Seven documentary projects have been shortlisted for the second Art & Impact Fellowship Australia, run by Doc Society in partnership with the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC).
The creatives behind the selected projects, which span mixed media and feature-length documentaries, will join the Doc Society’s global team for a year-long creative mentorship and impact strategy fellowship starting next month.
Projects include that of Matias Bolla Campesinos; At Yaara Bou Melhem Solastalgia; Genevieve Grieves and Josef Jakamarra Egger descent; Ash Gibb’s Tommy Tanna; Veialu Aila-Unsworth and Lachlan McLeod’s River Guardians; by Vincent Lambert spoiler and that of Dinah Lewis Boucher wave riders.
River Guardians won the Hot Docs award at the AIDC earlier this year and Campesinos and Solastalgia the Doc Edge award, after all participated in The FACTory pitch.
Supported by funding from Screen Australia Enterprise, the Art & Impact Fellowship aims to strengthen the storytelling and impact work of diverse voices, and to advance crucial stories from across Australia and connect them globally .
The program offers storytellers the opportunity to creatively refine their projects, design their bespoke impact strategy, develop their case for creating collaborations and launch their films within a support network.
This involves three training labs, attendance at the next AIDC in March 2023, and links the film crews to the Doc Society’s global programs and filmmaking networks.
The Doc Society’s Good Pitch Global Director, Malinda Wink, congratulated the teams.
“Throughout the year, we look forward to sharing the knowledge, networks and connections of our global Doc Society team to further the storytelling and impact ambitions of these projects,” she said.
Hollie Fifer, Director of Australian Programs at the Doc Society, said she was delighted to lead the fellowship again with “a cohort of storytellers who are dedicated to telling the untold story of Australia and the region”.
“It was the creative ambition and bold impact plans of these projects that inspired us and now the work begins to connect them globally.”
The project teams are:
Directed by Matias Bolla
Directed by Carolina Sorensen
Directed by Yaara Bou Melhem
Produced by Ivan O’Mahoney
Directed by Geneviève Grieves & Josef Jakamarra Egger
Produced by Kieran Satour & Andrea Distefano
Associate Producer Maya Ghattas
Directed by Ash Gibb
Produced by Peta Ayers
Directed by Veialu Aila-Unsworth & Lachlan McLeod
Produced by Kerry Warkia and David Elliot-Jones
Naomi Ball, Impact producer
Directed by Vincent Lamberti
Directed by Lisa Albert
Directed by Dinah Lewis Boucher
Produced by Eliorah Malifa