F.Y.I.

Mad Max and Peter Allen telemovie among top awards at AACTA Screen Craft Excellence dinner

Mad Max: Fury Road was the top performing movie at last night’s AACTA Screen Craft Excellence Awards last night, whilst Peter Allen – Not the Boy Next Door and Deadline Gallipoli took the top awards amongst the TV categories.

The announcement: 

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD scoops six film Awards; television Awards evenly spread, led by PETER ALLEN – NOT THE BOY NEXT DOOR and DEADLINE GALLIPOLI with two Awards each

All eyes were on Sydney tonight, with Australia’s top achievements in screen craft excellence from the past year celebrated at the 5th AACTA Awards presented by Presto | Industry Dinner presented by Blue Post.

Held at The Star Event Centre, 29 awards were presented, recognising the talent and innovation of practitioners working across television, documentary, short fiction film, short animation and feature film, marking the first winners to be announced for the 5th AACTA Awards season.

The Industry Dinner was hosted by award-winning actor, writer, producer Rob Carlton, who was joined on stage by presenters including Gracie Otto, Kieran Darcy-Smith, Martin Sacks, Kitty Flanagan, Tom Gleeson and Sara West, to name just a few.

The remainder of this year’s winners will be announced at the 5th AACTA Awards Ceremony presented by Presto in Sydney on Wednesday 9 December 2015, telecast at 8:30pm on Channel 7.

General public and industry tickets to the Ceremony are still available: www.aacta.org/events

FEATURE FILM

From a total of nine feature film Awards presented at the Industry Dinner, including the AACTA Award for Best Visual Effects or Animation, the clear winner tonight was MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, scooping six Awards.

The AACTA Award for Best Cinematography went to industry veteran, Oscar and BAFTA Award-winning John Seale ASC ACS, whose previous award-winning work includes THE ENGLISH PATIENT.

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD also picked up the AACTA Award for Best Sound for an outstanding ensemble of practitioners; two past Oscar winners Chris Jenkins and Gregg Rudloff were awarded with two past Oscar nominees Mark Mangini and Scott Hecker, along with David White (who holds previous AFI and AACTA Award nominations), Ben Osmo (whose AACTA Award-winning work includes THE SAPPHIRES) and Wayne Pashley (who last won an AACTA Award for his work on THE GREAT GATSBY).

Tom Holkenborg aka Junkie XL won the AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score for MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, the AACTA Award for Best Editing went to Margaret Sixel, and the AACTA Award for Best Production Design was awarded to Colin Gibson.

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD was also awarded the AACTA Award for Best Visual Effects or Animation, seeing all six winners receive their first AFI or AACTA Award nomination and win; Andrew Jackson, Holly Radcliffe, Dan Oliver, Andy Williams, Tom Wood and Fiona Crawford.

THE DRESSMAKER received one Award at tonight’s Industry Dinner, with the AACTA Award for Best Costume Design going to Marion Boyce and Margot Wilson.

The other two feature films to receive Awards at the Industry Dinner were: LAST CAB TO DARWIN, which saw Reg Cribb and Jeremy Sims awarded the AACTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay; and PAPER PLANES, with the AACTA Award for Best Original Screenplay going to Robert Connolly (who holds one previous award for Best Original Screenplay – for THE BANK) and Steve Worland (marking his first AACTA Award nomination and win).

Anticipation around which feature films will go on to be awarded at the 5th AACTA Awards Ceremony presented by Presto, telecast on Channel 7 on Wednesday 9 December, is great, with four of the five films competing for the coveted AACTA Award for Best Film presented by Presto receiving Awards today: THE DRESSMAKER; LAST CAB TO DARWIN; MAD MAX: FURY ROAD; and PAPER PLANES (the fifth film competing for Best Film is HOLDING THE MAN).

Anticipation surrounding which films will take out Awards for performance at the Ceremony is also high, with nominations spread across eight films, including LAST CAB TO DARWIN and THE DRESSMAKER which lead with four performance nominations each (including a nomination for Michael Caton for Best Lead Actor, and a Best Lead Actress nomination for Kate Winslet), and RUBEN GUTHRIE and HOLDING THE MAN with two nominations each (including Best Lead Actor nominations for Patrick Brammall and Ryan Corr).

