Australian Film Institute Awards
or AFI Awards
Subcategory of Awards Australian Awards
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

History

Begun in 1958 these awards were the highest accolade in film and television. Following the launch of Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts by the Australian Film Institute in August 2011 these awards became the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, or AACTAs.

Notes

  • The Australian Film Institute Awards were superceded in 2011 by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards.

Latest Winners / Recipients (also see subcategories)v1304

Year: 2010

winner (Best Television Drama Series) form y separately published work icon Rush Southern Star John Edwards (publisher), Christopher Lee , Todd Boland , Adam Todd , Alice Bell , Samantha Winston , Justin Monjo , Leon Ford , Jessica Redenbach , Andrew Prowse , Sam Carroll , John Ridley , Jeff Truman , Keith Thompson , Louise Fox , Tony McNamara , Kris Mrksa , Michelle Offen , John O'Brien , Tim Alexander , Shelley Birse , Kylie Needham , Steve Rodgers , Rene Zandweld , Meaghan Rodriguez , Todd Winston , David Caesar , Jonathan Gavin , Tim Dylan Lee , Vanessa Bates , Michael Boland , Ben Chessell , Raquel Stevens , ( dir. Andrew Prowse et. al. )agent 2008 Australia : Southern Star John Edwards Network Ten , 2008-2011 Z1622238 2008 series - publisher film/TV crime

'... a contemporary action drama series set in a critical incident police unit, providing an insider's view of police under pressure. Our heroes are a mobile squad trained to be smarter, tactically superior and technologically advantaged.'

Source: Australian Television website, www.australiantelevision.net (sighted 08/09/2009)

Year: 2006

winner (Best Film) form y separately published work icon Candy Luke Davies , Neil Armfield , ( dir. Neil Armfield ) Australia : Renaissance Films , 2006 6618158 2006 single work film/TV

'Based on the critically acclaimed bestseller, CANDY is the powerful story of two lovers whose intersecting lives take them on a journey of lust, addiction and self-destruction.'

Source: Screen Australia.

Year: 2004

winner (Best Australian Drama Series) Roger Simpson For Stingers.
winner (Best Original Screenplay) form y separately published work icon Somersault More Than Scarlet Cate Shortland , ( dir. Cate Shortland ) Australia : Red Carpet Productions , 2004 Z1153215 2004 single work film/TV (taught in 2 units)

'A visually haunting story of an adolescent girl's discovery of the difference between sex and love in the winter landscape of an Australian ski resort town.'

Source: Screen Australia.

winner (Best Telefeature or Mini-Series) form y separately published work icon Marking Time John Doyle , ( dir. Cherie Nowlan ) Southern Star John Edwards , 2003 Z1077214 2003 series - publisher film/TV

'MARKING TIME tells the story of Hal, a small town boy who has just left high school. The world is at his feet. He falls in love with Randa, an Afghani refugee, in a year of momentous change - from the optimistic time of the Sydney Olympics up until the post-September 11 world of a scared and divided nation.'

Source: Screen Australia.

winner (Best Screenplay (Television)) form y separately published work icon Marking Time John Doyle , ( dir. Cherie Nowlan ) Southern Star John Edwards , 2003 Z1077214 2003 series - publisher film/TV

'MARKING TIME tells the story of Hal, a small town boy who has just left high school. The world is at his feet. He falls in love with Randa, an Afghani refugee, in a year of momentous change - from the optimistic time of the Sydney Olympics up until the post-September 11 world of a scared and divided nation.'

Source: Screen Australia.

(Byron Kennedy Award) John Clarke
(Life Achievement) Pat Lovell
winner (Best Film) form y separately published work icon Somersault More Than Scarlet Cate Shortland , ( dir. Cate Shortland ) Australia : Red Carpet Productions , 2004 Z1153215 2004 single work film/TV (taught in 2 units)

'A visually haunting story of an adolescent girl's discovery of the difference between sex and love in the winter landscape of an Australian ski resort town.'

