Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga director George Miller has shared the Australian Directors’ Guild (ADG) Award for Best Direction of a Feature Film (Budget $1.5 M or over) with Uproar pair Paul Middleditch and Hamish Bennett at Friday’s ceremony in Melbourne.
Miller’s fifth installment in the Mad Max franchise centres on the younger version of the character made famous by Charlize Theron in 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road as she is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus, played by Chris Hemsworth. Furiosa goes on to escape captivity and plot a path toward returning home and exacting revenge
Uproar also has a journey of self-discovery at its core, with protagonist 17-year-old Josh Waaka (Julian Dennison), finding his voice and embracing his community in 1981 Dunedin against the background of the South African Springboks team’s arrival in New Zealand.
Of the other narrative feature categories, Best Direction of a Feature Film (Budget under $1.5M) went to Haydn Butler for Home Kills, a dark comedy that follows a young butcher’s apprentice who gets entangled in a web of crime when she discovers a body in a meat chiller, and Natalie Bailey was awarded Best Direction of a Debut Feature for Audrey, about a young woman struggling to find her place after a personal tragedy disrupts her life.
The first of the Australian Directors’ Guild special awards, the Cecil Holmes Award, was presented to director, producer, and writer Robert Connolly in recognition of his nearly 30-year career, which has included directing The Dry and sequel Force of Nature, along with Blueback, and the upcoming The Magic Beach.
The inaugural Baz Luhrmann Pathfinder Award, celebrating a director who has carved out a unique creative path, was presented to Indigenous director Dylan River – known for helming titles such as Mystery Road: Origin and this year’s Thou Shalt Not Steal.
In congratulating this year’s winners, ADG executive director Sophie Harper said distinct voices and inclusive narratives were a recurring theme among those recognised.
“The winners demonstrate the incredible breadth of Australian directing talent, from seasoned icons to bold new voices, and the special awards for Robert Connolly and Dylan River highlight our industry’s dedication to nurturing creativity and recognising excellence at every stage of a director’s career,” she said.
The full list of winners is below:
The Esben Storm Award for Best Direction of a Children’s Series Episode
Rosemary Myers – Beep and Mort S2 E2 – Today! The Musical
Best Direction of a Comedy Series Episode
Helena Brooks – Population: 11 S1 E10 – Like Father, Like Son
Best Direction of Online Shortform
Kaius Potter – Fluff – Before The Mirror
Best Direction of Online Longform
Jessica Smith – Videoland S1 E1 & E2
Best Direction of an Interactive or Immersive Project
Logan Mucha – A Beat To Hold Back The Dawn
Best Direction of a Music Video
Mick Soiza – Semiiré: Decisions
Best Direction of Commercial Content
Sarah Hickey – Monster & Bear: The Perfect Brief
Best Direction of a Commercial Advertisement
Tim Bullock – AAMI: Athletes In The Making
Best Direction of a Student Film
Veniamin Gialouris – Gorgo
Best Direction of a Short Film
Annelise Hickey – Hafekasi
Best Direction of an Animation
Tania Vincent and Ricard Cussó – The Sloth Lane
Best Direction of a Short Documentary
Brietta Hague – Compass S39 E10 – Not In My Name
Best Direction of a Documentary Series Episode or One-Off
Serge Ou – Runn
Best Direction of a Drama Series Episode
Emma Freeman – Fake S1 E5
Best Direction of a Miniseries Episode
Bonnie Moir – Exposure S1 E5
Best Direction of a Debut Feature
Natalie Bailey – Audrey
Best Direction of a Documentary Feature
Frances Elliott and Samantha Marlowe – Renee Gracie: Fireproof
Best Direction of a Feature Film (Budget under $1.5 M)
Haydn Butler – Home Kills
Best Direction of a Feature Film (Budget $1.5 M or over)
Paul Middleditch and Hamish Bennett –Uproar
George Miller – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Cecil Holmes Award
Robert Connolly
Baz Luhrmann Pathfinder Award
Dylan River