Collaborating Ethically with Documentary Participants and their Communities on Impact Campaigns.

Join us for this important masterclass on how to care for, honour and meaningfully collaborate with those whose stories are shared on screen. This discussion explores the ethics of the documentary process and how to best apply genuine collaboration and co-creative approaches to social impact filmmaking and the long tail of their associated impact campaigns.

The panel includes:

· Maya Newell, Director of In My Blood It Runs, The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone and Gayby Baby

· Alex Kelly, Impact Producer of In My Blood It Runs and The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone

· Moderated by Mitzi Goldman, CEO of Documentary Australia

Maya Newell (Director) and Alex Kelly (Impact Producer) from In My Blood It Runs and The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone will provide key learnings on creating collaborative and ethical films and impact strategies that put participants at the centre and aim to create meaningful partnerships between the filmmakers and those whose stories are being told and harnessed to make change.

About the panellists

Maya Newell is an Australian director, producer, DP and impact producer from the Unquiet Collective based on Gadigal Wangal Country. Her recent short, The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone (2022), a Netflix Original premiered at Tribeca, was on the IDA Award shortlist and was nominated for a Peabody Award. She directed In My Blood It Runs (2019), which was a New York Times “Critics Pick”, won an AACTA Award for Best Direction and was acquired by POV and Arte. Her first feature, Gayby Baby (2015) premiered at Hot Docs, was supported by GoodPitch Australia, Chicken and Egg, played at over 50 festivals including Doc NYC, was banned by the NSW gov and sparked a national conversation on children in LGBTIQ families. https://unquiet.com.au/

Alex Kelly is a filmmaker and impact producer based on Dja Dja Wurrung Country. Working across film, theatre, communications strategy and troubleshooting, Alex purposefully connects the disciplines of art and change making. Alex is Producer of award-winning documentaries Island of the Hungry Ghosts and Impact Producer on In My Blood It Runs and The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone and was Global Impact & Distribution Producer on Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein’s This Changes Everything. Alex’s current focus is the futuring practice The Things We Did Next, a collaborative hybrid of theatre, imagination and democracy. Alex is a founding member of the Unquiet Collective and a PhD candidate at Uni SA researching ethical approaches to impact producing. https://unquiet.com.au/

The Ethical Collaboration for Documentary Impact Masterclass is presented as part of the Impact Producer Program which is supported by its major partners, The Snow Foundation, Screen Australia, Screen NSW, Minderoo Foundation and Dyson Bequest, plus venue partner Shark Island Institute.