1st AACTA Awards

1st AACTA Awards
Date 15 January 2012 and
31 January 2012
Site Westin Hotel and
Sydney Opera House
Sydney, New South Wales
Hosted by No host
Produced by John Leahey (executive producer)[1]
Highlights
Best Film Red Dog
Most awards Snowtown (6)
Most nominations The Hunter (14)
Television coverage
Network Nine Network
Duration 2 hours[2]
Ratings 314,000[3]

The Inaugural Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known more commonly as the AACTA Awards, presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), honoured the best Australian and foreign films of 2011 took place on two separate events, in Sydney, New South Wales: the AACTA Awards Luncheon, on 15 January 2012, at the Westin Hotel, and the AACTA Awards Ceremony, on 31 January 2012, at the Sydney Opera House. Following the establishment of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts, by the Australian Film Institute (AFI), these awards marked the inauguration of the AACTA Awards, but served as a continuum to the AFI Awards, which were presented by the AFI since 1958.[4] The ceremony was televised on the Nine Network.

The nominees for the non-feature award categories were announced on 30 August 2011, and all other non-feature film, feature film and television nominees were announced at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) on 30 November. The Academy presented awards for achievements in foreign film, and announced the nominees at the AACTA Awards Luncheon.

Background

On 18 August 2011, the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) was established by the Australian Film Institute (AFI), to raise the profile of Australian film and television in Australia and abroad, and to change the way it rewards talent from its previous jury system, to the more recognised and understood elements of foreign film organisations.[5][6] These awards will serve as a continuum to the Australian Film Institute Awards, which were presented by the Australian Film Institute.[7] A gold statuette was created by Australian sculptor Ron Gomboc, which depicts "a human silhouette based on the shape of the Southern Cross constellation."[8] The nominees and winners were determined by the Academy's fifteen Chapters, which comprise screen professionals from industry guilds and organisations including actors, directors, producers and screenwriters, who each decide the nominees in their individual fields and then vote for the winners of each category.[5][9][10]The president of the awards is Australian actor Geoffrey Rush.[11]

Works entered between 7 October 2010 and 2 November 2011 for films, and 5 May 2010 and 24 May 2011 for short films and documentaries were eligible for awards.[12] The films in competition for the inaugural awards were revealed at the announcement of the Academy, with twenty-three Australian feature films originally slated to compete for awards, but it was eventually brought down to twenty-one, when two of the films, Burning Man and The Dragon Pearl, could no longer compete due to a change in their release dates.[13] The films were showcased at the inaugural Festival of Film from 6 October – 14 November in Sydney and Melbourne, for the general public, and for Academy and AFI members to view and judge.[14] The first nominees were announced on 30 August 2011, for non-feature film categories: Best Feature Length Documentary, Best Short Animation and Best Short Fiction Film.[15] Round one voting for feature film categories commenced on 2 November and ended on 16 November.[10] Following the announcement of the nominees on 30 November, round two voting commenced to determine the winners in each category, and ended on 14 December 2011.[10] The first award to be announced was the Longford Lyell Award, which was presented to cinematographer Don McAlpine, at the AACTA awards luncheon, and marked the first award presented by the Academy since its inception.[16] On 30 November 2011, the rest of the non-feature films, along with the entire feature film and television nominees, were announced at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney, and was hosted by Adam Elliot.[17][18] Foreign films were also recognised at the AACTA International Awards ceremony, which handed out awards for Best Film, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Actress.[19] The nominees were announced at the AACTA Awards Luncheon on 15 January 2011, in conjunction with the Australia Week Black Tie Gala, and the winners were determined by a jury.[17][20][21]

