Announcing the inaugural 2007 ADG Awards

The Australian Directors Guild (ADG) is offering Directors Awards for the first time ever in 2007. The ADG recognised that there were no Australian awards for Directors that were voted solely by directors. The ADG has established the awards to celebrate the outstanding achievements and contributions in film and TV by Australian Directors.

As Richard Harris, Executive Director of ADG said when announcing the awards: ‘The new directors guild awards will be the premier celebration of the craft of directing in Australia across a diverse range of genres and formats.

While there a number of different film awards in Australia, the fact that there are none where directors are judged solely by their directing peers, many directors are not getting the recognition that they deserve for excellence in their work.

The awards represent one of the ways that the Guild is looking to provide greater value and connection with both established and emerging directors. They will provide an important way for the ADG to build relationships with Australian directors, and will continue to build a strong community of filmmakers across the country.’

The awards ceremony will also form part of a revamped Directors conference in 2007. This year’s Directors Conference ‘Calling the Shots’ will be held over the weekend of October 13-14 in the centre of Sydney. The ADG Awards will become an integral part of the Directors Sidebar, a series of events and activities that run alongside sessions at what has become established as the leading industry conference focusing on both the craft and business of filmmaking.

Only productions screened for the first time between July 1 2006 and June 30 2007 will be eligible for entry in the 2007 ADG Awards. The categories are:-

Submissions must be received by 3 August 2007.

[release from Amanda Buckworth Publicity]