ACMI Stories & Ideas Folgen

Opportunities for commissioning, financing and distributing short form docs are increasing every day. Short form is arguably better suited to the dynamic shifts and new opportunities occurring in global media than long form. They are less complicated to finance and produce, and more agile and quick to reach target audiences. Alongside the shrinking demand for long-form and the log-jam at the door of broadcasters, comes a boom in online platforms and a growing appetite for short form. Whether it’s arts and culture, powerful human-interest stories or urgent global issues, audience demand for short docs is growing. In this session, leading players in the burgeoning short docs space explore what these changes mean for the future of documentary, and also provide insight into what they’re looking for and what their platforms offer. Speakers: Lindsay Crouse (New York Times Op-Docs Coordinating Producer), Katy Roberts (VICE Media), Jennifer Byrne (Head of Video at Dazed Media, UK) and Charlie Phillips (Guardian News & Media, UK). Host: Dr Cathy Henkel (Director, WA Screen Academy)

Filmmakers Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier of The Jinx reveal how the tools of narrative filmmaking – in particular, ‘detective stories’ – can serve the documentarian, and share the cinema and television that has most informed their approach to documentary storytelling. By taking us inside scenes from their landmark HBO docuseries, Smerling and Stuart- Pontier dissect the techniques and challenges of unravelling a mystery with suspense, character and complexity, and also unpack the ethics of applying the conventions of fiction to documentary. It provides a unique insight into the relationship between storytelling and truth, and the philosophies and techniques that go into building narratives around real people and real events. Speakers: Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier Host: Sari Braithwaite

Traditionalists may be outraged, but it is possible to create quality, popular factual content that is later formatted and sold to broadcasters around the world. These ‘Format’ concepts keep on giving for their creators and make it easier for broadcasters to commit their dollars to ambitious factual projects with less risk. The three speakers in this session know all about this ‘F’ word. They’ve created, sold and adapted formats and, between them, have been responsible for content in dozens of countries around the world. Speakers: Julie Christie (Director, Julie Christie Inc. Ltd.), Magnus Temple (Co-Founder and Chief Executive, The Garden) and Lyndal Marks (Executive Producer, Factual, Network Seven). Host: Denise Eriksen (Executive Producer, Eriksen Media)