Nicholls said: “I’m so grateful to have this opportunity to develop my skills, experience and networks further as a documentary filmmaker at the ABC. I’m really looking forward to joining the ABC Indigenous team for this four-month placement and hoping I can bring something to the table with my skill set.”

Dylan is an emerging filmmaker who was a recipient of the inaugural First Nations Netflix Scholarship in 2023 to undertake a Master of Arts Screen: Documentary at the Australian Film Television & Radio School (AFTRS). During his time at AFTRS, Dylan directed and produced three short films: One in a Million (2023), currently screening on DocPlay; Echoes of Dissent (2025), which premiered at Flickerfest International Short Film Festival and Bringing His Spirit Home, which is set to premiere at the 2025 Sydney Film Festival where it is shortlisted for the First Nations Award.

Past participants in the ABC-AIDC program include filmmaker Daniel King, Ngarluma writer and director Perun Bonser, and cinematographer Anna-Marie Harding.

ABC TV Head of Indigenous Kelrick Martin said: “We are overjoyed with the number and quality of applications for the Indigenous Documentary Placement this year. Dylan will be embedded within ABC Indigenous and gain valuable insights into how ABC creates its factual programming for Australian audiences. He’s in for an experience few get to be part of — we can’t wait to have him join us!”

AIDC CEO and Creative Director, Natasha Gadd, said: “Congratulations to Dylan on being selected for this year’s Indigenous Documentary Placement! AIDC is committed to supporting First Nations filmmakers to sharpen craft, build new industry connections, and find new pathways to tell stories, and is proud to co-present the fourth edition of the Indigenous Documentary Placement with the ABC. We’ve been tracking the impressive work of previous recipients Daniel King, Perun Bonser, and Anna-Marie Harding, and we’re looking forward to what Dylan will bring to the ABC Indigenous team, as well as the new skills and career opportunities he will take away from the experience.”

Media contact
Nikki Tugwell, ABC Communications
tugwell.nikki@abc.net.au

Main Image: Dylan Nicholls | Photo by Flore Vallery-Radot