FILM & DOCUMENATRY AWARDS
In an unusual though not unprecedented twist, two feature films were awarded the AACTA Award for Best Film; THE BABADOOK (by first-time feature film director, Jennifer Kent) and THE WATER DIVINER (also marking a directorial debut for Russell Crowe).
THE BABADOOK also took home the AACTA Award for Best Direction presented by Hyundai Genesis, and Best Original Screenplay.
Despite a duel for Best Film, Feature Film acting awards were evenly distributed.
David Gulpilil’s performance in
CHARLIE’S COUNTRY saw him awarded
Best Lead Actor,
PREDESTINATION star
Sarah Snook was awarded
Best Lead Actress,
Susan Prior’s performance in
THE ROVER earned her
Best Supporting Actress and
Yilmaz Erdogan was awarded
Best Supporting Actor for his role in
THE WATER DIVINER.
THE RAILWAY MAN was awarded for
Best Adapted Screenplay, whilst
THE LEGO MOVIE took home the
AACTA Award for Best Visual Effects or Animation.
The AACTA Award for
Best Feature Length Documentary went to
UKRAINE IS NOT A BROTHEL.
OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Highlight presentations during the show were for three outstanding individual awards.
AACTA Award winning performer,
Rose Byrne, whose career spans Australian and US film and television across drama and comedy, was honoured with the inaugural
AACTA Trailblazer Award. Byrne, whose performance in US television series
DAMAGES saw her nominated for Golden Globe and Prime Time Emmy Awards, received a tribute from
DAMAGES co-star Glenn Close and
BRIDESMAIDS co-star Kristen Wiig.
Director, producer, writer
Amiel Courtin-Wilson was announced as the recipient of the
Byron Kennedy Award,
which includes a $10,000 prize, for outstanding creative enterprise
within the film and television industries. The Byron Kennedy Award is
determined by a jury annually and is given to an individual or
organisation whose work embodies innovation and the relentless pursuit
of excellence.
Courtin-Wilson’s body of work includes critically acclaimed documentaries
CHASING BHUDDA (which received an AFI Award nomination in 2000) and
BASTARDY (which he shot over seven years, following the life of Aboriginal elder Jack Charles), and feature films
HAIL (which became the first Australian feature film in ten years selected for the Venice International Film Festival) and
RUIN (which won Courtin-Wilson and co-director/co-producer Michael Cody a Special Jury Prize at Venice in 2013).
The Byron Kennedy Award jury said: "We have chosen Amiel
Courtin-Wilson for his risk taking and evocative storytelling. Amiel has
been patiently searching for truth and beauty at the margins of
society, making films which have captured the attention of international
audiences.”
The highest honour that the Australian Academy can bestow upon an
individual is the AACTA Longford Lyell Award (this award was recently
renamed from the AACTA Raymond Longford Award in recognition of Lottie
Lyell’s contribution to the work of her partner in filmmaking and in
life, Raymond Longford).
The AACTA Longford Lyell Award went to one of Australia's most loved and respected writers and producers,
Andrew Knight. The Award was presented by Adam Zwar and Dave O’Neil, with special tributes from Eric Bana and Shaun Micallef.
Andrew Knight has written and produced vast oceans of television and
several films, across several genres, including comedy series
Fast Forward, Full Frontal and
The D-Generation (executive producer and head writer); television dramas
SeaChange (co-writer and executive producer),
After The Deluge (writer and co-producer) and
Tripping Over (writer, co-writer and executive producer); and feature films
The Water Diviner, Siam Sunset and
Spotswood (co-writer).
Andrew was co-owner of Artist Services – one of the top production
houses in Australia - subsequently purchased by Granada. He and his
shows have won over forty industry awards, including AFI Awards, Logies,
AWGIES, and SPA Awards for both his writing and producing. Andrew is
widely admired in the screen industry as an excellent collaborator and
mentor, whose talent is unique in its diversity.
TELEVISION AWARDS
Marking another strong year for Australian television, the 4th AACTA
Awards Ceremony saw a total of eight television programs recognised
across 12 television awards.
New drama
THE CODE (ABC) led the tally, receiving an impressive four awards:
Best Television Drama Series;
Best Direction in a Television Drama or Comedy (Episode 1);
Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama (Ashley Zukerman); and
Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama (Chelsie Preston Crayford – Episode 1).
Josh Thomas’s internationally acclaimed
PLEASE LIKE ME (ABC2) followed with two wins:
Best Screenplay in Television (Episode 2/07: Scroggin), and
Best Performance in a Television Comedy (
Debra Lawrance).
Working Dog Productions continued its long-time legacy of making
Award-winning comedy, beating stiff competition from other ABC
favourites including
THE MOODYS and
SHAUN MICALLEF’S MAD AS HELL, SERIES 3 to take out the
AACTA Award for Best Television Comedy Series with new comedy,
UTOPIA.
The television acting categories saw first-time AACTA Awards for all winners:
Marta Dusseldorp for
Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama (
JANET KING, ABC);
Ashley Zukerman for
Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama (THE CODE, ABC);
Eamon Farron for
Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama (CARLOTTA, ABC);
Chelsie Preston Crayford for
Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama (THE CODE, ABC);
and
Debra Lawrance for
Best Performance in a Television Comedy (
PLEASE LIKE ME, ABC2).
The AACTA Award for Best Telefeature or Mini Series went to
DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND (Foxtel - Showcase).
HAMISH & ANDY’S GAP YEAR ASIA won last year’s
AACTA Award for Best Direction in a Television Light Entertainment or Reality Series. Today, the team won the
AACTA Award for Best Light Entertainment Television Series with
HAMISH & ANDY’s GAP YEAR SOUTH AMERICA (Nine Network)
.
THE VOICE AUSTRALIA (Nine Network) was
announced as the winner of the
AACTA Award for Best Reality Television Series, overcoming tough competition from
MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA – SERIES 6 (Network Ten),
THE X FACTOR (Seven Network)
and
THE VOICE KIDS (Nine Network)
in this category.
