Carol.
Australian film buffs will be able to watch this year's AACTA International Awards on Foxtel's dedicated Arts channel on Sunday.
The 5th AACTA International Awards will air at 7.30pm followed by an encore on Arena at 9.30pm.
The awards are held annually in Los Angeles and recognise film excellence regardless of geography.
The Awards are determined by the AACTA International Chapter, which is comprised of over 140 of Australia’s most recognised filmmakers and executives who vote across seven categories: Best Film, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Lead Actor, Best Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.
The 5th AACTA International Awards ceremony will be held at an exclusive event in Los Angeles this Friday January 29 PST (Saturday January 30 AEDT) and attracts Australian and International guests, including actors, filmmakers, studio executives, film distributors and media.
AACTA announced that 17 films have received nominations recognising excellence across the seven categories.
Todd Haynes’ Carol leads the nominations with five nominations and also sees Rooney Mara nominated for Best Supporting Actress, and Cate Blanchett nominated for Best Lead Actress, following SAG and Golden Globe award nods for both performers. Carol marks the second collaboration between Haynes and Blanchett.
The Big Short – the story of four outsiders tackling the big banks in the wake of the mid-2000s housing bubble collapse – follows with four nominations, including Best Film and Best Direction for Adam McKay.
Also competing alongside Carol and The Big Short for Best Film and Best Direction are George Miller’s dystopian Road War Mad Max: Fury Road, which won both categories at the recent AACTA domestic Awards in Sydney.
Mad Max: Fury Road and The Revenant received three nominations each, as did Steve Jobs and The Martian, which rounds out the nominees for Best Direction with a nod for Ridley Scott.
Spotlight, the true story of The Boston Globe’s role in uncovering the massive scandal of child abuse and cover up by the Catholic Church, rounds out the five Best Film nominees
Competition in the Best Lead Actor category is fierce, with all five nominees – Steve Carell (The Big Short), Matt Damon (The Martian), Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant), Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs) and Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl) – also having been nominated for Golden Globes for these performances.
Whilst this marks the first nomination from the Australian Academy for Damon, Carell and Redmayne are past nominees, and Fassbender and DiCaprio are past winners for their performances in 12 Years a Slave and The Great Gatsby respectively.
Best Lead Actress sees Cate Blanchett (Carol), Brie Larson (Room) and Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn) nominated and each also competing for SAG and Golden Globe awards for these performances. They compete alongside Emily Blunt for her performance in Sicario, and Charlize Theron for her performance as Imperator Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road.
Fellow Australian and AACTA Award winner Joel Edgerton received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Black Mass.
He competes alongside Christian Bale (The Big Short) and Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies), whose performances also received SAG and Golden Globe nods.
Paul Dano, nominated for his performance as Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson in Love and Mercy, and Benicio del Toro (Sicario) round out the five nominees for Best Supporting Actor.
Judy Davis and Kate Winslet were both nomainted for the AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Davis is again nominated for her role as Winslet’s eccentric on-screen mother in The Dressmaker, Molly Dunnage, whilst Winslet today received a nod for her role as Joanna Hoffman in Steve Jobs.
Also nominated in this category are Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girls), Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight) and the aforementioned Rooney Mara (Carol).