It is award season in Australia again and the time for the small number of people in the Australian film industry to come together and pat each other on the back for a mostly mediocre job well done. The most prestigious of the three major award ceremonies that occur over the next month is the L’Oreal Paris Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards. It is the ceremony that attracts big names and they like people to know that. Russell Crowe hosted last year. Who cares if he isn’t actually Australian?
This year this ceremony has snagged Australian actor Geoffrey Rush to host, a step up from last year. Pleasingly there are a few nominated films that warrant the caliber of the host. Suburban Mayhem, Kenny and Ten Canoes stand out from the rest for varying reasons and look to be the big winners of the night.
Suburban Mayhem is nominated for 11 awards but not ‘Best Film’, which is far enough. The film has particular strengths but too uneven to deserve a nod of a ‘Best Film’ nomination. The outstanding performance by lead actress Emily Barclay is the most deserving aspect of the film to snag an award. The screenplay by Alice Bell, while it has moments of sloppiness, its moments of brilliance may see it beat out the competitors for ‘Best Original Screenplay’.
Kenny is the biggest success story of the Australian film industry this year. It follows the simplistic stories of a porta-loo deliveryman, and was financed by a toilet company. Against the odds, it garnered a domestic box office total of $5 million dollars, impressive in the small film industry and for such a small production. It is one of the better Australian films of the year, unexpectedly hysterical, and the Australian Film Institute will undoubtedly be eager to acknowledge it in some way via the award ceremony.
Ten Canoes seems like the sure thing for ‘Best Film.’ The film is the first to feature dialogue entirely in an Indigenous language and, while not seen as much as Kenny, is the most impressive Australian feature of the year. They have been pushing this film for awards for a while in Australia, and I believe, with their eyes set on an Oscars nod. Beyond picking up ‘Best Film’, it is the best bet to win the award for ‘Best Cinematography’. Below are the noms excluding the television categories – the awards will be given out on the 6th and 7th of December.
L’Oreal Paris Australian Film Institute Awards nominees:
FEATURE FILM CATEGORIES
AFI AWARD FOR BEST FILM
“Candy” – Margaret Fink & Emile Sherman
“Jindabyne“- April Films & Catherine Jarman
“Kenny” – Clayton Jacobson & Rohan Timlock
“Ten Canoes” – Julie Ryan & Rolf de Heer
AFI AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTION
“Jindabyne” – Ray Lawrence
“Kenny” – Clayton Jacobson
“Suburban Mayhem” – Paul Goldman
“Ten Canoes“- Rolf de Heer & Peter Djigirr
AFI AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“2:37” – Murali K. Thalluri
“Kenny” – Shane Jacobson & Clayton Jacobson
“Suburban Mayhem” – Alice Bell
“Ten Canoes” – Rolf de Heer
AFI AWARD FOR BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“The Book of Revelation” – Ana Kokkinos & Andrew Bovell
“Candy” – Luke Davies & Neil Armfield
“ Jindabyne” – Beatrix Christian
“Last Train to Freo” – Reg Cribb
AFI AWARD FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“ Jindabyne” – David Williamson
“Macbeth” – Will Gibson
“Suburban Mayhem” – Robert Humphreys ACS
“Ten Canoes” – Ian Jones ACS
AFI AWARD FOR BEST EDITING
“Candy” – Dany Cooper ASE
“Kenny” – Clayton Jacobson & Sean Lander
“Suburban Mayhem” – Stephen Evans
“Ten Canoes” – Tania Nehme
AFI AWARD FOR BEST SOUND
“ Jindabyne“- Andrew Plain, Peter Grace, Nada Mikis, Peter Miller, Linda Murdoc & Robert Sullivan
