Manchester by the Sea.
Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea leads the nominees for the 6th AACTA International Awards, nominated in six categories – Best Film, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Lead Actor, and Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor.
The film is closely followed by romantic musical La La Land and Aussie films Lion and Hacksaw Ridge (fresh from nine wins at the AACTA Awards last week). Each received five nominations, and will duke it for Best Film alongside Manchester and Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival.
The Best Direction awards mirror that of Best Film; Mel Gibson up for Best Direction for Hacksaw Ridge, fellow Aussie Garth Davis for Lion, Lonergan for Manchester, Damien Chazelle for La La Land and Villenvue for Arrival.
Following on from their Golden Globe nominations yesterday, Joel Edgerton is up for Best Lead Actor for Loving, and Nicole Kidman is nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Lion.
Kidman will vie against fellow Aussie Teresa Palmer, nominated for her role in Hacksaw Ridge. Also nominated in the category are Viola Davis for Fences, Naomie Harris for Moonlight, and Michelle Williams for Manchester by the Sea.
Luke Davies (Lion) will square off against Andrew Knight and Robert Schenkkan (Hacksaw Ridge) for Best Screenplay. Other nominees include Taylor Sheridan for Hell or High Water, Chazelle for La La Land, and Lonergan for Manchester by the Sea.
Overall there are 12 films nominated across seven categories. The awards are determined by the AACTA International Chapter, made up of 150 Australian screen professionals.
AFI | AACTA CEO Damian Trewhella congratulated all nominees.
“Australian performers, practitioners and productions are consistently acknowledged among the world’s best screen talent by international screen organisations. The AACTA International Awards give Australian filmmakers the opportunity to participate in the global conversation of screen excellence and allows us to honour the world’s best, regardless of geography,” he said.
“This year’s nominees include actors, directors and screenwriters who truly represent international excellence, and it’s brilliant to see Nicole Kidman, Joel Edgerton, Garth Davis, Mel Gibson and home-grown productions Lion and Hacksaw Ridge nominated alongside international talent for the awards.”
The 6th AACTA International Awards will be held at the Avalon Hollywood in L.A., hosted by Daniel McPherson. It will screen in Australia on Foxtel Arts at 7.30pm on January 8.
Full list of nominees:
AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST FILM
• ARRIVAL
• HACKSAW RIDGE
• LA LA LAND
• LION
• MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTION
• ARRIVAL Denis Villeneuve
• HACKSAW RIDGE Mel Gibson
• LA LA LAND Damien Chazelle
• LION Garth Davis
• MANCHESTER BY THE SEA Kenneth Lonergan
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SCREENPLAY
• HACKSAW RIDGE Andrew Knight, Robert Schenkkan
• HELL OR HIGH WATER Taylor Sheridan
• LA LA LAND Damien Chazelle
• LION Luke Davies
• MANCHESTER BY THE SEA Kenneth Lonergan
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST LEAD ACTOR
• Casey Affleck MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
• Joel Edgerton LOVING
• Andrew Garfield HACKSAW RIDGE
• Ryan Gosling LA LA LAND
• Denzel Washington FENCES
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST LEAD ACTRESS
• Amy Adams ARRIVAL
• Isabel Huppert ELLE
• Ruth Negga LOVING
• Natalie Portman JACKIE
• Emma Stone LA LA LAND
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
• Mahershala Ali MOONLIGHT
• Jeff Bridges HELL OR HIGH WATER
• Lucas Hedges MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
• Dev Patel LION
• Michael Shannon NOCTURNAL ANIMALS
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
• Viola Davis FENCES
• Naomie Harris MOONLIGHT
• Nicole Kidman LION
• Teresa Palmer HACKSAW RIDGE
• Michelle Williams MANCHESTER BY THE SEA