AACTA has unveiled the final set of nominees for its upcoming awards, including the craft categories in television and documentary, as well as those up for the VFX, casting and Best Asian Film awards.
Leading the charge in television is Matchbox Pictures/Dirty Films’ Stateless, which notched another 11 nominations today, taking its overall tally to 18.
Fellow ABC series Mystery Road, produced by Bunya Productions, follows with a total of 14 nominations.
Stateless helmers Emma Freeman and Jocelyn Moorhouse are both nominated for Best Direction in A Television Drama or Comedy. They will vie against Mystery Road‘s Wayne Blair and Warwick Thornton, and Simon Francis, who shot Anne Edmond’s Amazon stand-up special.
Thornton is a double nominee, also garnering recognition for his cinematography on Mystery Road, up against Marden Dean for The Commons; Martin McGrath for Operation Buffalo, and Bonnie Elliott for Stateless.
Nominated in the TV screenplay category are Mystery Road‘s Kodie Bedford, First Day‘s Julie Kalceff, Operation Buffalo‘s Peter Duncan, The Commons‘ Shelley Birse and Stateless‘ Elise McCredie.
Editors Mark Atkin and Martin Connor each score nominations for episodes of Stateless, to sqaure off against Mark Perry for Operation Buffalo, Nicholas Holmes for Mystery Road and Deborah Peart and James Manché for The Secrets She Keeps.
Composer Antony Partos earns his sixth AACTA nomination of the decade for his score on Operation Buffalo, vying against Stateless‘ Cornel Wilczek, Rosehaven‘s Kit Warhurst, Bluey‘s Joff Bush and siblings Diego, Nora and Lionel Baldenweg, nominated for Itch.
In documentary, a number of projects lead with three nominations each. They include Maralinga Tjarutja, Australia’s Ocean Odyssey: A Journey Down the East Australian Current; The Test: A New Era For Australia’s Team; Brazen Hussies, and Firestarter – The Story of Bangarra.
In visual effects, Cutting Edge has been nominated for its work on Leigh Whannell’s Sydney-shot thriller The Invisible Man. Rising Sun Pictures garnered two nods for its work on the Oscar-nominated Ford V Ferrari and Chinese blockbuster The Eight Hundred, and ditto for Method Studios, recognised for its work on It Chapter 2 and Jumanji: The Next Level.
Casting director Nikki Barrett will look to back up last year’s win with two nominations in the casting category for True History of the Kelly Gang and I Am Woman. Also nominated are Allison Meadows for Stateless, Jane Norris for H is for Happiness, and Kirsty McGregor and Stevie Ray for Babyteeth.
Nine features will compete for Best Asian Film. From China, they include Guan Hu’s war epic The Eight Hundred, the highest grossing film globally this year; Kwok Cheung Tsang’s Better Day and Diao Yinan’s Palme d’Or nominated The Wild Goose Chase.
From India nominees include Anubhav Sinha’s Thappad; Meghna Gulzar’s Chhapaak; and Hitesh Kewalya and Rohit Sharma’s Shubh Mangal Zyda Saavdhad.
Also nominated are two Korean titles Train to Busan sequel Peninsula, from Yeon Sang-ho, and Kim Yong-hoon’s Beasts Clawing at Straws, and Japanese film First Love, from Takashi Miike.
“Despite this challenging year, the number of productions nominated across a record number of Awards shows the resilience and ingenuity of the Australian industry in finding ways to continue to work, creating the outstanding content that our audiences needed more than ever before,” said AACTA CEO Damian Trewhella.
The AACTA Industry Awards (previously the Industry Luncheon) will be held November 27 online, while the usual Ceremony will be held at The Star Sydney over two consecutive sittings November 30.
Highlights from the two ceremonies will be broadcast on Channel Seven on December 2.
This year the academy will also run a free online festival during the week of the awards, dubbed Screenfest. The full program is here.
