Film Victoria congratulates the Victorian nominees in the 7th AACTA Awards presented by Foxtel.
Among the most-nominated films in this year’s awards is an impressive list of Film Victoria supported projects including Lion which leads the pack with an impressive 12 nominations.
The record breaking feature dominated the local box office since its release in early 2017 and earned Victorian Director Garth Davis a nomination for Best Direction. Fellow Victorians Greig Fraser, Chris Kennedy and Cappi Ireland are also up for awards for Best Cinematography, Best Production Design and Best Costume Design respectively.
Also blitzing the field in feature nominations is the heartwarming comedy Ali’s Wedding, nominated for eight awards including Best Original Screenplay by Victorians Andrew Knight and Osamah Sami who also plays the lead role.
Berlin Syndrome has earned five nominations including Best Original Screenplay by Shaun Grant and Best Original Music Score by composer Bryony Marks.
The Death and Life of Otto Bloom received two nominations including a posthumous nomination for Best Original Screenplay for writer and director Cris Jones who sadly passed away in September.
Other feature nominees include The Butterfly Tree (Best Lead Actor, Best Original Music Score) Jungle (Best Cinematography), Dance Academy: The Movie (Best Costume Design) and Red Dog: True Blue (Best Cinematography).
Victorian filmmaker Kitty Green scored two nominations for her hybrid documentary Casting JonBenet. The success of the artful exploration of the media circus surrounding the world’s most infamous child-murder case sees Kitty in the running for Best Feature Length Documentary and Best Direction.
Alongside her in the Best Direction category is Victorian Bentley Dean for his work on A Sense of Self, the powerful story of veteran reporter Liz Jackson, as she comes to terms with a devastating illness.
Rosie Jones’ The Family secured two nominations (Best Sound and Best Original Music Score), as did Conviction (Best Sound and Best Editing) in its coverage of an investigation into the murder that shocked the nation.
New television dramas hitting the screen in 2017 have proven popular with audiences. Seven Type of Ambiguity received nine nominations for its exploration of complex past and present relationships wrapped up in a psychological mystery. Nominations include Best Telefeature or Mini Series, Best Direction (Glendyn Ivin) and Best Production Design (Jo Ford).
Also nominated for Best Telefeature or Mini Series is SBS’ standout drama Sunshine, produced by Ian Collie and Anna McLeish and Sarah Shaw of Carver Films.
Wentworth continues its popularity with viewers, scoring three nominations including Best Television Drama Series. Glitch is also in the running for the award following its successful first series. In its final season, comedy, Please Like Me was awarded a nomination with Debra Lawrance up for Best Performance in a Television Comedy.
In lighter entertainment, True Story with Hamish and Andy is nominated for Best Television Comedy Series while The Katering Show is in the running for Best Online Video or Series.
In the children’s television genre, Gristmill’s Little Lunch Specials was recognised with a nomination along with Nowhere Boys – Two Moons Rising and the new tween series Mustangs FC which premiered on the ABC on the 2017 International Day of the Girl.
Victoria’s post production expertise was also recognised in nominations for Luma (Doctor Strange) and Iloura (Game of Thrones: Spoils of War).
Film Victoria CEO, Jenni Tosi said "It has been a bumper year for Victorian projects and the nominations are testament to the efforts of all involved in bringing these stories to the screen. Our congratulations to all the nominees on their outstanding work. We hope their achievements inspire others to create more fantastic Australian content."
7th AACTA Awards presented by Foxtel nominees – Film Victoria supported projects
Television
Feature
Documentary
Online
VFX / Animation