“Macbeth” – Frank Lipson & John Wilkinson
“Suburban Mayhem” – Liam Egan, Phil Judd & Steven Jackson-Vaughan
“Ten Canoes” – James Currie, Tom Heuzenroeder, Michael Bakaloff & Rory McGregor
AFI AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE
“The Book of Revelation” – Cezary Skubiszewski
“ Jindabyne” – Paul Kelly & Dan Luscombe
“Macbeth” – John Clifford White
“Suburban Mayhem” – Mick Harvey
AFI AWARD FOR BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
“Candy” – Robert Cousins
“Macbeth” – David McKay
“Suburban Mayhem” – Nell Hanson
“Ten Canoes” – Beverley Freeman
AFI AWARD FOR BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“The Book of Revelation” – Anna Borghesi
“Kokoda” – Phill Eagles
“Macbeth” – Jane Johnston
“Suburban Mayhem” – Melinda Doring
AFI AWARD FOR BEST LEAD ACTOR
Heath Ledger – “Candy“
Gabriel Byrne – “ Jindabyne“
Shane Jacobson – “Kenny”
Steve Le Marquand – “Last Train to Freo “
AFI AWARD FOR BEST LEAD ACTRESS
Teresa Palmer – “2:37“
Abbie Cornish – “Candy“
Laura Linney – “ Jindabyne“
Emily Barclay – “Suburban Mayhem“
AFI AWARD FOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Geoffrey Rush – “Candy“
Ronald Jacobson – “Kenny”
Tom Budge – “Last Train to Freo”
Anthony Hayes – “Suburban Mayhem“
AFI AWARD FOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Noni Hazlehurst – “Candy“
Susie Porter- “The Caterpillar Wish “
Deborra-lee Furness – “ Jindabyne“
Genevieve Lemon – “Suburban Mayhem”
AFI YOUNG ACTOR AWARD
Frank Sweet – “2:37”
Marny Kennedy – “Mortified” (Nine Network)
Christian Byers – “”Opal Dream”
Mia Wasikowska – “Suburban Mayhem“
AFI AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY
“Hunt Angels” – Sue Maslin
“Raul the Terrible “- Carlos Alperin
“Vietnam Nurses” – Beth Frey & Lizzette Atkins
“Welcome 2 My Deaf World” – Sally Ingleton
AFI AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTION IN A DOCUMENTARY
“Hunt Angels” – Alec Morgan
“Raul the Terrible” – David Bradbury
“Unfolding Florence” – The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst – Gillian Armstrong
“Vietnam Nurses” – Polly Watkins
AFI AWARD FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A DOCUMENTARY
“He’s Coming South” – Steve Williams
“Hunt Angels” – Jackie Farkas
“Penicillin: The Magic Bullet” – Jaems Grant
“Transit” – Anthony Davison
AFI AWARD FOR BEST EDITING IN A DOCUMENTARY
“The Archive Project” – Uri Mizrahi
“The Black Road” – Lawrie Silvestrin
“Raul the Terrible” – Stewart Young ASE
“Vietnam Nurses” – Tony Stevens
AFI AWARD FOR BEST SOUND IN A DOCUMENTARY
“The Archive Project” – Martin Friedel, Andrew Plain, Keith Thomas & Emma Bortignon
“Rampage” – Nick Meyers
“Unfolding Florence” – The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst – Annie Breslin, Gethin Creagh, Paul Finlay & Paul Grabowsky
“Vietnam Nurses” – Livia Ruzic, Mark Tarpey, Keith Thomas & John Willsteed
AFI AWARD FOR BEST SHORT ANIMATION
“The Astronomer” – Kate McCartney
“Carnivore Reflux” – Eddie White & James Calvert
“Gargoyle” – Michael Cusack
“The Safe House” – Lee Whitmore
AFI AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FICTION FILM
“The 9:13” – Matthew Phipps
“The Desert” – Glendyn Ivin
“Small Boxes” – Rene Hernandez
“Stranded” – Stuart McDonald
AFI AWARD FOR BEST SCREENPLAY IN A SHORT FILM
“A Natural Talent” – Louise Fox
“Paper and Sand” – Matt Rubinstein & Ian Kennedy Williams
“The Safe House” – Lee Whitmore
“Stranded” – Kathleen O’Brien
AFI AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SHORT FILM SCREEN CRAFT
Adam Arkapaw (Cinematography) – “End of Town”
JoAnne Bouzianis-Sellick & Greg Sweeney (Production Design) – “Gargoyle”
Skye Wansey (Acting) – “A Natural Talent”
Emma Lung (Acting) – “Stranded”
