ACMI Stories & Ideas

CRAFT Leading factual producers reveal how they tackled projects of scale … and scale doesn’t always mean big budget. Leading factual producers discuss and demystify the oft-used term ‘scale’. From giant crews, fixed rigs and far-flung locations, to leading a tiny team shooting across a long timeframe – scale calls for precise decision making in the development process and in designing your produc...

CRAFT Director Jen Peedom discusses her story-focused approach to documentary writing, from pre-production through to editing. What does it mean to ‘write’ a documentary? For BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Jennifer Peedom (Sherpa, Mountain), writing — and re-writing — defines each step of the filmmaking process. Emphasising the difference between covering an issue and telling an emotional story, this s...

BUSINESS Three major international cable networks discuss what worked in 2019, what's coming in 2020 and what they're looking for now. Discovery International, A+E, and ESPN – three heavyweight international cable networks discuss their big successes from 2019, what exciting projects they have in the pipeline, and what they are looking for from production companies. This session will compare and c...

COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE Meet the producer and creative director at the heart of one of the world's most enduring and celebrated documentary collectives. For over 50 years, Gordon Quinn and Kartemquin Films have been at the forefront of documentary making in the US, not only embracing but also epitomising collaborative practices, championing new voices, and leading the way in the fight for independ...

CRAFT Emmy-Award nominated Director S. Leo Chiang takes a deep dive into finding and developing complex documentary characters. In this craft session, Emmy-Award nominated Director S. Leo Chiang discusses the art of finding and unravelling multifaceted characters who share a common sense of idealism against the odds. Films such as Our Time Machine and A Village Called Versailles often focus on cha...

CRAFT John Smithson discusses the creative challenges in crafting story in his new true-crime series I, Sniper. High-end crime serials have become the pinnacle of factual, and the rise of streaming services offer an enticing opportunity with the budgets and the time to enable some serious creativity. For four years Arrow Pictures, the new label of Creative Director John Smithson, has been working...

CRAFT BAFTA award-winner Ninder Billing shares her insights on how to turn an idea into irresistible factual content. In conversation with Ninder Billing promises to be a fascinating journey through the sometimes unforgiving landscape of factual television with one of Britain’s most respected and innovative television executives. From prime-time factual formats, access documentaries and authored f...

INNOVATION Join Marshmallow Laser Feast’s Robin McNicholas as he sheds light on their multi-sensory experiences at the intersection of science, technology, art and nature. What does it mean to experience tree-time? How do animals see the world? How does our breath connect us to the plant world? In this session Robin McNicholas, creative director of Marshmallow Laser Feast, discusses their process...

We all have muya, the essence or aura of who we are. It's what makes you you.

Hunter Page-Lochard tells us about the person who is the conduit between the Dreaming and this world: The Cleverman. Written by Ryan Griffen. Republished with permission from Triple J & ABC.

Join artists Gabrielle De Vietri, Hanna Brontë and Eugenia Lim to talk video art and challenging provocations in the spheres of identity, immigration, race, nationalism and politics. From exploring issues of gender and racial identity through the lens of hip-hop aesthetics to deconstructing the nature of globalisation and economics through video and performance, the artists will discuss their own...

Alice was first brought to life by Lewis Carroll, but she's sparked imaginations and been immortalised on screen many times since. Join film critic and author Alexandra Heller-Nicholas in conversation with Dr Michelle Smith (Monash University) and Dr Dan Golding (Swinburne University of Technology) as they discuss these 'electric' Alices and the unique representations of girlhood across time, spac...

With each technological advancement, from early documentaries to social issue games and immersive VR, we've heard the promise of being able to step into alternate perspectives, to feel and share and experience a more complex type of understanding. But are these supposed "empathy machines" distancing us from true empathy and closer to voyeurism? In this talk we interrogate the ethics, assumptions a...

