‘Lion’ Leads Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Nominations
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts has set its nominations for Oz’s highest honors in both fields. Leading the pack of AACTA Awards nominees is Lion, the 2016 Garth Davis-directed drama that scored six Oscar nominations earlier this year, including Best Picture. While this is a film that The Weinstein Co acquired in a $12M 2014 Cannes deal, and which was championed by Harvey Weinstein throughout last awards season, it was produced by UK-Australia banner See-Saw Films. In the Cannes deal, TWC had taken world rights excluding Australia and New Zealand where Transmission released in January of this year.
The film is up for 12 AACTA Awards including Best Picture for producers Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Angie Fielder of See-Saw. Due to the release calendar, Lion actually already won two AACTA International Awards in January, one each in the Supporting categories for Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman. Both repeat with the same nominations on the Oz Academy’s home turf.
Kidman is also recognized for Top Of The Lake: China Girl — another See-Saw production which shares the distinction of being the most-nominated drama, alongside Toni Collette-starrer Blue Murder: Killer Cop, with 11 mentions each.
Elisabeth Moss too received a mention for the Top Of The Lake sequel as did director Jane Campion (see the full list of nominees below).
When Lion opened in Oz in January, it scored the biggest launch ever for an Australian indie. The film is written by Luke Davies and based on Saroo Brierley’s memoir of being lost as a child in Calcutta, his adoption by an Australian couple and his search for his biological family.
The film is co-financed by Screen Australia and was a reteam for See-Saw and TWC after 2010’s Best Picture Oscar winner The King’s Speech. The Weinstein Co has U.S. distribution rights on See-Saw’s Mary Magdalene, also directed by Garth Davis. Speculation following the recent sexual harassment and assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein and the uncertain future of TWC, is that the film ends up with another domestic distributor.
Winners of the AACTA Awards will be announced across two major events in Sydney. The Industry Luncheon takes place on December 4, and the AACTA Awards Ceremony will be held on December 6.
Here is the list of the main Film and TV categories:
FEATURE FILM
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST FILM PRESENTED BY FOXTEL
ALI’S WEDDING Sheila Jayadev, Helen Panckhurst
BERLIN SYNDROME Polly Staniford
HOUNDS OF LOVE Melissa Kelly
JASPER JONES Vincent Sheehan, David Jowsey
LION Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, Angie Fielder
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTION
ALI’S WEDDING Jeffrey Walker
BERLIN SYNDROME Cate Shortland
HOUNDS OF LOVE Ben Young
LION Garth Davis
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST LEAD ACTOR
Stephen Curry HOUNDS OF LOVE
Ewen Leslie THE BUTTERFLY TREE
Sunny Pawar LION
Osamah Sami ALI’S WEDDING
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST LEAD ACTRESS
Emma Booth HOUNDS OF LOVE
Teresa Palmer BERLIN SYNDROME
Helana Sawires ALI’S WEDDING
Sara West DON’T TELL
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Don Hany ALI’S WEDDING
Dev Patel LION
Jack Thompson DON’T TELL
Hugo Weaving JASPER JONES
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Frances Duca ALI’S WEDDING
Nicole Kidman LION
Jacqueline McKenzie DON’T TELL
Susie Porter HOUNDS OF LOVE
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST ASIAN FILM PRESENTED BY PR ASIA
BIRDSHOT Pamela L. Reyes
DANGAL Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, Siddarth Roy Kapur
I AM NOT MADAME BOVARY Wang Zhonglei, Zhou Maofei, Hu Xiaofeng
KAASAV (TURTLE) Dr. Mohan Agashe, Sunil Sukthankar, Sumitra Bhave
OUR TIME WILL COME Roger Lee, Stephen Lam, Ann Hui
