Best Film (2008-)
Subcategory of AFCA Awards AFCA Film Awards
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Notes

  • Awards not given in 2021.

Latest Winners / Recipients

Year: 2023

winner form y separately published work icon Of an Age Goran Stolevski , ( dir. Goran Stolevski ) Australia : Causeway Films , 2022 25144725 2022 single work film/TV

'It’s the summer of 1999 in blue-collar Melbourne and school is out forever. 17-year-old Serbian immigrant Kol is preparing for the Australian Dance finals when he receives a distress call from his dance partner Ebony who has woken up on a beach, in an unfamiliar town after a big night out. With the help of Ebony’s older brother Adam, they attempt to make it to the finals on time but when Kol and Adam get stuck in summer traffic on the way to collect Ebony, they discover they have more in common than expected, and over the course of the next 24 hours an unexpected and intense romance blossoms. A decade later the pair meet for a bittersweet reunion.'

Source: Screen Australia.

Year: 2022

winner form y separately published work icon The Stranger Tom Wright , ( dir. Tom Wright ) South Australia : Anonymous Content See Saw Films , 2022 24377188 2022 single work film/TV thriller

'A friendship forms between two strangers. For Henry Teague (Sean Harris), worn down by a lifetime of physical labour, this is a dream come true. His new friend Mark (Joel Edgerton) becomes his saviour and ally. However, neither is who they appear to be, each carry secrets that threaten to ruin them – and in the background, one of the nation’s largest police operations is closing in.'

Source: See Saw Films.

Year: 2020

winner form y separately published work icon The Nightingale Jennifer Kent , ( dir. Jennifer Kent ) Australia : Causeway Films , 2018 9595628 2018 single work film/TV historical fiction

'Set in 1825, Clare, a young Irish convict woman (Aisling Franciosi), chases a British officer (Sam Claflin) through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness, bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence he committed against her family. On the way she enlists the services of an Aboriginal tracker named Billy (Baykali Ganambarr), who is also marked by trauma from his own violence-filled past.'

Source: Screen Australia.

Year: 2019

winner form y separately published work icon Sweet Country Steven McGregor , David Tranter , ( dir. Warwick Thornton ) Australia : Retroflex Lateral Pty Limited , 2017 10406376 2017 single work film/TV crime thriller western

'Sweet Country is set in 1929 in the outback of the Northern Territory. It is the story of a young boy called Philomac, who witnesses Sam, an Aboriginal stockman, kill station owner Harry Marsh in self defence. Sam and his pregnant wife Lizzie go on the run and a posse pursues them across the outback. The posse cannot catch Sam, as he is a clever man and an expert bushman. Eventually for the health of his pregnant wife, Sam gives himself up. A trial is held in town and when the truth comes out in the courtroom about Sam's actions, he is acquitted. Justice has been served. Philomac and Sam set off on their journey home, but soon after leaving town, a shot rings out and Justice is crushed…' (Publication summary)

Year: 2018

winner form y separately published work icon Hounds of Love Ben Young , ( dir. Ben Young ) Australia : Factor 30 Films , 2016 9145676 2016 single work film/TV

'Teenager Vicki Maloney is abducted by sinister couple John and Evelyn White and quickly realises that she must drive a wedge between them if she is to survive. ' (Source: Screen Australia website)

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