How does a museum collect WeChat? Or show a laptop that was destroyed by security agencies because it held government secrets leaked by whistleblowers? How could a museum collect computer viruses, or use source code to reveal decisions made by designers when a product was being made? Digital design, game design and media design are all important aspects of contemporary design, yet institutions hav...

Video games can transport players into ethereal experiences, create unique communities and become a medium for interactive and experimental art. Join game designer and curator Chad Toprak (Freeplay), experimental games designers Michael Samyn and Auriea Harvey (Tale of Tales) and cultural curator Zuraida Buter (Zo-ii) for a deep dive into beautiful, wonderous and experiential game worlds.

There are innumerable theories of Alice, Wonderland and the characters she meets along the way. Was Lewis Carroll inspired by hallucinogens? Reacting to new maths standards? Or having a personal identity crisis? Perhaps the way we see the text tells us as much as our ourselves as it does about the enigmatic author. Join us for a lively dissection of the text's myriad meanings with science communic...

Decolonising the Australian film industry and how First Nations people want to be portrayed are the current debates with Aboriginal and Torres Strait actors, directors and producers. Join our host Leila Gurruwiwi (from Marngrook Football Show) along with guest panelists; award winning author Uncle Bruce Pascoe, playwright and filmmaker Tracey Rigney and academic Crystal McKinnon in a provocative d...

Did you know that twenty percent of Australians live with disability? You probably wouldn't guess that from our media. But things are gradually improving. In 2018, more people with disability and appearance diversity are writing and starring in TV and film, influencing on social media and getting opportunities as brand ambassadors. Young people today have a much greater chance of seeing themselves...

In an ever-changing media landscape, and with audiences savvy and cynical about advertising, brands are looking for more subtle ways to draw their customers in. Enter the documentary filmmaker. Does this offer an exciting new source of finance for documentary or is it a sell out? Is it still possible to make authentic stories within this form? Who has creative control in this environment? Why do b...

How do we build stronger alliances and create impact campaigns that engage audiences on issues, to create lasting change? The phenomenal rise of documentary impact campaigns in recent years, following the success of Good Pitch Australia and the growing field of expertise, means we now have a global community of impact producers and a rich library of case studies to learn from. There is also a plet...

Robert Fernandez has been producing award-winning documentaries and commercials for over 25 years - yet he still loves getting his hands dirty on budget spreadsheets 'I love the numbers'. Working with Errol Morris since The Fog of War, Fernandez recently delivered their biggest project to-date: the Netflix series Wormwood. With no precedent for its hybrid format or production model, it took 1.5 ye...

Interactive digital narratives, fully-immersive VR, open source gaming, robots writing novels – what does the future of storytelling look like? What do emerging technological advances mean for writers and artists creating work in the digital era? Four artists at the forefront of innovation in digital storytelling kicked off Digital Writers' Festival 2017 with a discussion about the impact of inter...

This talk celebrated International Women’s Day with local filmmakers telling powerful and revealing stories. Filmmakers Sari Braithwaite, Chloe Brugale and Santilla Chingaipe were in conversation with Eloise Ross about their craft and processes, key collaborations and career pathways. About the speakers Santilla Chingaipe is an award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker. She spent nearly a...

From the surface of the sun to the depths of the prehistoric seas and the earth's orbit, VR continues to open portals onto worlds we could never physically inhabit. What potential does this technology hold for expanding the realms of human experience? Erth's Scott Wright (Prehistoric VR), artist Jessie Hughes (Soul Of Sol – La Palma) and astrophysicist Professor Alan Duffy (Swinburne Uni) discusse...

From the Marvel and DC cinematic universes to small screen caped-crusaders and vigilantes, superheroes are more popular than ever. But how do superheroes reflect our place and power within society? Whether it’s symbolic representations of asylum seekers and First Nations people on Cleverman, Jessica Jones battling PTSD or The Watchmen exploring the moral ambiguity of individuals with tremendous po...