Australian Teachers of Media Awards
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Latest Winners / Recipients (also see subcategories)v2679

Year: 2015

winner (Best Indigenous Resource) form y separately published work icon Prison Songs Shellie Morris , Casey Bennetto (composer), Kelrick Martin (director), ( dir. Kelrick Martin ) 2015 8225358 2015 single work film/TV

'Prison Songs is billed as “Australia’s first musical documentary’ where the subjects express themselves through songs written by Casey Bennetto and Indigenous singer/songwriter Shellie Morris.'

It is captivating, heartbreaking, uplifting and unique.

'Watching prisoners singing and dancing in the unforgiving surrounds of the prison walls is inspiring stuff. Most of the male and female inmates are Indigenous, adding a poignancy to the documentary. The proportion of domestic violence, alcoholism and addiction in their stories is high.'

'Inmates break into hip hop, blues, country, reggae and gospel tunes as they sing about their backgrounds and their daily toil. There are solos, duos and group numbers performed in cells, workyards, laundries -musically giving us access to the personalities behind the prison cases.' (Source: TV Tonight website)

winner (Best Short Fiction (50 minutes or less)) form y separately published work icon Karroyul Kim Scott , ( dir. Kelrick Martin ) Australia : Spear Point Productions , 2015 8733237 2015 single work film/TV

'An Aboriginal girl, lost and empty after the death of her mother, discovers her past in an unlikely place.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

winner (Best Children’s Television Program) form y separately published work icon Mako Mermaids Mako : Island of Secrets Michael Joshua , Max Dann , Chris Roache , Sam Carroll , Anthony Morris , Simon Butters , Justine Gillmer , Mark Shirrefs , Carine Chai , Gareth Calverley , Margaret Wilson , Chris Hawkshaw , ( dir. Grant Brown et. al. )agent Australia : Jonathan M. Shiff Productions , 2013-2014 6897015 2013 series - publisher film/TV young adult fantasy

'When fifteen year-old Zac goes camping on Mako Island, he has no idea his every move is being monitored by real-life mermaids Sirena, Nixie and Lyla, whose job it is to ward off trespassers. When he comes into contact with the magical waters of the Moon Pool on the night of a full moon, Zac is given a taste of Mako's powers, waking the next day to discover he has been granted fin-like feet and the power to control water…causing all sorts of trouble for Sirena, Nixie and Lyla.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 10/1/2014)

Season 2
winner (Best Documentary – Short Form (30 minutes or less)) form y separately published work icon Helen Garner’s Monkey Grip Fiona Tuomy , Liz Burke , ( dir. Fiona Tuomy ) Australia : Liz Burke Media , 2014 9532834 2014 single work film/TV

'Explores the real people and events behind Helen Garner's groundbreaking debut novel Monkey Grip and the impact it had on Australia's artistic, political and cultural identity.' (Production summary)

winner (Best Documentary – Social & Political Issues) form y separately published work icon The Redfern Story Once Upon a Time in Redfern Darlene Johnson , ( dir. Darlene Johnson ) Sydney : Samson Productions , 2014 7204376 2014 single work film/TV

'In the early '70s, Aboriginal political activism took to the stage with the first all-Indigenous theatre company, the National Black Theatre in inner-city Redfern. Against the backdrop of street protests, a group of actors and activists created a voice for their community; the theatre became a social hub where Indigenous identity could be explored. Darlene Johnson's forceful documentary features interviews with Indigenous media pioneer Lester Bostock, writer Gerry Bostock, actor Lillian Crombie, activist-academic Gary Foley, academic Marcia Langton and actors Rachael Maza, Bryan Brown and Bindi Williams.' (Source: Sydney Film Festival website)

winner (Best Documentary – Biography) form y separately published work icon Remembering the Man Eleanor Sharpe , Nick Bird , ( dir. Nick Bird et. al. )agent 2015 9234059 2015 single work film/TV

'At an exclusive Catholic boys school in Melbourne 1976, Tim Conigrave and John Caleo fell madly in love. Their passionate, tempestuous, operatic romance lasted for 16 years, facing disapproval, temptation, separation, and the looming shadow of the Grim Reaper. Their relationship has been immortalised in Conigrave's posthumous autobiography Holding the Man (now a major Australian film directed by Neil Armfield). This is the true story of how Romeo met Romeo and how first love can not only last but endure.' (Source: Screen Australia website)

winner (Best Documentary – Arts) form y separately published work icon Women He's Undressed Katherine Thomson , ( dir. Gillian Armstrong ) Australia : Damien Parer Productions , 2015 8493111 2015 single work film/TV biography

'Women He's Undressed is a cinema length documentary that explores the life of Australia's most prolific costume designer. Until now Orry-Kelly has been unacknowledged in his country of birth and pretty well forgotten in the adopted country of his greatest success. During the boom years of Hollywood he was the costume designer on an astonishing 282 motion pictures. He designed for the stars like Marilyn Munroe, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Rosalind Russell, Errol Flynn and many more of the immortals. His films included Some Like It Hot, Casablanca, An American in Paris and Now, Voyager. Orry-Kelly (Jack to his friends) won three Academy Awards and was nominated for a fourth. Orry-Kelly was Head of Warner Brothers Costume Department during the richest period of American film, the establishment of the dream factory and its effect on mass culture. He was outrageous, witty, outspoken, a drinker and uncompromising but he survived partially protected by his friendship with Jack and Ann ... Written by Damien Parer' (Publication summary)

