AFTRS is thrilled to see short film Gorgo win Best Short Film at the 2025 AACTA Industry Gala on the Gold Coast on Wednesday night. It is a groundbreaking win for the Master of Arts: Screen production in such a prominent category, and adds to the celebration of AFTRS students and alumni taking home a total of nine awards across four categories.
The 2025 AACTA Industry Awards Gala, hosted by Stephen Curry, kicked off a five-day celebration of the Australian screen industry at the Home of the Arts (HOTA), providing an inclusive, engaging forum to create, shape, share, discuss and recognise outstanding screen content. The Wednesday event was followed by the AACTA Awards Ceremony on Friday, hosted by AACTA President Russell Crowe.
Gorgo – written by Danielle Stamoulos, directed by Veniamin Gialouris and produced by Katie Amos – tells the story of Medousa, an arranged Greek bride bound for Australia, who discovers a monstrous secret that threatens to tear apart her best friend’s promise of sisterhood.
Lyn Norfor, AFTRS Director of Production and Technology, said: “This award is a fantastic achievement for Ven, Danielle and the Gorgo team. The film is a poignant story about a young Greek woman’s cross-continental journey to Australia in the 1950s for a pre-arranged marriage, beautifully told and realised with a high level of collaborative creativity. AFTRS offers our heartfelt congratulations to the whole team.”
Alum and director Veniamin Gialouris said, “Gorgo was born out of a desire to honour the generations that came before us — their struggles, their resilience, and the histories we carry with us. It’s such a personal and culturally specific film and to see it recognised like this is overwhelming. This film wouldn’t exist without the talent, bravery and dedication of our extraordinary team, and I’m endlessly grateful to them. A huge thank you to AACTA for giving a platform for emerging talent to showcase their work, and to the AFTRS staff and students for their guidance and support.”
The Gorgo production team brought a spirit of collaboration to the set, reflecting the film’s themes of sisterhood and solidarity. Danielle Stamoulos, an AFTRS alum and writer, stars as Medusa in the film, and is currently nominated for Best Performance at the Stellar Short Film Festival.
Danielle said, “This has been the most overwhelming and magnificent win for us. For me, the true joy was the opportunity to be able to make the film with the most incredible team, passionate about shedding more light on Greek cultural stories. Then the AACTA nomination itself was another joy, and now with this official win for Best Australian Short is the complete icing on the cake. Thank you to the Australian film industry and to the AACTAs for believing in us and our grandmothers’ stories. Thank you to the audiences all around for voting and for seeing the soul and power behind Gorgo.”
The short has received critical acclaim, including the Australian Directors Guild’s Best Direction for a Student Film awarded to Veniamin Gialouris, and Flickerfest’s Avid Award for Best Original Music in an Australian Short Film awarded to Sam Weiss. Gorgo has also been well received in the festival circuit with its world premiere at Flickerfest and screenings at Saint Tropez Antipodes Film Festival, Santa Barbara International Film Festival, St Kilda Film Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival and Canberra Short Film Festival.
Birdeater – written and directed by Jack Clark and Jim Weir – took home the AACTA Award for Best Indie Film. In Birdeater, a bride-to-be is invited to her own fiancé’s buck’s party, but when uncomfortable details about their relationship are exposed, the night takes a feral turn.
“Feral” is every film critic’s favourite word when describing the independent feature, as the film’s plot and performances stay with the audience long after the film’s ending. The film was co-written and directed by Jack and Jim and produced by a crew nearly entirely formed by the class of 2018 Bachelor of Arts: Screen Production —Jack and Jim’s cohort.
Birdeater had its world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival in June 2023, filling up theatres and winning the GIO Audience Award for Best Australian Narrative Feature. It also screened at the 2023 Melbourne and Brisbane International Film Festivals and at SXSW in Austin, Texas, in 2024.
Jack Clark, co-writer and co-director with Jim Weir said, “We’re over the moon. It’s such a sweet end to what’s been years of dedication from friends, family and fellow AFTRS grads, most of whom had never been on a feature before. We can’t wait to do it all again.”
The synergy created when working with like-minded collaborators enables powerful storytelling to surface and celebrate the AFTRS community and approach to filmmaking fostered at the School.
In a big night for AFTRS, more alumni were recognised for their contribution to screen, with four awards across the television and documentary categories.
In television, AFTRS alumni Joff Bush, Daniel O’Brien, Jazz Darcy and Joseph Twist were awarded the AACTA for Best Original Score in Television with the Bluey; while Mark Perry was recognised for Best Editing in Television with Boy Swallows Universe (Episode 4).