Ceremonies

The awards were presented over three separate events: the AACTA Awards Luncheon, at the Westin Hotel on 15 January 2012 and the AACTA Awards Ceremony, at the Sydney Opera House, in Sydney, New South Wales on 31 January 2012;[11][17] and on 27 January, the AACTA International Awards at Soho House, West Hollywood, Los Angeles.[22] The luncheon presented awards in film production, television, all non-feature film categories and the Longford Lyell Award; all other feature film and television awards were handed out at the ceremony; and the International awards presented accolades for films produced outside of Australia, regardless of geography.[A][23] This marks the first time in ten years since the awards have been presented in Sydney, which had been held in Melbourne previously.[11] The awards date has been shifted from its usual November/December date, to January, 2012, to align them with the international film awards season.[24] The awards ceremony was broadcast by the Nine Network.[25]

Special awards

During the AACTA Awards luncheon, special non-competitive awards were handed out to individuals for their contribution to the Australian screen industry. The Longford Lyell Award, a lifetime achievement award, was presented to Don McAlpine, for his contributions to cinematography in feature film.[26] Ivan Sen received the Byron Kennedy Award, an award given to a person in their early career, for: "his unique artistic vision and for showing us, by his resourceful multidisciplinary filmmaking, that telling stories on screen is in reach of all who have something consequential to say."[27] The Outstanding Achievement in Television Screen Craft award was given to production designer Herbert Pinter, for his work on the television series Cloudstreet (2011).[27]

Winners and nominees

Feature film

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Best Film Best Direction
Best Original Screenplay Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Lead Actor Best Lead Actress
Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actress
Best Cinematography[A] Best Editing[A]
Best Original Music Score[A] Best Sound[A]
  • Snowtown Frank Lipson, Andrew McGrath, Des Kenneally, Michael Carden,
    John Simpson and Erin McKimm
Best Production Design[A] Best Costume Design[A]
AFI Members' Choice Award[A]

Television

Best Drama Series Best Comedy Series[A]
Best Telefeature, Mini Series or Short Run Series Best Light Entertainment Series
Best Children's Television Series[A] Best Comedy Performance[A]
Best Lead Actor – Drama Best Lead Actress – Drama
Best Guest or Supporting Actor – Drama Best Guest or Supporting Actress – Drama
Best Direction Best Screenplay

Non-feature film

Best Feature Length Documentary[A] Best Documentary Under One Hour[A]
Best Short Fiction Film[A] Best Short Animation[A]
  • Adam's Tallit – Justin Olstein and Marie Maroun
  • Cropped – Bettina Hamilton and Dave Wade
  • The Palace — Kate Croser, Anthony Maras and Andros Achilleos
  • The Telegram Man — James F. Khehtie and Victoria Wharfe McIntyre
  • Forget Me Not – Emily Dean
  • The Missing Key – Garth Nix, Anna McFarlane and Jonathan Nix
  • The Moment — Justin Wight, Kristian Molière, Troy Bellchambers and Shane McNeil
  • Nullarbor — Alister Lockhart, Patrick Sarell, Katrina Mathers, Merrin Jensen and Daryl Munton
Best Documentary Series[A] Best Screenplay in a Short Film[A]
  • SAS – The Search for Warriors Julia Redwood and Ed Punchard (SBS)
    • Immigration Nation, The Secret History Of Us – Jacob Hickey, Alex West and
      Lucy Maclaren (SBS)
    • Outback Fight Club – Paul Scott and Isabel Perez (SBS)
    • Outback Kids – Mike Bluett, Mark Hamlyn and Marc Radomsky (ABC1)
Best Direction in a Documentary[A] Best Cinematography in a Documentary[A]
Best Sound in a Documentary[A] Best Editing in a Documentary[A]
  • murundak – songs of freedom Emma Bortignon, Michael Letho, Peter Smith, Christopher O'Young and Simon Walbrook
    • Jandamarra's War – Laurie Chlanda, Glenn Martin, Ric Curtin, Ash Gibson Greig and
      Petris Torres
    • Mrs Carey's Concert – Sophie Raymond, Bob Scott and Doron Kipen
    • Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure — Jonny Elk Walsh, Pete Best,
      Tom Heuzenroeder, Emma Bortignon and Scott Illingworth

