Congratulations to the AFTRS alumni recognised with 38 nominations at the 8th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards, across 26 categories.
Notable nominations include Warwick Thornton’s (Bachelor of Arts (Film & Television) Cinematography, 1995) twin nods – Best Direction and Best Cinematography – for his Venice Film Festival Special Jury Prize-winning Sweet Country, and an unprecedented Best Lead Actor nomination for Daniel Monks (Graduate Certificate in Directing, 2009) in Pulse, his feature film debut as both actor and co-writer.
The awards will be presented in Sydney by Foxtel on 5 December, 2018. AACTA is Australia’s peak screen body, mirroring AMPAS in the United States and BAFTA in the United Kingdom.
More details on the short film nominations was reported here. A list of nominated AFTRS alumni is below. A full list of nominations can be found here.
Feature Film
AACTA Award for Best Film Presented by Foxtel
Greer Simpkin (Graduate Certificate in Business Administration (Creative Industries), 2010) for Sweet Country
AACTA Award for Best Indie Film presented by Event Cinemas
Mairi Cameron (Master of Arts (Film & Television) Directing, 1998) for The Second
AACTA Award for Best Direction
Warwick Thornton (Bachelor of Arts (Film & Television) Cinematography, 1995) for Sweet Country
AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor
Daniel Monks (Graduate Certificate in Directing, 2009) for Pulse
AACTA Award for Best Original Screenplay
Steven McGregor (Master of Arts (Film & Television) Directing, 2001) for Sweet Country
AACTA Award for Best Cinematography
Marden Dean ((Master of Arts: Film and Television Cinematography, 2008) for Breath
Warwick Thornton (Bachelor of Arts (Film & Television) Cinematography, 1995) for Sweet Country
AACTA Award for Best Editing
Nick Meyers (Specialist Extension Certificate Editing, 1991) for Sweet Country
AACTA Award for Best Sound
Liam Egan (Bachelor of Arts (Film & Television) Sound, 1986) for Cargo
Thom Kellar (Graduate Diploma in Sound, 2011) and Will Sheridan (Graduate Diploma in Location Sound, 2002) for Sweet Country
AACTA Award for Best Production Design
Felicity Abbott (Master of Arts (Film & Television) (Hons) Design, 1998) for Upgrade
Television
AACTA Award for Best Drama Series
Greer Simpkin (Graduate Certificate in Business Administration (Creative Industries), 2010) for Mystery Road
Peter Duncan (Bachelor of Arts (Film & Television) Scriptwriting, 1993) for Rake
AACTA Award for Best Telefeature or Mini Series
Christopher Lee (Specialist Extension Certificate Scriptwriting, 1983) for Friday On My Mind
AACTA Award for Best Direction in a Television Drama Or Comedy
Rachel Perkins (Specialist Extension Course Certificate Producing, 1995) for Mystery Road – Episode 4: Silence
AACTA Award for Best Direction in Nonfiction Television
Larissa Behrendt (Graduate Diploma in Screenwriting, 2012; Graduate Diploma in Documentary, 2013) for After The Apology
Aaron Smith (Master of Arts: Film and Television Cinematography, 2008) for You Can’t Ask That – Episode 1: Survivors of Sexual Assault
AACTA Award for Best Screenplay in Television
Steven McGregor (Master of Arts (Film & Television) Directing, 2001) and Timothy Lee (Master of Arts: Film, Television and Digital Media Screenwriting, 2006) for Mystery Road – Episode 5: The Waterhole
Greg Waters (Master of Arts (Film and Television) Scriptwriting, 2002) for Riot
Belinda Chayko (Bachelor of Arts (Film & Television) Scriptwriting, 1989) for Safe Harbour – Episode 1
AACTA Award for Best Editing in Television
Mark Perry (Bachelor of Arts (Film & Television) Editing, 1986) for Friday On My Mind – Part 1
AACTA Award for Best Sound in Television
Luke Mynott (Master of Arts: Film, Television and Digital Media in Sound, 2004) for Friday On My Mind – Part 1
AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score in Television
Matteo Zingales (Graduate Diploma (Film and Television) Screen Composition, 2003) for Mystery Road – Episode 4: Silence
AACTA Award for Best Production Design in Television
Pete Baxter (Specialist Extension Course Certificate Design, 1995) for Riot
Documentary
AACTA Award for Best Feature Length Documentary
Jennifer Peedom (Master of Screen Arts and Business, 2017) for Mountain
AACTA Award for Best Documentary or Factual Program
Aaron Smith (Master of Arts: Film and Television Cinematography, 2008) for You Can’t Ask That
AACTA Award for Best Cinematography in a Documentary
Hugh Miller (Master of Arts (Film & Television) Cinematography, 2002) for Ghosthunter
AACTA Award for Best Editing in a Documentary
Karen Johnson (Specialist Extension Course Certificate Editing, 1995) for Ghosthunter
AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score in a Documentary
Caitlin Yeo (Graduate Diploma in Screen Composition, 2002) for After The Apology
Short Form
AACTA Award for Best Online Video or Series
Katia Nizic (Graduate Diploma in Producing, 2012) for Homecoming Queens
Catriona McKenzie (TV Training Certificate, 1993; Specialist Extension Course Certificate in Scriptwriting, 1995; Master of Arts (Film & Television) (Hons) Directing, 2000) for Kiki and Kitty
AACTA Award for Best Short Fiction Film
Tom Noakes (Graduate Certificate: Screen Drama – Directing & Screenwriting, 2008; Graduate Diploma: Directing (Fiction & Non Fiction), 2009), Lucy Gaffy (Graduate Certificate: Screen Drama – Directing & Screenwriting, 2008; Graduate Diploma: Directing (Fiction & Non Fiction), 2009; Master of Screen Arts, 2012), and Will Goodfellow (Graduate Certificate: Screen Drama – Directing & Screenwriting, 2008; Graduate Diploma: Screenwriting, 2009; Master of Screen Arts, 2014) for Nursery Rhymes
AACTA Award for Best Short Animation
Bradley Slabe (Master of Screen Arts 2014) for Lost & Found