In the documentary category, Mozart’s Sister took home the Best Original Score award, as well as the Best Sound in a Documentary award, celebrating the work of AFTRS alum and composer Jessica Wells. AFTRS alum Madeleine Hetherton directed and co-produced the feature documentary which was produced by Media Stockade, founded by Madeleine and fellow alum Rebecca Barry.
At the AACTA Awards ceremony hosted Friday at HOTA, the celebration of screen excellence across film, documentary, short film, television, online, visual effects and animation continued with AFTRS alumni being recognised in film, television and documentary.
AFTRS alum Yulia Akerholt and the sound team behind Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, were awarded the AACTA for Best Sound in Film; Yulia worked with Robert Mackenzie, Ben Osmo, James Ashton, Jessica Meier and Tom Holkenborg on the film that took home five awards, including Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design and Best Hair and Make Up.
In television, AFTRS alum Sally Browning was awarded the AACTA for Best Direction in Nonfiction for Muster Dogs, with Monica O’Brien; while AFTRS alum Hannah Carroll Chapman was awarded the AACTA for Best Drama Series with Heartbreak High executive producers Carly Heaton and Sarah Freeman.
Last year, Hannah joined AFTRS’ Class of 2023 to celebrate the completion of their studies at the School’s official Graduation Ceremony. During her Alumni Commencement Address she said, “I’ve found that the best stories that you will tell, will be ones that are linked to you intrinsically. Those are the ones that will sing. those will be the images and sounds and ideas that capture an audience because truth has a way about it, authenticity has a way about it, that makes people sit up and listen. Have adventures in your own life, then make them into something.”
In the documentary category, alum, writer and editor Karen Johnson’s work was recognised with the AACTA for Best Documentary for Otto by Otto, directed by Gracie Otto and produced by Cody Greenwood and Nicole O’Donohue.
The week-long celebration included the AACTA festival, packed with informative sessions, hands-on workshops, exclusive screening and special events, providing a first-row view of what it means to work in the screen sector. Our welcoming admissions team answered questions about career paths for future filmmakers at the AACTA Screen Careers Expo and in conversation with emerging and established industry professionals at the ‘Breaking into the Screen Industry’ talk. Read more about AFTRS at the AACTA festival.
Congratulations to all the winners and nominees at the 2025 AACTA awards. Find more about the 2025 AACTA Awards here.
Photography by Chris Hyde, Mackenzie Sweetnam/Getty Images for AFI
2025 AACTA Awards
- Film
AACTA Award for Best Indie Film: Birdeater – Jack Clark (Dir.), Jim Weir (Dir.), Ulysses Oliver, Stephanie Troost – Breathless Films and Fax Machine
AACTA Award for Best Sound in Film: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Robert Mackenzie, Ben Osmo, James Ashton, Yulia Akerholt, Jessica Meier, Tom Holkenborg
- Television
AACTA Award for Best Original Score in Television: Bluey – Episode 2 – Joff Bush, Daniel O’Brien, Jazz Darcy, Joseph Twist
AACTA Award for Best Editing in Television: Boy Swallows Universe – Episode 4 – Mark Perry
AACTA Award for Best Drama Series: Heartbreak High – Carly Heaton, Sarah Freeman, Hannah Carroll Chapman – Fremantle Australia (Netflix)
AACTA Award for Best Direction in Nonfiction Television: Muster Dogs – Episode 3 – Sally Browning, Monica O’Brien
- Documentary
AACTA Award for Best Original Score in a Documentary: Mozart’s Sister – Jessica Wells
AACTA Award for Best Documentary: Otto by Otto – Gracie Otto (Dir.), Cody Greenwood, Nicole O’Donohue, – Rush Films & Wildflower Films
- Short Film
AACTA Award for Best Short Film: Gorgo – Katie Amos, Veniamin Gialouris (Dir.), Katie Amos, Danielle Stamoulos – Australian Film, Television and Radio School
Gorgo
Writer – Danielle Stamoulos
Director – Veniamin Gialouris
Producer – Katie Amos
Cinematographer – Petra Leslie
Production Design – Emily Jansz
Costume Design – Merette Boutros
Editor – Sam Grammer
Sound Supervision – Andrew Thomas Dean
Original Music – Samuel Weiss
CAST
Danielle Stamoulos
Ariadne Sgouros
Damien Strouthos
Jeremy Raftos
Chris Stamoulos
Maria Panagis
Alex Pantazes
John Daviskas
Zois Patelis