The complete list of nominees announced today:
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTION IN A TELEVISION DRAMA OR COMEDY
- AUSTRALIAN AMAZON ORIGINAL STAND-UP SPECIALS Anne Edmonds: What’s Wrong With You Simon Francis
- MYSTERY ROAD Episode 4– Broken Wayne Blair
- MYSTERY ROAD Episode 6 – What You Do Now Warwick Thornton
- STATELESS Episode 1 – The Circumstances in Which They Come Emma Freeman
- STATELESS Episode 6 – The Seventh Jocelyn Moorhouse
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SCREENPLAY IN TELEVISION
- THE COMMONS Episode 1 Shelley Birse
- FIRST DAY Episode 1 Julie Kalceff
- MYSTERY ROAD Episode 4 – Broken Kodie Bedford
- OPERATION BUFFALO Episode 4 Peter Duncan
- STATELESS Episode 1 – The Circumstances in Which They Come Elise McCredie
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SUBSCRIPTION TELEVISION PRESENTER
- Shaynna Blaze SELLING HOUSES AUSTRALIA
- Deborah Hutton FIND ME A BEACH HOUSE
- Tyson Mayr BEAR KOALA HERO
- Rebel Wilson LOL: LAST ONE LAUGHING AUSTRALIA
- Andrew Winter SELLING HOUSES AUSTRALIA /LOVE IT OR LIST IT AUSTRALIA
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTION IN NONFICTION TELEVISION
- AUSTRALIA’S OCEAN ODYSSEY: A JOURNEY DOWN THE EAST AUSTRALIAN CURRENT Episode 1 – The Tropics Nick Robinson
- LINDY CHAMBERLAIN: THE TRUE STORY Episode 2 Mark Joffe
- LOVE ON THE SPECTRUM Episode 1 Cian O’Clery
- MARALINGA TJARUTJA Larissa Behrendt
- THE TEST: A NEW ERA FOR AUSTRALIA’S TEAM Episode 8 – A New Legacy Adrian Brown
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST VISUAL EFFECTS OR ANIMATION
- THE EIGHT HUNDRED Tim Crosbie, Joy Wu, Jason Troughton, Tom Wood, Julian Hutchens—Rising Sun Pictures
- FORD V FERRARI Olivier Dumont, Kathy Siegel, Malte Sarnes, Mark Byers, Matt Grieg—Rising Sun Pictures
- THE INVISIBLE MAN Jonathan Dearing, Marcus Bolton, Matt Ebb, Aevar Bjarnason—Cutting Edge Features & Television
- IT CHAPTER 2 Jimmy Uddo, Nicholas Brooks, Josh Simmonds, Ineke Majoor—Method Studios
- JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL Thomas Elder-Groebe, Mark Breakspear, Glenn Melenhorst, Ineke Majoor—Method Studios
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN TELEVISION
- THE COMMONS Episode 1 Earle Dresner
- THE GLOAMING Episode 4 – Black Winged Angels Marden Dean
- MYSTERY ROAD Episode 4 – Broken Warwick Thornton
- OPERATION BUFFALO Episode 4 Martin McGrath
- STATELESS Episode 1 – The Circumstances in Which They Come Bonnie Elliott
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST EDITING IN TELEVISION
- MYSTERY ROAD Episode 6 – What You Do Now Nicholas Holmes
- OPERATION BUFFALO Episode 4 Mark Perry
- THE SECRETS SHE KEEPS Episode 1 Deborah Peart, James Manché
- STATELESS Episode 1 – The Circumstances in Which They Come Mark Atkin
- STATELESS Episode 6 – The Seventh Martin Connor
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL SCORE IN TELEVISION
- BLUEY Episode 24 – Flatpack Joff Bush
- ITCH Episode 10 – 376 Down Diego Baldenweg, Nora Baldenweg, Lionel Baldenweg
- OPERATION BUFFALO Episode 4 Antony Partos
- ROSEHAVEN Episode 8 Kit Warhurst
- STATELESS Episode 6 – The Seventh Cornel Wilczek
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SOUND IN TELEVISION
- THE GLOAMING Episode 4 – Black Winged Angels Dean Ryan, Andrew Neil, Ralph Ortner, Lee Yee
- HALIFAX: RETRIBUTION Episode 3 Paul Pirola, Brendan Croxon, James Harvey, Andrew Ramage
- MYSTERY ROAD Episode 4 – Broken Wes Chew, Luke Mynott, Michael Newton, Trevor Hope
- OPERATION BUFFALO Episode 4 Luke Mynott, Wes Chew, Guntis Sics
- STATELESS Episode 1 – The Circumstances in Which They Come Tom Heuzenroeder, Pete Smith, Michael Darren, Des Kenneally
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN IN TELEVISION
- THE COMMONS Episode 1 Tim Ferrier