TELEVISION & TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY

The television Awards presented in Sydney tonight at the 5th AACTA Awards presented by Presto | Industry Dinner presented by Blue Post were hotly contested, with 11 Awards spread across nine productions.

DEADLINE GALLIPOLI (FOXTEL – Showcase) and PETER ALLEN – NOT THE BOY NEXT DOOR (Seven Network) led the count with two Awards each.

Geoffrey Hall ACS received the AACTA Award for Best Cinematography in Television for DEADLINE GALLIPOLI Part 1, marking his first win following five previous AFI or AACTA Award nominations.

DEADLINE GALLPOLI, an enthralling drama which captures the horrors of World War I from the perspectives of war correspondents, also picked up the AACTA Award for Best Sound in Television, awarded to Des Kenneally, Robert Mackenzie and Justine Angus (all jointly awarded by AACTA for their previous collaboration on THE ROVER), along with Liam Price, Jed Dodge, and John Simpson (who was also previously awarded for his work with Des Kenneally on SNOWTOWN).

PETER ALLEN – NOT THE BOY NEXT DOOR picked up two Awards out of a possible five for which it was competing at tonight’s Industry Dinner. The AACTA Award for Best Direction in a Television Drama or Comedy was awarded to Shawn Seet for his work on Episode 2 (his second consecutive win in this category, following a win at the 4th AACTA Awards for THE CODE), and the AACTA Award for Best Costume Design in Television went to Jenny Miles for her work on Episode 1 (Miles also won in this category for CARLOTTA at the 4th AACTA Awards).

The ABC was the most awarded network tonight, receiving a total of eight Awards, including two Awards for its television documentaries.

The ABC consolidated its standing as the home of Australian comedy, taking every nomination in the AACTA Award for Best Performance in a Television Comedy category, with the Award going to CeliaPacquola for her performance as the smart and decisive Nat Russell on the AACTA Award-winning satirical comedy, UTOPIA.

The ABC again cemented its place as the nation’s home for children’s television, taking its fifth consecutive win for the AACTA Award for Best Children’s Television Series. The Award went to debut production READY FOR THIS (awarded to Darren Dale, Miranda Dear and Joanna Werner), staving off competition from two past winners, THE NEW ADVENTURES OF FIGARO PHO and NOWHERE BOYS SERIES 2, along with fellow newcomer LITTLE LUNCH (all ABC3).

Making its debut on the ABC this year, THE WEEKLY WITH CHARLIE PICKERING was awarded the AACTA Award for Best Light Entertainment Television Series, marking a first-time AACTA Award nomination and win for producer, writer and host Charlie Pickering and producer Chris Walker, who were awarded alongside Kevin Whyte (previously nominated for PLEASE LIKE ME) and Frank Bruzzese (who was awarded for his work on HAMISH & ANDY’S GAP YEAR SOUTH AMERICA at the 4th AACTA Awards).

The AACTA Award for Best Production Design in Television went to Herbert Pinter for THE SECRET RIVER Part 1; a captivating drama capturing the lives of early convict colonists in NSW, based on Kate Grenville’s award-winning novel. Nicholas Holmes ASE was awarded the AACTA Award for Best Editing in Television for the hard-hitting REDFERN NOW – PROMISE ME.

The AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score in Television went to Cornel Wilczek for his work on the supernatural drama GLITCH Episode 4.

The AACTA Award for Best Documentary Television Program presented by FOXTEL Movies went to the ABC’s THE KILLING SEASON by Deborah Masters and Sarah Ferguson; a gripping examination of the forces that shaped Labor during the Rudd / Gillard leadership years. Capturing the lives of those living on the Great Barrier Reef, and filmed over the course of a year, the ABC’s LIFE ON THE REEF Episode 1

picked up the AACTA Award for Best Cinematography in a Documentary for Nick Robinson and Luke Peterson (both previously awarded for their work together on KAKADU) along with Jon Shaw.

