VICE, SCREEN AUSTRALIA & AIDC ANNOUNCE FINALISTS FOR PITCH AUSTRALIANA
Nationwide pitching competition to deliver $50,000 in funding. Four finalists to pitch at AIDC 2020, to join VICE ‘Australiana’ series.
VICE, Screen Australia, and AIDC have selected four finalists for the documentary funding initiative, Pitch Australiana.
Pitch Australiana provides early career Australian filmmakers an opportunity to collaborate with VICE in telling a story that speaks to communities, individuals, perspectives and subcultures that are overlooked or ignored in mainstream media.
The winner of this year’s competition will secure $50,000 of funding for a short form documentary to be released on VICE.com as part of the digital documentary series Australiana which is seen in 35 countries.
The Australiana series features stories from the Australian fringe, including teenage burnout stars in regional Victoria, the Indigenous queer experience in the Tiwi Islands, Australia’s medicinal marijuana black market, and a search for love in the outback. This year’s winning documentary will also air on SBS VICELAND.
The four finalists will be provided with a unique opportunity to develop their pitch in advance of the AIDC competition with multi-award winning writer, director and producer Matt Bate from Closer Productions whose credits include Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure,Guilty and Sam Klemke’s Time Machine. The shortlist includes:
White Fella In A Hole
Having spent the past 20 years in and out of prison, 43-year old Tazz arrives in an underground opal-mining town to fossick his fortune while attempting to piece together the threads of a frayed family.
Director/Producer: Jessica Barclay Lawton
Searching For The Tassie Tiger
New evidence and a growing civilian moment are challenging the long-held belief that Tassie Tigers are extinct. Join Neil Waters, a middle-aged gardener in remote north-east Tasmania, as he quits his day job and commits his life-savings to a search for the ancient beast.
Director: Naomi Ball
Producers: David Elliot-Jones & Louis Dai
Wurrandon Mariwili
Wild, rugged and remote, the top end of Australia is where Wurrandon Mariwili finds himself the newly elected leader of his community. Mariwili, whose bloodline has been in the region for over 60,000 years, knows he needs to adapt to Western expectations while still maintaining his culture- the key to ensuring the survival of his homeland.
Director/Producer: Miles Brotherson
Producer: Marlee Hutton
EP: Jodie Bell
Outback UFO Ranch
One of the world’s leading extra-terrestrial experts and his protégé road trip across rural Australia to find the perfect location for their UFO ranch so they can share their knowledge of aliens, UFOs and otherworldly spiritual awakenings.
Director/Writer: Anthony Frith
Producer: Rebecca Elliott
This year’s finalists will compete for the grand prize in a pitching session in front of a panel that includes representatives from VICE, Screen Australia – and the wider documentary community. This live pitch session will take place on Wednesday 4 March during AIDC 2020 in Melbourne. Full registration for the four-day AIDC 2020 event (1-4 March, ACMI, Melbourne) is available here.
Last year’s winner, Burlesque Boys, was directed by Isaac Elliott and produced by Lucy Knox. The observational documentary explores male erotic performers’ gruelling schedules and how they navigate consent with female participants, along with the toll the work has on their relationships, self-image and finances. Watch the full length documentary here.
For further information, please contact:
Britt Aharoni, manager, communications, VICE
E: britt.aharoni@vice.com
Tracey Mair, Tracey Mair Publicity for AIDC
E: traceym@tmpublicity.com
M: 0419 221 493
Jessica Parry, Senior Publicist, Screen Australia
E: Jessica.parry@screenaustralia.gov.au
[Main Image: Wurrandon Mariwili]