Andrew Anastasios and Andrew Knight’s The Water Diviner won the top prize and the gong for best original feature at the 2015 AWGIE Awards.
It was the first time a feature collected the Australian Writers' Guild's Major Award and the gong for original feature since 2012 when Tony Briggs and Keith Thompson won with The Sapphires.
The prize for feature film adaptation was shared by Brendan Cowell for Scarlett Productions' Ruben Guthrie and Tommy Murphy for Matchbox Pictures' Holding the Man.
Matchbox and Full Clip’s Deadline Gallipoli was named best original TV miniseries, acknowledging the work of writers Jacquelin Perske (also script producer), Stuart Beattie, Shaun Grant and Cate Shortland.
FremantleMedia’s Wentworth Season 3, Episode 3 The Governor’s Pleasure by Stuart Page shared the TV series award with Endemol Australia’s Offspring Episode 511 by Michael Lucas.
Jan Sardi and Mac Gudgeon took the award for best miniseries adaptation for their work on Kate Granville’s The Secret River, produced by Ruby Entertainment.
Katherine Thomson won the original telemovie award for Shine Australia’s House of Hancock and Louise Bowes’ episode of Home and Away was best TV serial.
Tim Pye received the Richard Lane Award, presented by John Doyle. His 30-year career spans Love Child, House Husbands, Old School, The Doctor Blake Mysteries, The Straits, Emerald Falls, All Saints, The Strip, White Collar Blue, Scorched, Stupid, Stupid Man, My Place, Lockie Leonard, SeaChange, Wildside, Changi, Grass Roots, Water Rats and A Country Practice.
Angela Betzien and Patricia Cornelius shared the Australian Writers’ Foundation playwriting award presented by its sponsor Kim Williams.
The Katering Show’s Kate McLennan took the prize for other form of comedy or drama.
The Fred Parsons’ award for outstanding contribution to Australian comedy went to 66-year-old Bill Harding, who started in the mid-1950s with the radio series Family Affair. Among his notable works for television were The Paul Hogan Show, The Norman Gunston Show, Denton, Corridors of Power and Life Support.
The 2015 Dorothy Crawford award for outstanding contribution to the profession was bestowed posthumously on Alan Seymour, who died in March. His credits include The Potato Factory, Sara Dane, The Silver Chair and The One Day of the Year.
AWG president Jan Sardi said the 2015 AWGIEs demonstrate several important milestones for the Australian stage and screen industries. “Not only are many of this year’s recipients multi-talented across platforms but they place the writer front and centre in the creative process of taking an idea from imagination into an award winning script that can attract the highest calibre of production, direction and acting talent – and of course money,” Sardi said.
Thirty-seven AWGIEs were presented at the 48th awards night at Sydney's Doltone House in front of more than 300 TV, film, stage, radio and online writers and guests.
2015 Major Award
The Water Diviner
Andrew Knight
Andrew Anastasios
Feature Film – Original
The Water Diviner
Andrew Knight
Andrew Anastasios
Feature Film – Adaptation (two winners)
1. Ruben Guthrie
Brendan Cowell
2. Holding the Man
Tommy Murphy
Television Mini Series – Original
Deadline Gallipoli
Jacquelin Perske
Stuart Beattie
Shaun Grant
Cate Shortland
Television Mini Series – Adaptation
The Secret River
Jan Sardi
Mac Gudgeon
Telemovie – Original
House of Hancock
Katherine Thomson
Drama or Comedy, Other Form
The Katering Show
Kate McLennan
Television – Series (two winners)
1. Offspring: Episode 511
Michael Lucas
2. Wentworth: Series 3, ‘The Governor’s Pleasure’
Stuart Page
Television – Serial
Home and Away: Episode 6057
Louise Bowes
Comedy – Sketch or Light Entertainment
Legally Brown: Series 2
Joel Slack-Smith
Comedy – Situation or Narrative
Please Like Me: Series 2, ‘Scroggin’
Josh Thomas
Stage
Jump for Jordan
Donna Abela
Music Theatre
Little Bird
Nicki Bloom
Children’s Theatre
The Boy at the Edge of Everything
Finegan Kruckemeyer
Community and Youth Theatre
The Gap
Patricia Cornelius
Angela Betzien
Melissa Reeves
Theatre for Young Audiences
Marlin
Damien Millar
Children’s Television – P
Guess How Much I Love You: ‘Make A Rainbow’
Charlotte Rose Hamlyn
Children’s Television – C
Skinner Boys: ‘Festival of the Ancestors’
David Witt
Animation
The New Adventures of Figaro Pho: ‘The Fear of Zombies (Romerophobia)’
Bruce Griffiths
Interactive Media
Secrets & Lies
Stephen Irwin
Lucas Taylor
Dominic Morris
Radio – Original Broadcast
Like a Writing Desk
Aden Rolfe
Short Film
Welcome to Iron Knob
Dave Wade
Documentary – Public Broadcast
Sam Klemke’s Time Machine
Matthew Bate
Sandy Cameron
Documentary – Corporate and Training
Dying to Talk: Exploring Death and End of Life Issues
Peter Flynn
2015 SPECIAL AWARDS
Australian Writers’ Guild
2015 RICHARD LANE AWARD
For Outstanding Service and Dedication to the Australian Writers’ Guild
Tim Pye
Australian Writers’ Guild
2015 DOROTHY CRAWFORD AWARD
For Outstanding Contribution to the Profession
Alan Seymour
Posthumous award
Australian Writers’ Guild
2015 FRED PARSONS AWARD
For Outstanding Contribution to Australian Comedy
Bill Harding
Australian Writers’ Guild
2015 DAVID WILLIAMSON PRIZE
In Celebration and Recognition of Excellence in Writing for Australian Theatre
Finegan Kruckemeyer
Australian Writers’ Guild
2015 MONTE MILLER AWARD – LONG FORM
The Man from the Moon
Gemma Crofts
Australian Writers’ Guild
2015 MONTE MILLER AWARD – SHORT FORM
The Brooch
Elizabeth Dias
2015 AUSTRALIAN WRITERS’ FOUNDATION PLAYWRITING AWARD
Supported by Kim Williams AM
Patricia Cornelius
Angela Betzien