Additional awards

Best Television Program[B] Best Performance[B]
Best Young Actor Best Visual Effects[A]

Films with multiple nominations

Presenters and performers

Presenters

Presenters are listed alphabetically:[1][28][29][30][31]

Performers

Daniel Henshall, Best Lead Actor winner
 
Judy Davis, Best Lead Actress winner
 
Hugo Weaving, Best Supporting Actor winner
 
Louise Harris, Best Supporting Actress winner
 

See also

Notes

A1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 : The following categories were presented at the AACTA Awards Luncheon, on 15 January 2012, before the main ceremony:[19] Longford Lyell Award, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Original Music Score, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects, AFI Members' Choice Award, Best Feature Length Documentary, Best Documentary Under One Hour, Best Direction – Documentary, Best Cinematography – Documentary, Best Editing – Documentary, Best Sound – Documentary, Best Short Fiction Film, Best Short Animation, Best Screenplay – Short Film
B1 2 : The awards for Best Television Program and Best Performance are television awards, voted for by the public.[32]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Staff (26 January 2012). "Aussie actress Mia Wasikowska lights up wonderland". Herald Sun. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  2. "AACTA Awards page on Ninemsn". Ninemsn. Nine Entertainment Co. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  3. Quinn, Karl (8 January 2013). "Ten to screen AACTA Awards, Hugh Sheridan to host". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  4. "Awarding screen excellence in Australia". Australian Film Institute. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Proposed AFI Developments". Australian Film Institute. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  6. Jimenez, Leonardo (20 July 2011). "AFI Give Go Ahead for 'Australian Academy'". Australian Film Institute. Archived from the original on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  7. "About the AACTA Awards". Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts.
  8. "The Story of the Statuette". Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts. (AACTA).
  9. "AACTA Honorary Council" (PDF). Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  10. 1 2 3 "AACTA – The Awards – Voting". Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  11. 1 2 3 Fulton, Adam (19 August 2011). "AFI is recast with new academy taking a bow". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  12. "2011 ENTRY FEES, DEADLINES & ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA". Australian Film Institute. (AFI). Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  13. "Feature Films In Competition". Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts. (AACTA). Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  14. "Festival of Film – Judges handbook" (PDF). Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  15. Bodey, Michael (31 August 2011). "First nominees announced for new awards". The Australian. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  16. "Raymond Longford Award". Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). Archived from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  17. 1 2 3 "AACTA – The Awards – Dates". Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  18. "AACTA – Events". Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  19. 1 2 "AACTA Awards Presentation – Breakdown" (PDF). Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  20. Maddox, Gary (1 December 2011). "And the winner is ... the AFI". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  21. "AACTA International Award Nominees" (PDF). Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). 15 January 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  22. Christy Grosz (27 January 2012). "Australian Academy lauds 'Artist'". Variety. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  23. "AACTA – AACTA Awards Presented" (PDF). Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  24. Westwood, Matthew (19 August 2011). "Geoffrey Rush at the helm for Aussie Oscars". The Australian.
  25. "Australian Academy New 'Stamp of Success' For Screen Leaders". Film Ink. 24 August 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  26. Adam Fulton (23 November 2011). "Cinematographer in the frame for highest honour". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  27. 1 2 Brendan Swift (15 January 2012). "AACTA unveils first round of awards". Inside Film. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  28. 1 2 Johnson, Neala (19 January 2012). "A different approach for AACTA Awards". Herald Sun. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  29. "AACTA confirms award presenters". Encore. Focal Attractions. 19 January 2012. Archived from the original on 21 January 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  30. Johnson, Neala (19 January 2012). "The Samsung AACTA Awards will be going ahead without a host.". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  31. "Aussie Oscars are a star turn". The Daily Telegraph. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  32. "Vote for the AACTA award winners". AdelaideNow. The Advertiser. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
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