Year: 2013

winner (Excellence in education and industry) form y separately published work icon First Footprints Bentley Dean , Martin Butler , Tania Nehme (editor), Peter Donoughue (editor), ( dir. Bentley Dean et. al. )agent Artarmon : Screen Australia , 2013 7352315 2013 film/TV

'First Footprints tells the story of the original pioneers for all humankind, a history that began in Australia tens of thousands of years before modern humans reached America or Europe. The series draws on the collective memory of Indigenous Australians, the latest archaeological discoveries and the rich record of over 30 million prehistoric painted and etched rocks. Along with evocative recreations, elegant CGI, grand landscape and a wealth of rare archival footage the series will expand our ideas. Sweeping from 60,000 years ago to 1788, each episode begins and ends with a cataclysmic event that transforms life in Australia.' (Source: TROVE)

Year: 2011

winner (Best Docudrama) form y separately published work icon Jandamarra's War Mitch Torres , ( dir. Mitch Torres ) Australia : Electric Pictures Wawili Pitjas , 2011 Z1778825 2011 single work film/TV

'Jandamarra's War is the story of an Australian Aboriginal man who should be as famous as Ned Kelly. In 1894, Jandamarra led a rebellion against invading pastoralists in defence of his people's ancient land and culture. Until his death in brutal retribution, this formidable Bunuba warrior waged a 3-year guerrilla war, earning him both the admiration of his people and international notoriety.'

Source: ABC Television (http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/abc1/201105/programs/DO0968W001D2011-05-12T203330.htm). (Sighted: 16/12/12013)

winner (Best Documentary General (presented in memory of Anna Kannava)) form y separately published work icon Murundak : Songs of Freedom Rhys Graham , Natasha Gadd , ( dir. Rhys Graham et. al. )agent Australia : Daybreak Films , 2010 Z1760751 2010 single work film/TV

' ... a feature music documentary that journeys into the heart of Aboriginal protest music following The Black Arm Band, a gathering of some of Australia's finest Indigenous musicians, as they take to the road with their songs of resistance and freedom.' (Daybreak Films website)

winner (Best Documentary Biography) form y separately published work icon Jandamarra's War Mitch Torres , ( dir. Mitch Torres ) Australia : Electric Pictures Wawili Pitjas , 2011 Z1778825 2011 single work film/TV

'Jandamarra's War is the story of an Australian Aboriginal man who should be as famous as Ned Kelly. In 1894, Jandamarra led a rebellion against invading pastoralists in defence of his people's ancient land and culture. Until his death in brutal retribution, this formidable Bunuba warrior waged a 3-year guerrilla war, earning him both the admiration of his people and international notoriety.'

Source: ABC Television (http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/abc1/201105/programs/DO0968W001D2011-05-12T203330.htm). (Sighted: 16/12/12013)

winner (ATOM Teacher's Award) John Rapsey

Year: 2010

winner (Best biography) form y separately published work icon Nothing Rhymes with Ngapartji Scott Rankin , ( dir. Suzy Bates ) Devonport : Big hArt , 2010 Z1778526 2010 single work film/TV 'Nothing Rhymes with Ngapartji, follows the journey of acclaimed Pitjantjatjara actor, Trevor Jamieson, as he returns to his traditional country to perform his hit theatre show - 'Ngapartji Ngapartji' - to an all-Indigenous audience, in the remote Australian aboriginal community of Ernabella, South Australia.
Trevor has struggled to hold onto language and culture while living away from his traditional country. 'Ngapartji Ngapartji' is a live theatre performance in two languages. But usually the audience is fluent in English not Pitjantjatjara. 2500km from the recent 5 weeks sell-out Sydney Festival season, against the magnificent backdrop of Australia's central desert Trevor is preparing to face his toughest audience yet.
The film follows the Ngapartji Ngapartji team's journey to Ernabella and performance of their acclaimed show in situ. It is terrible timing for Trevor; whose father, a central character in the stage show, passed away only weeks before. Not only does Trevor have to confront his grief in order to deliver the performance, in doing so he has to grapple with the decision to risk breaking traditional law by saying his father's name, acting the part of him, and showing footage of him as part of the show. Is Trevor going to get a knock on the head?

Trevor's family story is one of struggle & survival. Beginning in the 1950's Trevor's grandfather witnessed British atomic testing spread sickness throughout his land; the performance follows three generations of an Aboriginal family as they grapple with becoming refugees in their own country. Elders in Ernabella have their own memories of the Maralinga bombs, and Trevor knows that the Ngapartji Ngapartji show will be a potent reminder of what people have not talked about for a long time. As excitement builds amongst the company and the community about performing for an indigenous audience in Ernabella, so too the trepidation builds in Trevor, as he fears the consequences of performing a story so close to his own heart. Will Trevor's resolve be his own undoing?' Source: www.nothingrhymeswithngapartji.com/ Sighted 13/05/2011).

Year: 2008

winner form y separately published work icon Watuwal Malangur Ga Nhina (Living With Dogs) Gregory Stehle , 2008 Z1545776 2008 single work film/TV Best Indigenous Resource
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