‘Stateless’ and ‘Babyteeth’ Dominate Australian Academy Awards
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Cate Blanchett-produced mini series “Stateless” and Shannon Murphy’s feature film directing debut “Babyteeth” dominated proceedings at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA Awards).
At a ceremony on Monday night at The Star in Sydney, immigration drama “Stateless” grabbed 13 awards including best telefeature or miniseries, best screenplay in television and all four acting awards across television drama. Outback detective series, “Mystery Road” was named best drama. In film, “Babyteeth” received nine awards on Monday including best film and best direction for Murphy.
Neither Russell Crowe, recently named as president of AACTA, nor Nicole Kidman, appointed as VP, were able to attend. Crowe however sent a video message that encouraged ambition, spoke of green shoots both after the wildfires and the COVID crisis, and hope that the recent production sector recovery can be made sustainable.
“I want to encourage the federal government to use this time to set a platform so this rise in production can be facilitated to continue. Given the right support, the screen industry can be used as a powerful driver of economic recovery,” Crowe said.
The results on Monday were closely aligned with the AACTA Industry awards presented on Friday in a wider selection of craft categories. Then “Stateless” picked up six AACTA Industry prizes, and “Babyteeth” two.
While Australia-China political relations currently plumb new depths, AACTA gave two prizes to Chinese films. “Better Days” was named best Asian film, and “The Eight Hundred” won for best VFX, much of which was provided by Australian firm Rising Sun.
The Byron Kennedy Award was also presented, recognizing the impact of Australian low-budget genre filmmaking. Jennifer Kent, director of 2014 breakout “The Babadook,” was named the winner.
Steve Bedwell, Bryan Cockerill and Geraldine Coy jointly received the inaugural AACTA Reg Grundy Award, established to support new voices in screen entertainment and fast track original productions. Their prize was $35,000 (A$50,000) of cash and development funds to create for their television entertainment concept, “Seven Pups.”
AACTA Awards 2020 winners:
Best Telefeature or Mini Series: “Stateless”
Best Reality Program: “Masterchef Australia”
Best Entertainment Program: “Have You Been Paying Attention?”
Best Lifestyle Program: “The Living Room”
Best Online Entertainment: “The Norris Nuts”
Best Online Drama or Comedy: “Love In Lockdown”
Best Children’s Program: “Bluey”
Best Comedy Entertainment Program: “Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell”
Best Drama Series: “Mystery Road”
Best Comedy Series: “Upright”
Best Factual Entertainment Program: “Gogglebox Australia”
Best Documentary or Factual Program: “Murder in The Outback: The Falconio And Less Mystery”
Subscription Television Award for Best Presenter: Rebel Wilson (“LOL: Last One Laughing Australia”)
Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama: Fayssal Bazzi (“Stateless”)
Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama: Yvonne Strahovski (“Stateless”)
Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama: Darren Gilshenan (“Stateless”)
Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama: Cate Blanchett (“Stateless”)
Best Screenplay in Television: Elise McCredie (“Stateless”)
Best Direction in a TV Drama or Comedy: Emma Freeman (“Stateless”)
Best Comedy Performer: Tim Minchin (“Upright”)
Best Film: “Babyteeth”
Best Indie Film: “Standing Up For Sunny”
Best Asian Film: “Better Days”
Best Documentary: “Firestarter – The Story of Bangarra”
Best Screenplay in Film: Rita Kalnejais (“Babyteeth”)
Best Direction in Film: Shannon Murphy (“Babyteeth”)
Best Lead Actor in Film: Toby Wallace (“Babyteeth”)
Best Lead Actress in Film: Eliza Scanlen (“Babyteeth”)
Best Supporting Actor in Film: Ben Mendelsohn (“Babyteeth”)
Best Supporting Actress in Film: Essie Davis (“Babyteeth”)
Best Short Film: “The Mirror”
Best VFX or Animation: “The Eight Hundred”
AACTA Industry Awards 2020:
Best Casting: Kirsty McGregor, Stevie Ray (“Babyteeth”)
Best Cinematography: Stefan Duscio (“The Invisible Man”)
Best Cinematography in a Documentary: Nick Robinson, Jon Shaw, Caspar Mazzotti, Cam Batten (“Australia’s Ocean Odyssey: A Journey Down the East Australian Current Episode 1: The Tropics”)
Best Cinematography in Television: Bonnie Elliott (“Stateless Episode 1 – The Circumstances in Which They Come”)
Best Costume Design: Alice Babidge (“True History of the Kelly Gang”)
Best Costume Design in Television: Mariot Kerr (“Stateless Episode 1 – The Circumstances in Which They Come”)
Best Direction in Nonfiction Television: Larissa Behrendt (“Maralinga Tjarutja”)
Best Editing: Andy Canny (“The Invisible Man”)
Best Editing in a Documentary: Daniela Raulli (“Can Art Stop A Bullet: William Kelly’s Big Picture”)
Best Editing in Television: Mark Atkin (“Stateless Episode 1 – The Circumstances in Which They Come”)
Best Hair and Makeup: Kirsten Veysey (“True History of the Kelly Gang”)
Best Original Score: Amanda Brown (“Babyteeth”)
Best Original Score in a Documentary: Amanda Brown (“Brazen Hussies”)
Best Original Score in Television: Cornel Wilczek (“Stateless Episode 6 – The Seventh”)
Best Production Design: Karen Murphy, Rebecca Cohen (“True History of the Kelly Gang”)
Best Production Design in Television: Melinda Doring (“Stateless Episode 1 – The Circumstances in Which They Come”)
Best Sound: P.K Hooker, Will Files, Paul “Salty” Brincat (“The Invisible Man”)
Best Sound in a Documentary: Emma Bortignon, Paul Shanahan, David Williams, Gemma Stack (“Suzi Q”)
Best Sound in Television: Tom Heuzenroeder, Pete Smith, Michael Darren, Des Kenneally (“Stateless Episode 1 – The Circumstances in Which They Come”).
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