Writing and film award recipients were celebrated at the Overlook, Astor Theatre on Tuesday, March 7, 2017. Girl Asleep, Goldstone and The Daughter shared the honours for the AFCA Film Awards voted on by over 70 professional film critics Australia-wide. Girl Asleep unexpectedly scooped Best Film, with the remaining awards shared between Ivan Sen’s outback noir, Goldstone and Simon Stone’s The Daughter.
WRITING AWARDS
Key industry figures externally judged the writing awards –Michelle Carey (Creative Director Melbourne International Film Festival), Alan Finney (Chair of the Australian Film Institute (AFI) | AACTA), Richard Sowada (Festival Director of St Kilda Film Festival and Revelation Perth International Film Festival), Dr. Diana Sanders (Honorary Fellow – School of Culture and Communication, The University of Melbourne).
THE IVAN HUTCHINSON AWARD FOR BEST LONG-FORM WRITING
Winner: Adrian Danks for South of Ealing: recasting a British studio’s antipodean escapade
AWARD FOR BEST REVIEW OF AN INDIVIDUAL AUSTRALIAN FILM
Winner: Lauren Carroll Harris for Joe Cinque’s Consolation: Too much Helen or not enough
AWARD FOR BEST REVIEW OF AN INDIVIDUAL NON-AUSTRALIAN FILM
Winner: Ivan Cercina for No Home Movie
FILM AWARDS
BEST FILM
Girl Asleep
Down Under
Goldstone
Hacksaw Ridge
Pawno
WINNER: Girl Asleep
BEST DIRECTOR
Ivan Sen – Goldstone
Mel Gibson – Hacksaw Ridge
Rosemary Myers – Girl Asleep
Simon Stone – The Daughter
Nicholas Verso – Boys In The Trees
WINNER: Ivan Sen for Goldstone
BEST ACTOR
Aaron Pederson – Goldstone
John Brumpton – Pawno
Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge
Anthony La Paglia – A Month of Sundays
Ewen Leslie – The Daughter
WINNER: Aaron Pederson for Goldstone
BEST ACTRESS
Odessa Young – The Daughter
Suzanne Clement – Early Winter
Maggie Nouri – Joe Cinque’s Consolation
Teresa Palmer – Hacksaw Ridge
Bethany Whitmore – Girl Asleep
WINNER: Odessa Young for The Daughter
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sam Neill – The Daughter
Harrison Feldman – Girl Asleep
Vince Vaughn – Hacksaw Ridge
David Gulpilil – Goldstone
Hugo Weaving – Hacksaw Ridge
John Clarke – A Month of Sundays
WINNER: Sam Neill for The Daughter
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jacki Weaver – Goldstone
Amber McMahon – Girl Asleep
Julia Blake – A Month of Sundays
Miranda Otto – The Daughter
Kerry Fox – Downriver
WINNER: Jacki Weaver for Goldstone
BEST SCREENPLAY
Simon Stone – The Daughter
Damian Hill – Pawno
Grant Scicluna – Downriver
Ivan Sen – Goldstone
Matthew Whittet – Girl Asleep
WINNER: Simon Stone for The Daughter
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ivan Sen – Goldstone
Simon Duggan – Hacksaw Ridge
Bonnie Elliott – Spear
Renan Ozturk, Hugh Miller, Ken Sauls – Sherpa
Geoffrey Hall – Red Dog: True Blue
WINNER: Ivan Sen for Goldstone
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Local or International)
Sherpa
Chasing Asylum
Remembering the Man
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week The Touring Years
Weiner
WINNER: Sherpa
INTERNATIONAL CATEGORIES (IN ENGLISH)
Arrival
Hell or High Water
I, Daniel Blake
La La Land
Nocturnal Animals
WINNER: Arrival
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Mustang
Elle
Embrace of the Serpent
Julieta
Son of Saul
WINNER: Mustang