Source: Screen Australia.

winner (Best Screenplay in a Short Film) form y separately published work icon Queen of Hearts Danielle MacLean , ( dir. Danielle MacLean ) Seymour Films , 2003 Z1172115 2003 single work film/TV

Year: 2003

winner (Best Film) form y separately published work icon Japanese Story Alison Tilson , Fitzroy : Gecko Films , 2002 (Manuscript version)x401999 Z1498780 2002 single work film/TV (taught in 10 units)

'Sandy, a geologist, finds herself stuck on a field trip to the Pilbara desert with a Japanese man she finds inscrutable, annoying and decidedly arrogant. Hiromitsu's view of her is not much better. Things go from bad to worse when they become stranded in one of the most remote regions on earth. JAPANESE STORY is a journey of change and discovery for its two lead characters.'

Source: Screen Australia.

winner (Best Original Screenplay) form y separately published work icon Japanese Story Alison Tilson , Fitzroy : Gecko Films , 2002 (Manuscript version)x401999 Z1498780 2002 single work film/TV (taught in 10 units)

'Sandy, a geologist, finds herself stuck on a field trip to the Pilbara desert with a Japanese man she finds inscrutable, annoying and decidedly arrogant. Hiromitsu's view of her is not much better. Things go from bad to worse when they become stranded in one of the most remote regions on earth. JAPANESE STORY is a journey of change and discovery for its two lead characters.'

Source: Screen Australia.

Award sponsored by Parker Pens.
winner (Global Achievement Award) Geoffrey Rush
winner (Screenwriting Prize) form y separately published work icon Japanese Story Alison Tilson , Fitzroy : Gecko Films , 2002 (Manuscript version)x401999 Z1498780 2002 single work film/TV (taught in 10 units)

'Sandy, a geologist, finds herself stuck on a field trip to the Pilbara desert with a Japanese man she finds inscrutable, annoying and decidedly arrogant. Hiromitsu's view of her is not much better. Things go from bad to worse when they become stranded in one of the most remote regions on earth. JAPANESE STORY is a journey of change and discovery for its two lead characters.'

Source: Screen Australia.

Award sponsored by Harper's Bazaar

Year: 2002

winner (Best Original Screenplay) form y separately published work icon Beneath Clouds Ivan Sen , ( dir. Ivan Sen ) Sydney : Autumn Films , 2001 Z1440560 2001 single work film/TV (taught in 12 units) Blue eyed, fair skinned Lena is the daughter of an Aboriginal mother, living in a small country town. She longs for the romantic ideal of her absent father and his Irish heritage. When her home life feels set to implode, she hits the road with little money, a backpack and a photo of her dad. When Lena misses her bus to Sydney, she meets up with Vaughn, an Aboriginal teenager who has run away from a minimum-security prison in the desperate hope of reaching his ill mother. Vaughn is hardened by his anger at the world. Initially the two reluctant travelling companions are suspicious and wary of each other, but their journey, mostly by foot and the odd lift, builds an understanding between them. -- Libraries Australia

Works About this Award

Warwick's Sweet Country Is the Best 2018 single work column
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 12 December no. 691 2018; (p. 7)

'Aboriginal stories told through local film and television productions have been recognised at the 60th AACTA and AFI Awards, with Sweet Country taking out six awards in total and the top prize for Best Film.'

Reel Time : AFI Awards to Get a Facelift and a New Date Michael Bodey , 2011 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian , 1 June 2011; (p. 19)
The Australian Film Institute (AFI) will change its name and move its annual awards to January.
Box Office Winner Goes for the Big Prize James Joyce , 2010 single work column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 11 December 2010; (p. 15)
Underworld Drama Scoops Film's Top Gongs Karl Quinn , 2010 single work column
— Appears in: Sunday Canberra Times , 12 December 2010; (p. 16)
Animal Magnetism in Spades as Gangland Film Makes a Killing Karl Quinn , 2010 single work column
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 12 December 2010; (p. 3)
X