Kimberley Benjamin (Yawuru, Bardi, Kija) presenting at AIDC, March 2025. Photo credit: Kelli Morris

 

In times of upheaval and uncertainty we need to have new kinds of conversations.  An interactive visioning moment for the future of documentary was held last month at the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC).  Facilitators Alex Kelly from the Unquiet Collective and Doc Society’s Hollie Fifer took inspiration from Doc Society’s sessions held at MountainFilm, Skoll World Forum and Cannes Film Festival. We know we can't sit solely in the shadows of our marketplace failures or the growing anxiety that has gripped every practitioner and their livelihoods. We know that story intimately now, it’s daily.  So how do you invite people to imagine a completely different media landscape? Our aim was to create a space where documentary makers could step out of the current challenges and speculate a transformed information ecosystem.

 

We began, yes, by acknowledging the harsh realities - the fragmented media landscape, polluted with disinformation, where audiences struggle to maintain meaningful dialogue. We then shifted gears into the future, asking five visionaries - Kimberley Benjamin, Ian Darling, Eliorah Malifa, Mitch Nivalis, and Prash Naik - to speak from 10 years in the future and describe the steps society took to transform our media world. It was part thought experiment, part collective dreaming. 

 

What emerged was both pragmatic and inspiring. Our speakers didn't just offer utopian fantasies. They proposed concrete ideas: platforms designed for pluralism, decolonised approaches to filmmaking grounded in connection to place, abolitionist ethics, new ownership models that make citizens co-creators, storytelling approaches that center lived experiences, people being in control of their own representation, radically listening to each other across divides, taking back power from Big Tech’s AI for-profit model and algorithms harming us more than helping, creating new regulations on streamers to increase national screen cultural funding and encouraging all ‘decision makers’ in the room to lean into risks instead of restricting expression needlessly. Each perspective added a layer to our collective vision and took apart as a separate full reality on its own. 

 

The room’s energy shifted with each vision - the appetite amongst practitioners for these different kinds of conversations was palpable. Those in the audience shared the documentary future they dreamed of via the Mentimeter on screen - accessible, diverse, creative, open, respected, decentralised, collaborative, plentiful and …. yes - fully funded were top of people’s priorities. It was obvious - people are creative and have solutions and know what is required. We have all we need - for the whole field to be bold and meet each other as a revolutionary collective in this delicate moment. 

 

A question lingered - do we burn everything down or do we reform what we already have to make it decolonised and community orientated? Do we believe collectively that our current structures have the possibility of justice? Perhaps both, we can further reform what is working, burn what isn’t and build what is needed.

 

Over the journey together, it was ever so apparent we needed to connect, collaborate, and commit to a different way of creating and sharing stories. We need a decolonised new wave of media funding, creation and distribution and for this we need everyone to join in. Any future justice-centered information ecosystem depends on our collective imagination and action.

 

This wasn't just another conference session, it was a declaration of possibility.

 

Dive into these futures by watching the session video and reading excerpts from the visions here. 

 

As Prash Naik ended the session, “welcome to the revolution!”

 

For our playlist this month - a revolutionary journey through First Nations Australian tunes:

Burnt it - RONA, KYE

Red Future - Spotty Nose Rez Kids (feat. Electric Fields)

Treaty - Yothu Yindi

January 26 - A/B Original (feat. Dan Sultan)

We Up - Barkaa 

Dream On - Electric Fields

Black Smoke - Emily Wurramara

 

The BFI Doc Society Made of Truth Short Film Fund invites emerging storytellers from across the UK to share original and bold non-fiction stories that respond to the changing world around us. The fund is now open and will support up to 15 projects through the open call. Deadline: May 1st

Find out more here

Sign up for a roundtable here

Apply here

The BFI Doc Society RAD (Research and Development) Fund is now open to UK based filmmakers and producers. The fund seeks to support early development of bold creative non-fiction films and immersive projects by providing financial support to first or second time feature length documentary directors or director/producer teams. 10 new awards will be available during the 2025-2026 financial year.

Find out more here.

What climate stories does the world need now? Whose voices should tell them, and how do we ensure critical audiences are reached?

 

Documentary Australia and Doc Society are excited to launch the Climate Story Lab Australia, a 3-day initiative that brings together Australian climate storytellers with climate experts, First Nations leaders, impact strategists, political consultants, philanthropists and more to shape the future of strategic climate storytelling.

 

Applications are now open for Australian storytellers and their screen and audio documentaries that envision climate just futures. Applications close: 11.59pm AEST 22 April, 2025. Apply here. 

 

Climate Story Lab Australia is co-hosted by Documentary Australia and Doc Society, and supported by Screen NSW, Screen Queensland and Shark Island Foundation.

Southeast Asia is often praised for its economic growth. Yet, this progress comes at a hidden cost—land is lost, wealth remains out of reach, and speaking out carries severe risks. The dominant narrative excludes many of us, but it's time to change that.

 

We call forth all audio-visual STORYTELLERS from Southeast Asia to join Just Futures Impact Story Lab 2025 (JF25)—a space dedicated to empower and amplifying our experiences in order to collectively reclaim the narratives. This cohort will be a space for hearing, learning, and solidarity to forge movements across the region. It starts with your story. Let's rewrite the future.

 

Join us in weaving the lore of our society going forward in JF25:

6-9 September 2025 - Bali, Indonesia

Group Discussions | Panel Talks | Workshop | 1-on-1 Meetings

SUBMISSION for Storymakers is now open until 18 May 2025. Apply here.