PINK Shoojit Sircar, Rashmi Sharma, Ronnie Lahiri, Sheel Kumar
TRAIN TO BUSAN Lee Dong-ha
WOLF WARRIOR 2 Zhang Miao, Guang Hailong
YOUR NAME Genki Kawamura, Katsuhiro Takei, Kouichurou Itou, Yoshihiro Furusawa
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
ALI’S WEDDING Andrew Knight, Osamah Sami
THE BUTTERFLY TREE Priscilla Cameron
THE DEATH AND LIFE OF OTTO BLOOM Cris Jones
HOUNDS OF LOVE Ben Young
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BERLIN SYNDROME Shaun Grant
DON’T TELL James Greville, Ursula Cleary, Anne Brooksbank
JASPER JONES Shaun Grant, Craig Silvey
LION Luke Davies
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
HOUNDS OF LOVE Michael McDermott
JUNGLE Stefan Duscio
LION Greig Fraser
RED DOG: TRUE BLUE Geoffrey Hall
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST EDITING
AUSTRALIA DAY Nick Meyers
BERLIN SYNDROME Jack Hutchings
HOUNDS OF LOVE Merlin Eden
LION Alexandre de Franceschi
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SOUND
JASPER JONES Liam Egan, Trevor Hope, Robert Sullivan, Yulia Akerholt, James Andrews, Les Fiddess
KILLING GROUND Serge Lacroix, Cate Cahill
THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE Wayne Pashley, Rick Lisle, Fabian Sanjurgo, Michael Semanick, Gregg Landaker
LION Robert Mackenzie, Glenn Newnham, Nakul Kamte, Andrew Ramage, James Ashton, Mario Vaccaro
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE
ALI’S WEDDING Nigel Westlake
BERLIN SYNDROME Bryony Marks
THE BUTTERFLY TREE Caitlin Yeo
LION Volker Bertelmann, Dustin O’Halloran
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
BERLIN SYNDROME Melinda Doring
THE DEATH AND LIFE OF OTTO BLOOM Ben Morieson
JASPER JONES Herbert Pinter
LION Chris Kennedy
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST COSTUME DESIGN
BERLIN SYNDROME Maria Pattison
DANCE ACADEMY: THE MOVIE Tess Schofield
JASPER JONES Margot Wilson
LION Cappi Ireland
TELEVISION
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST TELEVISION DRAMA SERIES
CLEVERMAN Rosemary Blight, Sharon Lark, Ryan Griffen, Jane Allen – ABC
GLITCH Louise Fox, Tony Ayres, Julie Eckersley, Chris Oliver-Taylor – ABC
JANET KING – PLAYING ADVANTAGE Lisa Scott, Karl Zwicky, Greg Haddrick – ABC
TOP OF THE LAKE: CHINA GIRL Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, Jane Campion, Philippa Campbell, Libby Sharpe – Foxtel/BBC First
WENTWORTH Jo Porter, Pino Amenta – Foxtel/Showcase
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST TELEFEATURE OR MINI SERIES
BLUE MURDER: KILLER COP Carol Hughes, Michael Jenkins – Seven Network
SEVEN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY Amanda Higgs, Tony Ayres, Jacquelin Perske – ABC
SUNSHINE Ian Collie, Anna McLeish, Sarah Shaw – SBS
WAKE IN FRIGHT Helen Bowden, Kristian Moliere – Network Ten
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST TELEVISION COMEDY SERIES
NO ACTIVITY Chloe Rickard – Stan
ROSEHAVEN Andrew Walker, Kevin Whyte, Celia Pacquola, Luke McGregor – ABC
TRUE STORY WITH HAMISH & ANDY Tim Bartley, Andy Lee, Ryan Shelton, Andrew Walker – Nine Network
UTOPIA Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Rob Sitch, Michael Hirsh – ABC
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION SERIES
AUSTRALIAN NINJA WARRIOR Julie Ward, Mark Barlin, Sophia Mogford – Nine Network
GRUEN Wil Anderson, Nick Murray, Richard Huddleston, Polly Connolly – ABC
HARD QUIZ Chris Walker, Kevin Whyte, Charlie Pickering, Tom Gleeson – ABC
JULIA ZEMIRO’S HOME DELIVERY Damian Davis, Nick Murray, Polly Connolly, Nick Price
– ABC
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST LIFESTYLE TELEVISION PROGRAM
DESTINATION FLAVOUR SINGAPORE Erik Dwyer, Jason Franklin – SBS
GOURMET FARMER Josh Martin, Sonja Armstrong – SBS
GRAND DESIGNS AUSTRALIA Anna Gregory – Foxtel/Lifestyle
SELLING HOUSES AUSTRALIA Geoff Fitzpatrick, Duane Hatherley – Foxtel/Lifestyle
