The 2014 Australian Film Critics Association Film & Writing Awards were held at ACMI on Saturday, March 1st, where the evening was hosted by actor-comedian Ben McKenzie. McKenzie charmed the association with a self-penned review of Uwe Boll’s “Alone In The Dark,” hoping to secure membership. Ivan Sen’s outback noir, Mystery Road, swept through the major categories, with the film’s star, Aaron Pedersen, present to accept all the awards.
WRITING AWARDS
Key industry figures externally judged the writing awards –Kristian Connelly (General Manager, Cinema Nova), Paul Harris (Film Critic, Host of RRR’s Film Buff’s Forecast, Director of St Kilda Film Festival), Jan Epstein (Film Critic and former Chair of AFCA), and Alan Finney (Chair of the Australian Film Institute (AFI) / AACTA).
THE IVAN HUTCHINSON AWARD FOR BEST LONG-FORM WRITING
Winner: Glenn Dunks for “Launching The Rocket: Beyond The Typical Australian Film”
AWARD FOR WRITING ON NON-AUSTRALIAN CINEMA
Winner: Scott MacLeod for “Through The Mind: Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master”
AWARD FOR BEST REVIEW OF AN INDIVIDUAL AUSTRALIAN FILM
Winner: Simon Miraudo for “The Great Gatsby”
AWARD FOR BEST REVIEW OF AN INDIVIDUAL NON-AUSTRALIAN FILM
Winner: Simon Di Berardino for “To The Wonder”
FILM AWARDS
BEST FILM
Mystery Road
The Great Gatsby
The Railway Man
The Rocket
The Turning
WINNER: Mystery Road
BEST DIRECTOR
Ivan Sen – Mystery Road
Baz Luhrmann – The Great Gatsby
Catriona McKenzie – Satellite Boy
Kim Mordaunt – The Rocket
Jonathan Teplitzky – The Railway Man
WINNER: Ivan Sen for Mystery Road
BEST ACTOR
Aaron Pedersen – Mystery Road
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Great Gatsby
Sitthiphon Disamoe – The Rocket
Colin Firth – The Railway Man
Damon Herriman – 100 Bloody Acres
WINNER: Aaron Pedersen for Mystery Road
BEST ACTRESS
Nicole Kidman – The Railway Man
Anna McGahan – 100 Bloody Acres
Carey Mulligan – The Great Gatsby
Sharni Vinson – Patrick
Naomi Watts – Adoration
WINNER: Nicole Kidman for The Railway Man
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Hugo Weaving – Mystery Road
Charles Dance – Patrick
Joel Edgerton – The Great Gatsby
Thep Phongam – The Rocket
Angus Sampson – 100 Bloody Acres
WINNER: Hugo Weaving for Mystery Road
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Rose Byrne – The Turning
Elizabeth Debicki – The Great Gatsby
Isla Fisher – The Great Gatsby
Loungnam Kaosainam – The Rocket
Tasma Walton – Mystery Road
WINNER: Rose Byrne for The Turning
BEST SCREENPLAY
Ivan Sen – Mystery Road
Colin & Cameron Cairnes – 100 Bloody Acres
Frank Cottrell Boyce and Andy Patterson – The Railway Man
Kim Mordaunt – The Rocket
Various – The Turning
WINNER: Ivan Sen for Mystery Road
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ivan Sen – Mystery Road
Simon Duggan – The Great Gatsby
Garry Phillips – The Railway Man
Andrew Commis – The Rocket
Various – The Turning
WINNER: Ivan Sen for Mystery Road
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Local or International)
Stories We Tell
20 Feet From Stardom
The Act Of Killing
Blackfish
The Gatekeepers
WINNER: Stories We Tell
INTERNATIONAL CATEGORIES (IN ENGLISH)
Django Unchained
Frances Ha
Gravity
The Place Beyond The Pines
Upstream Color
WINNER: Django Unchained
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Amour
Blancanieves
The Hunt
No
Stranger By The Lake
WINNER: Amour