Mrs Robinson Director Aoife Kelleher,  Project Dandelion Co-Founder Pat Mitchell and Doc Society Co-Director Megha Sood

This month Doc Society and Project Dandelion hosted a SOLD OUT virtual screening event of MRS ROBINSON, as part of our collaboration with Kinema on the Doc Society Global Climate Playlist. The film follows the visionary Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and global leader in climate justice. Director Aoife Kelleher and Executive Producer and Co-Founder of Project Dandelion Pat Mitchell joined Doc Society Co-Director Megha Agrawal Sood for a wonderful Q&A, exploring how we can all channel Mary Robinson's determination, leadership and joyfulness to create a climate-safe world for all.

The Doc Society Global Climate Playlist on Kinema is a curated selection of 10 incredible Climate Story Unit grantees, now available to audiences worldwide for the first time. If you're interested in hosting your own community screening, check out our quick how-to guide.

The Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI) has launched its biennial industry survey. The largest global study of documentary storytellers and the only longitudinal look at field trends in revenue, funding, distribution and lived experiences for nonfiction film professionals. This study helps us all better understand what is changing, what is not, and what challenges and opportunities we are facing as an industry. 

This survey needs you. The confidential and anonymous survey is open to global film professionals and is available in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese. The survey takes ~20 minutes to complete.

Add your experience to the survey now. 

Working Films and their partners at Democracy 2076, Political Research Associates, and Southern Vision Alliance are looking for short films that will illuminate the growing dangers of fascism and authoritarianism, and how we can push back. 

Filmmakers can either submit a completed piece to be considered for inclusion in a short film compilation, or apply for completion funds to finish a work-in-progress short documentary.

More details can be found here. 

Call for Media to build the world we want, not just surviving the one we have! 

Applications are now open for Working Films #DocsinAction until April 21st! Find out how you can receive funding for your documentary film that supports organizers who are resisting authoritarianism and building democratic possibility throughout the U.S. and beyond! Learn more here. 

Submissions are now open for the 2025 Climate Film Festival (CFF), taking place September 19–22, 2025 in New York City, USA.

This multi-day event celebrates the breadth of climate cinema. From narrative and documentary features to experimental shorts and music videos, CFF platforms the power of storytelling to ignite climate action, connecting filmmakers with audiences who care deeply about the intersection of culture and the environment. The final deadline for film submissions is May 16 - Submit your film here.

Sunshine Cinema, in partnership with the Centre for Film and Media Studies at the University of Cape Town, has been offering the Film Impact Screening Facilitator Online Short Course for the last four years. This course equips changemakers like you with the practical skills to organise, market, and facilitate impact screenings, helping you shape audience engagement, spark meaningful conversations, and advance social impact goals. 

Join a global network of filmmakers, activists, and storytellers who use film to illuminate human rights issues and drive lasting change. Apply here.

Win £10,000 for your documentary pitch with The Listening Pitch with Aesthetica x Audible.

Now in its 5th year, the Aesthetica x Audible Listening Pitch is committed to telling impactful stories that have listening at the forefront. This is your opportunity to create something extraordinary, fund your next project and premiere at Aesthetica Film Festival 2025. Deadline 21 April 2025.

Further information click here. 

Applications are now open for FIlm Independent’s Documentary Producing Lab! “The Documentary Producing Lab is designed for producers working in the nonfiction space. For one week, producers with projects in active development, production or post-production will be paired with creative and business consultants, learning strategies and practices that will benefit them not only on their current projects, but throughout their careers. The Documentary Producing Lab also includes multiple case studies with notable nonfiction producers and concludes with a networking day with industry professionals. The Lab will take place in September 2025 at the Film Independent offices in Los Angeles. A small stipend will be available per project to assist with travel costs.”

Regular Deadline: May 5, 2025 
Film Independent Member Extended Deadline: May 19, 2025 

Find out more and submit here  

The U.S.’s oldest and largest curated marketplace for film and media creators, is now open for submissions!
We are now accepting submissions for the following sections:

U.S. Features in Development: Selected filmmakers will have the opportunity to introduce their fiction feature film projects at the script stage to attending industry professionals, including producers, financiers, and distributors.

U.S. Shorts to Features: The U.S. Shorts to Features section will provide filmmakers with proof-of-concept short films the opportunity to meet with key industry executives interested in creating feature-length versions of their projects.

Documentaries: Designed to support both emerging and established documentarians, this section connects work-in-progress non-fiction features and series with financiers, distributors, broadcasters, sales companies, and festivals.

Set to take place in Brooklyn from September 29 through October 3, The Gotham Week Project Market is a meetings-driven forum that facilitates career-spanning relationships with distributors, financiers, production companies, festival programmers, sales and talent agents, collaborators, and more for all participating creators.

You must be a Gotham Member at the Essentials or Insider levels to apply for the 2025 Gotham Week Project Market.

Regular Deadline: Thursday, April 17 ($25)

Extended Deadline: Thursday, May 1 ($45)

Learn more and apply here.

The 3rd edition of the Culture Hack’s Rhizome Fellowship is back and this time, it kicks off pre-application stage with a free two-part call series for anyone who is curious about Culture Hack Labs or the Rhizome Fellowship.Attendance in the call is require before application and is an introduction to the work for folks to decide if the fellowship is right for them right now. RSVP to the online sessions here. 

Open calls will be held on April 18 and May 2 at 11am CST by zoom.

TISH SET TO LAUNCH ON GLOBAL PLATFORMS FROM APRIL 5TH. 

Directed by Paul Sng and produced by Jen Corcoran (BFI Doc Society supported) the feature length documentary is an essential part of preserving the legacy of one of the greatest documentary photographers of her generation. You can watch TISH on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video and Google Play/ Youtube for Streaming or digital download.

River of Grass - Dir. Sasha Wortzel

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