AIDC 2026: Focus on The Post Lounge Group

In 2026, AIDC and The Post Lounge Group celebrate a partnership milestone with the fifth year of the The Post Lounge Group Doc Pitch, held as part of AIDC’s Cut to the Chase documentary and factual marketplace meetings program.

The Pitch is designed to support standout documentary and factual projects with a share in up to $35,000 of equity investment through in-kind development, production, and post-production support.

Over the last five years, nine projects have been supported through the AIDC-The Post Lounge Group partnership, with over $120,000 in support unlocked. 

AIDC provides curated access to projects through its marketplace, giving The Post Lounge Group the opportunity to target projects that could most benefit from the Group’s investment in development, production, and post-production support. 

With facilities in Melbourne Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, The Post Lounge Group comprises The Post Lounge – an Australian independently-owned full-service post-production company renowned for its work on Academy Award®, Golden Globe®, Emmy®, Critics’ Choice, and AACTA-winning projects – and production arm Orange Entertainment Co., which develops and produces original film and television content.

The ongoing partnership with AIDC represents a clear commitment from The Post Lounge Group to the documentary and factual sector, with expanded support now available for the development, production and post-production stages of projects.

The Post Lounge Group Doc Pitch is a longstanding part of AIDC’s industry development work to build a resilient and sustainable documentary and factual sector. 

Established in 2019, the AIDC Industry Development program has generated $3.2 million in project development, commissioning, professional development funds, awards and prize money for attendees, working with partners like The Post Lounge Group and Shark Island Foundation to create new pathways and opportunities for our stories and storytellers.

“AIDC is dedicated to strengthening and elevating the Australian documentary and factual sector through tailored initiatives that drive professional and project development opportunities. Collaborations with our industry partners such as The Post Lounge Group are vital to achieving this goal, ” explains AIDC CEO / Creative Director, Natasha Gadd. 

“We take great pride in embarking on our fifth year of the The Post Lounge Group Doc Pitch Initiative, again offering unmatched opportunities for the teams behind selected projects to seek invaluable support and take their work to the next level.” 

For The Post Lounge Group, the Pitch represents a unique opportunity to encounter new talent from diverse backgrounds with fresh points of view. The focussed approach highlights projects with support and development needs specific to what the The Post Lounge Group can offer. 

“We cherish our longstanding relationship with AIDC, the significant collaborations with filmmakers that have come about and most importantly the ability to partner with the always exciting projects at the conference,” says Georgia Woodward, COO, The Post Lounge Group. 

“AIDC’s Industry Development Program is one of the highlights of our year and we’re excited to be collaborating again for The Post Lounge Group Doc Pitch.”

The first The Post Lounge Group pitch in 2022 provided doc series project Descendants with $30,000 worth of in-kind post-production support.

In the second year of the pitch, The Post Lounge Group opted to award two projects, House of Love and The Love Seat, with $15,000 each in post-production investment.

Presented with another round of strong pitches in 2024, The Post Lounge Group chose to support three projects: Djinda was awarded $17,500 in post-production investment, including an edit with a senior offline editor, title design, picture and sound post on a sizzle/teaser; I Am Hazara (FKA In Focus) was awarded $10,000 of post-production services, including colour grade, title design and sound post on a sizzle/teaser; and The Real Meaning of Pleasure was awarded $2,500 of post-production services, including one-day colour grade, or two days of title design on a sizzle/teaser.

The most recent round of the pitch saw another three projects sharing in $30,000 investment, with The Animal Sanctuary securing $15,000 towards a character reel, Gaslit awarded $10,000 towards GFX for an infographic package, and Paid to Please splitting $5,000 towards perfecting audio interviews, and $5,000 towards research and development support. 

Of these, The Animal Sanctuary – the first series for production companies Walking Fish and Spectral Media – will go into production in January with the support of both The Post Lounge and Orange Entertainment Co., VicScreen, and US-based Campfire Studios and Copper Pot Pictures for a 2026 premiere on Network 10 / Paramount+.

“Winning this support at AIDC was a gateway for a much deeper collaboration with both The Post Lounge and Orange Entertainment Co, which accelerated The Animal Sanctuary’s financing and ultimately helped my company realise its strategic ambition of moving into series production,” relates David Elliot-Jones, Managing Director / Producer with Walking Fish Productions.

“The collaboration has been organic, aligned and respectful of our existing strengths as a team, and we’ve benefited greatly not just from the post support, but the entrepreneurship of TPL/OEC key personnel. They have been a pleasure to work with!” 

Applications for the The Post Lounge Group Doc Pitch are made through AIDC’s Cut to the Chase program with applications closing on Friday 23 January 2026 at 23:59 AEDT (or late deadline Friday 30 January 2026).

Please Note: You must purchase a Business Pass / Online Business Pass or an All Access Pass / Online All Access Pass to submit a project and apply for Cut to the Chase. 

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Main Image Credit: I Am Hazara (in production, FKA In Focus), The Post Lounge Group Doc Pitch 2024 recipient | Photographer: Barat Ali Batoor