AIDC 2026: Focus on Shark Island Foundation

In 2026, AIDC and Shark Island Foundation will mark a long and successful collaboration with the fourth edition of the Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch, held as part of AIDC’s Cut to the Chase documentary and factual marketplace meetings program. 

The Pitch offers up to four projects the chance to secure a $25,000 development grant from the philanthropic Shark Island Foundation and the opportunity to participate in an exciting new Shark Island Kangaroo Valley Development Lab set to launch next year. 

Over the last three years, 13 social impact documentary projects have been supported through the AIDC-Shark Island partnership, with over half a million dollars in development and production funding unlocked. 

AIDC provides exceptional access to projects in development through its marketplace, giving Shark Island Foundation a focused window on projects that fit the fund’s aim to support ‘character-driven feature documentaries with distinctive points of view, creative vision, clear artistic style and the potential to shift thinking’.

The Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch is an integral part of AIDC’s industry development work to build a sustainable documentary and factual sector.

Initiated in 2019, the AIDC Industry Development program has since generated an impressive $3.2 million in project development, commissioning, professional development funds, awards and prize money for attendees, working with partners like Shark Island Foundation to create over 890 opportunities for our stories and storytellers.

“In a time where truth-telling, diverse viewpoints and the creation of stories that drive change have never been more vital, the Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch offers unmatched opportunities for Australian storytellers with projects that seek to offer new perspectives and change thinking,” says AIDC CEO / Creative Director Natasha Gadd of the initiative.

“Since launching in 2023, the Pitch has supported 13 bold and unique projects with an impressive $275,000 in development funding and unlocked a further $300,000 in production funding to help bring these stories to life. We can’t wait to see the projects that come through the 2026 Pitch and thank the Shark Island Foundation for their ongoing commitment to supporting bold and courageous stories and storytellers!” 

Newly included in 2026 as part of the Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch is the opportunity to take part in the Shark Island Kangaroo Valley Development Lab.

Two practitioners from each Pitch project selected for funding will be invited to participate in a four-day creative residency at Shark Island Kangaroo Valley in New South Wales (12–15 May, 2026), where acclaimed filmmaker and story consultant Joseph Nizeti and the Shark Island team will provide tailored guidance to help shape and elevate their stories.

Co-director and co-writer of River (2021) with Jennifer Peedom, writer and director of the ABC Arts documentary Anatomy of a String Quartet (2022), and co-writer of OneFour: Against All Odds (2023), Nizeti is also a versatile composer, music producer and story consultant working with artists and filmmakers across the Australian film/music industry.

“A story workshop isn’t just about refining a narrative. It’s about inviting a team to discover its shared rhythm and approach,” says Nizeti, describing the benefits of the Shark Island Kangaroo Valley Development Lab.

“When everyone’s aligned around the heart of the story that energy carries through everything that follows, from pitching to picture lock.”

Over the last decade, Shark Island Kangaroo Valley has hosted over 100 residencies and creative development labs for documentary filmmakers, artists, actors, musicians and writers.

“Residencies at Shark Island Kangaroo Valley are an extraordinary gift offering storytellers the opportunity to work in an environment that is inspiring and supportive,” says Sarah Butler, Executive Director, Shark Island Kangaroo Valley.

“We give the gift of time and place – to honour your work as an artist, to hold space for creativity, to carve out days to dream and assemble and find your stories”. 

The Shark Island Kangaroo Valley Development Lab placements offered as part of the Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch are exclusive to projects pitching through AIDC 2026’s Cut to the Chase program.

The first Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch in 2023, delivered through AIDC’s Cut to the Chase, offered up to a total of $50,000 in development grants, with three projects supported – Chasing Giants ($25,000), Streetside ($10,000), and All of Us ($10,000). 

Of these, Streetside is currently in development, How to Save a Forest (previously Chasing Giants) is in production, and It Starts With Us (previously All of Us) was completed and broadcast on ABC this year. 

In the second year of the pitch, Shark Island Foundation doubled the grant amount on offer to $100,000. 

As it turned out, the resulting pitches were so strong that in a surprise announcement during the 2024 AIDC Awards, Shark Island Foundation founder Ian Darling revealed that an increased grant amount of $150,000 would be shared among six projects – It’s Not About The Food ($15,000), Body Heat ($20,000), a second grant for Streetside ($20,000), In Focus ($15,000), War Criminals ($30,000), and The C Word ($50,000). 

Currently, War Criminals, Streetside and Body Heat are in development, In Focus is moving into production, and It’s Not About the Food is in production. 

In 2025, the Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch awarded $80,000 in development grants to four projects, Find Your Voice (previously Greatness Known), Marliya, The Last Nomads of Pintupi, and The Act of Dying, with a fifth project – The Class of Ashley – invited to apply for a production grant (worth up to $100,000). 

Chadden Hunter, director and producer of The Last Nomads of Pintupi, relates how beneficial Shark Island’s support has been for their project about the last uncontacted Indigenous Australian family to emerge after European settlement.

“Shark Island Foundation saw the national importance of this incredible story … and provided the vital investment we needed to revisit the vast beauty of the Great Sandy Desert and continue recording the Elders’ remarkable tale,” explains Hunter. 

“We already have fresh interest from new commissioners in Europe and the USA, [and] the grant also helped us broaden the First Nations production team.”

Lisa Albert, producer of The Act of Dying, about iconic Neighbours actor Ian Smith’s final months, is equally appreciative of the grant funds received through the pitch.

“This funding enabled [our] team to capture time-critical story beats while undertaking creative and professional development – two outcomes that would have been difficult to achieve otherwise,” she notes.

“The partnership between AIDC and Shark Island Foundation plays a critical role in nurturing diverse voices, ensuring creative independence, and supporting the development of early-stage documentaries. [We’re] incredibly grateful to have received this support.”

The announcement of the addition of the Shark Island Kangaroo Valley Development Lab inclusion in the Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch comes as Shark Island Institute celebrates 25 years in 2025. 

Beginning as a two-person independent production house, Shark Island has grown into a multi-faceted Institute that produces award-winning documentaries through Shark Island Productions, funds work through Shark Island Foundation, and incubates talent at Shark Island Kangaroo Valley. 

Shark Island has produced a formidable catalogue of social impact documentaries, including such landmark works as The Final Quarter (2019); The Oasis (2008) and its follow-up films Life After the Oasis (2019) and The Department (2020). Shark Island films have also explored identity, community and resilience in films such as Paul Kelly – Stories of Me (2012), Alone Across Australia (2004), and The Pool (2024) among many others.

Shark Island’s contribution to the Australian documentary sector has taken multiple forms in the last 25 years, including playing an instrumental role in the establishment of Documentary Australia and three ensuing years of Good Pitch Australia events (in collaboration with Doc Society) which supported 19 international and Australian film projects. 

Shark Island’s philanthropic investment in a portfolio of Australian and global feature-length documentaries and their outreach campaigns has resulted in real world positive outcomes for communities and the environment. It’s a legacy for which they are justifiably proud.

“We have loved making and supporting Australian documentaries over the last 25 years,” says Shark Island Institute Executive Director Ian Darling.

“During these challenging times we are even more determined to support the sector where we can. We really look forward to working again with AIDC this year and hopefully for many years ahead.”

Applications for the Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch are being accepted through the AIDC 2026 Cut to the Chase meetings program.

Main Image: 2025 Shark Island Foundation Feature Docs Pitch funding recipient The Last Nomads of Pintupi | Photographer: Chadden Hunter