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST REALITY TELEVISION SERIES
AUSTRALIAN SURVIVOR Peter Newman, Amelia Fisk, Tim Toni, Mark Barlin – Network Ten
LITTLE BIG SHOTS Shaun Murphy, Sophia Mogford, Nick Davies – Seven Network
MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA Marty Benson, Adam Fergusson, Tim Toni – Network Ten
MY KITCHEN RULES Joe Herdman, Matt Apps – Seven Network
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST CHILDREN’S TELEVISION SERIES
LITTLE LUNCH – THE SPECIALS Robyn Butler, Wayne Hope – ABC
MUSTANGS FC Amanda Higgs, Rachel Davis – ABC Me
NOWHERE BOYS – TWO MOONS RISING Beth Frey, Tony Ayres, Michael McMahon – ABC Me
THE WILD ADVENTURES OF BLINKY BILL Barbara Stephen, Alexia Gates-Foale, Tracy Lenon – 7Two
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST LEAD ACTOR IN A TELEVISION DRAMA
David Dencik TOP OF THE LAKE: CHINA GIRL – Foxtel/BBC First
Sean Keenan WAKE IN FRIGHT – Network Ten
Richard Roxburgh BLUE MURDER: KILLER COP – Seven Network
Hugo Weaving SEVEN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY – ABC
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST LEAD ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION DRAMA
Toni Collette BLUE MURDER: KILLER COP – Seven Network
Marta Dusseldorp JANET KING – PLAYING ADVANTAGE – ABC
Elisabeth Moss TOP OF THE LAKE: CHINA GIRL – Foxtel/BBC First
Pamela Rabe WENTWORTH – Foxtel/Showcase
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TELEVISION COMEDY
Darren Gilshenan NO ACTIVITY – Stan
Debra Lawrance PLEASE LIKE ME – ABC
Celia Pacquola ROSEHAVEN – ABC
Rob Sitch UTOPIA – ABC
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST GUEST OR SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A TELEVISION DRAMA
Anthony LaPaglia SUNSHINE – SBS
Ewen Leslie TOP OF THE LAKE: CHINA GIRL – Foxtel/BBC First
Matt Nable BLUE MURDER: KILLER COP – Seven Network
David Wenham WAKE IN FRIGHT – Network Ten
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST GUEST OR SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION DRAMA
Emma Booth BLUE MURDER: KILLER COP – Seven Network
Tina Bursill DOCTOR DOCTOR – Nine Network
Andrea Demetriades SEVEN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY – ABC
Nicole Kidman TOP OF THE LAKE: CHINA GIRL – Foxtel/BBC First
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTION IN A TELEVISION DRAMA OR COMEDY
CLEVERMAN Episode 4 – Muya Leah Purcell – ABC
PLEASE LIKE ME Episode 4 – Degustation Matthew Saville – ABC
SEVEN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY Episode 2 – Alex Glendyn Ivin – ABC
TOP OF THE LAKE: CHINA GIRL Episode 5 – Who’s Your Daddy? Jane Campion – Foxtel/BBC First
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTION IN A TELEVISION LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT, LIFESTYLE OR REALITY SERIES
AUSTRALIAN NINJA WARRIOR Episode 1 Gary Deans – Nine Network
AUSTRALIAN SURVIVOR Episode 1 Richard Franc – Network Ten
JULIA ZEMIRO’S HOME DELIVERY Episode 1 – Sam Neill Damian Davis – ABC
MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA Episode 1 Richard Franc – Network Ten
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SCREENPLAY IN TELEVISION
NO ACTIVITY Episode 3 – Silent Night Trent O’Donnell – Stan
ROSEHAVEN Episode 4 Celia Pacquola, Luke McGregor – ABC
SEVEN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY Episode 2 – Alex Jacquelin Perske – ABC
UTOPIA Episode 5 – Start Up Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Rob Sitch – ABC
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN TELEVISION
BLUE MURDER: KILLER COP Episode 1– Part One Bruce Young – Seven Network
SEVEN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY Episode 1 – Joe Bonnie Elliott – ABC
TOP OF THE LAKE: CHINA GIRL Episode 5 – Who’s Your Daddy? Germain McMicking – Foxtel/BBC First
WAKE IN FRIGHT Episode 1 – Part 1 Geoffrey Hall – Network Ten
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST EDITING IN TELEVISION
