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Australian Directors’ Guild Awards postponed

Bowing to the inevitable, the Australian Directors’ Guild has postponed its annual awards that were due to be presented at Sydney’s City Recital Hall on May 11.

The awards are now scheduled to take place in September, exact date to be confirmed.

There will be 21 categories this year with the addition of Best Direction in a Short Animation Film.

ADG executive director Diana Burnett tells IF: “Due to the recent government restrictions on gatherings under COVID-19 measures, we have postponed the ADG Awards.”

This year the guild secured a new sponsor in Panavision, with prizes for two awards: a $5,000 camera package for Best Direction in a Short Film and a $10,000 camera package for Best Direction in a Feature Film made for less than $1 million.

This week the Australian Cinematographers Society decided to delay indefinitely the 2020 National ACS Awards for Cinematography which were due to be presented at the National Gallery in Canberra on May 16.

Like all sectors of the screen history, directors are facing lengthy periods of unemployment.

“With productions around Australia forced to shut down, directors across television, feature film and television commercials across the country are facing no work and no income in the coming months,” Burnett says.

“The livelihoods of these directors and their crews (many freelance and sole traders) are likely to sustain a major negative impact in the coming weeks.”