- MYSTERY ROAD Episode 6 – What You Do Now Herbert Pinter
- THE NEW LEGENDS OF MONKEY Episode 10 – Shadow Boxing Nick Williams
- OPERATION BUFFALO Episode 4 Colin Gibson
- STATELESS Episode 1 – The Circumstances in Which They Come Melinda Doring
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST COSTUME DESIGN IN TELEVISION
- THE COMMONS Episode 1 Xanthe Heubel
- THE MASKED SINGER Episode 4 Tim Chappel
- THE NEW LEGENDS OF MONKEY Episode 10 – Shadow Boxing Liz McGregor
- OPERATION BUFFALO Episode 4 Wendy Cork
- STATELESS Episode 1 – The Circumstances in Which They Come Mariot Kerr
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST CASTING PRESENTED BY CASTING NETWORKS
- BABYTEETH Kirsty McGregor, Stevie Ray
- H IS FOR HAPPINESS Jane Norris
- I AM WOMAN Nikki Barrett
- STATELESS Allison Meadows
- TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG Nikki Barrett
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP PRESENTED BY HASK
- I AM WOMAN Nikki Gooley, Wendy de Waal, Cassie O’Brien
- OPERATION BUFFALO Sheldon Wade
- PREACHER Episode 8 – Fear of the Lord Chiara Tripodi, Larry Van Duynhoven, Toni Ffrench
- RELIC Angela Conte, Larry Van Duynhoven, Bec Taylor
- TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG Kirsten Veysey
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST ASIAN FILM
- BEASTS CLAWING AT STRAWS Kim Yong-hoon (Dir.), Billy Acumen
- BETTER DAYS Kwok Cheung Tsang (Dir.), Jojo Yuet-Jan Hui
- CHHAPAAK Meghna Gulzar (Dir.), Deepika Padukone
- THE EIGHT HUNDRED Guan Hu (Dir.), Wang Zhonglei, Liang Jing
- FIRST LOVE Takashi Miike(Dir.), Muneyuki Kii, Misakoi Saka, Jeremy Thomas
- SHUBH MANGAL ZYADA SAAVDHAN Hitesh Kewalya (Dir.), Rohit Sharma (Dir.), Anand L.Rai, Bhushan Kumar, Himanshu Sharma, Krishnan Kumar
- THAPPAD Anubhav Sinha (Dir.), Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Anubhav Sinha, Vinod Bhanushali
- TRAIN TO BUSAN PRESENTS: PENINSULA Sang-ho Yeon (Dir.), Dong-Ha Lee
- THE WILD GOOSE LAKE Yi’nan Diao (Dir.), Yang Shen, Michel Merkt
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A DOCUMENTARY
- AUSTRALIA’S OCEAN ODYSSEY: A JOURNEY DOWN THE EAST AUSTRALIAN CURRENT Episode 1 – The Tropics Nick Robinson, Jon Shaw, Caspar Mazzotti, Cam Batten
- REVELATION Episode 1 – The Children Have Been Used by the Devil Aaron Smith
- SEA LIONS – LIFE BY A WHISKER Jon Shaw, Cam Batten, Tim Nagle, David Gross
- THE TEST: A NEW ERA FOR AUSTRALIA’S TEAM Episode 7 – Under Siege Andre Mauger, Oliver West
- VIVA THE UNDERDOGS Allan Hardy, Cam Pianta
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST EDITING IN A DOCUMENTARY
- CAN ART STOP A BULLET: WILLIAM KELLY’S BIG PICTURE Daniela Raulli
- FIRESTARTER – THE STORY OF BANGARRA Nick Meyers, Karen Johnson
- MARALINGA TJARUTJAJane Usher
- REVELATION Episode 3 – Goliath Philippa Rowlands
- THE TEST: A NEW ERA FOR AUSTRALIA’S TEAM Episode 7 – Under Siege Adam Wright
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL SCORE IN A DOCUMENTARY
- AUSTRALIA’S OCEAN ODYSSEY: A JOURNEY DOWN THE EAST AUSTRALIAN CURRENT Episode 1 – The TropicsHylton Mowday
- BRAZEN HUSSIES Amanda Brown
- GUY SEBASTIAN – THE MAN THE MUSIC Guy Sebastian
- MACHINE Matteo Zingales
- QUILTY – PAINTING THE SHADOWS Amanda Brown, Damien Lane
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SOUND IN A DOCUMENTARY
- BRAZEN HUSSIES Emma Bortignon, Simon Rosenberg, Jed Palmer, Guy Blackman
- CAN ART STOP A BULLET: WILLIAM KELLY’S BIG PICTURE David Muir, Mark Street, Doron Kipen
- FIRESTARTER – THE STORY OF BANGARRA Angus Robertson, Tara Webb, Leah Katz, Nick Meyers
- SUZI Q Emma Bortignon, Paul Shanahan, David Williams, Gemma Stack
- WILD THINGS Michael Gissing, Antony Partos, Matteo Zingales
For earlier nominees, including feature film go here.