BLUE MURDER: KILLER COP Episode 1 – Part One Bill Russo – Seven Network
MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA Episode 1 Toby Trappel, Karen Crespo – Network Ten
SEVEN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY Episode 1 – Joe Rodrigo Balart – ABC
UTOPIA Episode 5 – Start Up Phil Simon, Santo Cilauro – ABC
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SOUND IN TELEVISION
CLEVERMAN Episode 3 – Dark Clouds Tim Chaproniere, Emile De La Ray, Matt Stutter, Paul Brincat, Nigel Scott, Chris Sinclair – ABC
SEVEN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY Episode 1 – Joe Stephen Witherow, Justin Lloyd, Ian MacWilliams, Dan Young, Nigel Croyden, Stefan Kluka – ABC
TOP OF THE LAKE: CHINA GIRL Episode 4 – Birthday Luke Mynott, David Lee, Tony Vaccher – Foxtel/BBC First
WAKE IN FRIGHT Episode 1 – Part 1 Stephen Smith, Liam Price, Paul Brincat, Shanti Burn – Network Ten
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE IN TELEVISION
BLUE MURDER: KILLER COP Episode 1 – Part One John Gray – Seven Network
CLEVERMAN Episode 3 – Dark Clouds Samuel Scott, Conrad Wedde, Lukasz Buda – ABC
TOP OF THE LAKE: CHINA GIRL Episode 4 – Birthday Mark Bradshaw – Foxtel/BBC First
WAKE IN FRIGHT Episode 1 – Part 1 Antony Partos, Matteo Zingales – Network Ten
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN IN TELEVISION
A PLACE TO CALL HOME Episode 2 – Fallout Fiona Donovan – Foxtel/Showcase
BLUE MURDER: KILLER COP Episode 1 – Part One Murray Picknett – Seven Network
SEVEN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY Episode 1 – Joe Jo Ford – ABC
TOP OF THE LAKE: CHINA GIRL Episode 4 – Birthday Annie Beauchamp – Foxtel/BBC First
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST COSTUME DESIGN IN TELEVISION
A PLACE TO CALL HOME Episode 1 – Own Worst Enemy Lisa Meagher – Foxtel/Showcase
BLUE MURDER: KILLER COP Episode 1 – Part One Damir Peranovic – Seven Network
TOP OF THE LAKE: CHINA GIRL Episode 4 – Birthday Emily Seresin – Foxtel/BBC First
WAKE IN FRIGHT Episode 1 – Part 1 Mariot Kerr – Network Ten
DOCUMENTARY
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE LENGTH DOCUMENTARY
CASTING JONBENÉT Kitty Green, Scott Macaulay, James Schamus
DAVID STRATTON: A CINEMATIC LIFE Jo-anne McGowan
DEEP WATER: THE REAL STORY Darren Dale
WHITELEY Sue Clothier, James Bogle, Peta Ayres
ZACH’S CEREMONY Sarah Linton, Alec Doomadgee
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY TELEVISION PROGRAM
IN MY OWN WORDS Darren Dale – NITV
MAN UP Jennifer Cummins, Danielle Brigham, Jackie Turnure – ABC
SERVANT OR SLAVE Mitchell Stanley, Michaela Perske, Hetti Perkins – NITV
WAR ON WASTE Jodi Boylan – ABC
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTION IN A DOCUMENTARY
A SENSE OF SELF Bentley Dean, Martin Butler, Liz Jackson – ABC
CASTING JONBENÉT Kitty Green
DEEP WATER: THE REAL STORY Amanda Blue
WHITELEY James Bogle
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A DOCUMENTARY
BLUE Jody Muston, Jon Shaw
DEEP WATER: THE REAL STORY Simon Morris
SERVANT OR SLAVE Simon Chapman – NITV
TALES BY LIGHT Episode 3 – Life and Death Abraham Joffe – Foxtel/National Geographic
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST EDITING IN A DOCUMENTARY
BLUE Vanessa Milton
CONVICTION Terry Carlyon – ABC
THE SURGERY SHIP Episode 1 – The Power of Yes & No Orly Danon – Foxtel/Nat Geo People
WHITELEY Lawrie Silvestrin
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SOUND IN A DOCUMENTARY
BLUE David White, Dan Miau, Sarah Henty
CONVICTION Ben Banks, Keith Thomas – ABC
THE FAMILY Keith Thomas, Livia Ruzic, Mark Tarpey
WHITELEY Ric Curtin, John Simpson, Lawrie Silvestrin
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE IN A DOCUMENTARY
BLUE Ash Gibson Greig
THE FAMILY Amanda Brown
SERVANT OR SLAVE George Papanicolaou – NITV
WHITELEY Ash Gibson Greig
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