SBS received one Award tonight. The AACTA Award for Best Direction in a Television Light Entertainment or Reality Series went to Seth Larney for HIPSTERS Episode 1 – What Is A Hipster? (SBS2), marking Larney’s first AACTA Award nomination and win.

Anticipation around which television productions and performances will go on to receive Awards at the 5th AACTA Awards Ceremony presented by Presto is high. Competition within the performance categories is tightly contested, with the Seven Network’s PETER ALLEN – NOT THE BOY NEXT DOOR and the ABC’s REDFERN NOW – PROMISE ME and THE SECRET RIVER each receiving three performance nominations. A total of 10 television Awards will be announced at the Ceremony, including the coveted AACTA Award for Best Television Drama Series, which sees the ABC’s GLITCH and MISS FISHER’S MURDER MYSTERIES SERIES 3 competing with the Nine Network’s LOVE CHILD SERIES 2 and past nominee WENTWORTH SERIES 3 (FOXTEL – SoHo).

FEATURE LENGTH DOCUMENTARY

The AACTA Award for Best Feature Length Documentary went to THAT SUGAR FILM, with Nick Batzias and Damon Gameau’s exposé into the hidden, sugar-laden truth behind many ‘healthy’ foods becoming Australia’s highest-grossing documentary, excluding IMAX.

The documentary to receive the most Awards tonight was ONLY THE DEAD; a hard-hitting documentary which takes us to the brutal and confronting Iraq frontline, reminding us of the risks journalists and filmmakers take to share stories via the screen.

ONLY THE DEAD took home three awards: the AACTA Award for Best Direction in a Documentary (for Oscar winning director Bill Guttentag and Michael Ware, marking the war correspondent and journalist’s first foray into filmmaking); the AACTA Award for Best Editing in a Documentary (awarded to first-time AACTA Award winner Jane Moran); and the AACTA Award for Best Sound in a Documentary (marking a first AACTA Award win for Leah Katz, Andy Wright and Chris Goodes CAS, and a third AFI or AACTA Award for Steve Burgess).

SHERPA, which captures the 2014 Everest climbing season tragedy from the Sherpa point of view, took home the AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score in a Documentary, earning composer Antony Partos his fifth AFI or AACTA Award win since 2007.

SHORT FILM

Oscar-winner Adam Elliot (HARVIE KRUMPET) cemented his standing as one of Australia’s most talented short filmmakers and animators, receiving the AACTA Award for Best Short Animation for ERNIE BISCUIT, adding to five past AFI Awards, including for HARVIE KRUMPET and BROTHER.

The AACTA Award for Best Short Fiction Film went to emerging director, cinematographer, composer and writer Dylan River, and debut producer Tanith Glynn-Maloney (both receiving their first AACTA Award nomination and win) for NULLA NULLA; a playful comedy which portrays a white policeman’s first day on the job in an Aboriginal community, starring Wayne Blair and Khan Chittenden.

AFI | AACTA CEO Damian Trewhella said:

“Each year the AACTA Awards remind us of the breadth of screen practitioner talent Australia produces, and tonight’s Industry Dinner was no exception. As well as confirming leaders across screen crafts, with many of tonight’s winners internationally recognised industry icons and multi-AFI and AACTA Award winners, tonight we also recognised the talent of many first-time winners, whose careers will now enter an exciting new chapter having received the nation’s top screen accolade in front of our industry’s best.

“We congratulate all winners announced tonight, and look forward with great anticipation to revealing the remaining winners at the 5th AACTA Awards Ceremony presented by Presto in Sydney, home of the AACTA Awards, in an exciting new broadcast on Channel 7.”

Andrew Gee MP, NSW Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Premier, said, “It was my great pleasure to represent the NSW Government at the AACTA Awards Industry Dinner and to see the exceptional talent recognised within the Australian film and television industry. As the hub for screen production in Australia, Sydney is a fitting home for the AACTA’s and the NSW Government is proud to support the AACTA Awards through our tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW. Congratulations to each of tonight’s winners and we look forward to celebrating this important industry at the 5th AACTA Awards Ceremony next week.”

 

 

Source: Nikstar PR press release

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