Documenting Fact & Fiction: Trust Issues
Hear from a panel of filmmakers considering the value of documenting the lives of individuals and communities, and the slippery nature of conveying truth on screen. Hosted by Lauren Valmadre.
Join a roundtable discussion including University of Melbourne academics and alumni with MIFF festival guests as they explore contemporary documentary techniques, working with complex issues behind the screen, creating a supportive environment on set, and lessons learnt for their next projects. MIFF’s special guests include feature directors Rhys Graham (Rewards for the Tribe), Jaydon Martin (Flathead) and Shannon Owen (the MIFF Premiere Fund–supported Left Write Hook), and producer Dr Donna Lyon (Left Write Hook).
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Rhys Graham’s feature documentary films murundak – Songs of Freedom and Words from the City (both co-directed with Natasha Gadd) won many awards including the Grand Prix at Seminci and at FIFO, Tahiti, as well as six AFI/AACTA nominations and a UN Peace Award. His feature film Galore (MIFF 2013) and the omnibus film The Turning (MIFF 2013), which he co-directed, both had their international premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, and his short drama Love This Time also received a Panorama special mention at the Berlinale. Rhys was set up director for the Netflix series The Unlisted, winner of the 2020 Youth Jury Prize at Prix de Jeunesse, and he is one of the writers of the Emmy- and BAFTA Award–winning series Nowhere Boys as well as spin off feature film Book of Shadows. He is currently in post-production on the Madrid-based feature documentary Dance of Language and is in financing on the feature film Paradise with Aquarius Films.
Donna Lyon, PhD, is a senior lecturer and film producer at the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music and is founder/CEO of Left Write Hook Charity. As a filmmaker, she is known for the award–winning feature Disclosure (2020) and numerous short films. In 2022, Donna founded Left Write Hook, a charity merging expressive writing and trauma-informed boxing for victim-survivors of child sexual abuse and trauma. She is co-editor of Left Write Hook: Survivor Stories from a Creative Arts Boxing and Writing Project and producer on the feature documentary Left Write Hook.
Jaydon Martin worked as a camera operator for documentary features before becoming a director. His experience growing up in a low-socioeconomic area of Australia drives him to explore maligned cultures, mundane existence and working class expressions in his projects. His directorial debut Flathead premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it won a Tiger Competition Special Jury Award.
Shannon Owen is a documentary filmmaker and researcher whose work explores the change-making potential of documentary storytelling. Working closely with participants, she allows her films to reveal the human impact of broader sociopolitical issues. Her work has screened widely through film festivals and broadcast and exhibited at the Australian National Portrait Gallery. A VCA alum, Shannon returned in 2012 to the school as a lecturer in documentary, and currently coordinates the Master’s filmmaking program. Her latest film Left Write Hook premieres at MIFF.
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Lauren Valmadre is the Industry Manager at the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC), Australia's premiere event for nonfiction content based in Naarm / Melbourne. She is an avid documentary and factual fan and film industry professional, with extensive experience across programming, international sales, distribution and global marketplaces working both within Australia and overseas. She has held various roles in the film industry including Program Director of the Human Rights Arts & Film Festival, Sales & Acquisitions Manager at Copenhagen-based International Sales Agent LevelK, and Sales Manager for independent Australian film distributor Umbrella Entertainment. Lauren joined AIDC in 2021 initially as the Conference Programmer and then as the Industry Manager the following year. She is passionate about supporting the nonfiction film sector and connecting Australian filmmakers with the international community to share our unique stories with global audiences.
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Please note: This event will be Auslan-interpreted. It is also free to attend, but please RSVP via the ticketing portal below to secure your seat.
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