ADVERTISEMENT

‘Boy Swallows Universe’ snaps up six AACTA Industry Awards as ‘Better Man’, ‘Furiosa’ take home five each

Boy Swallows Universe S1. (L to R) Bharat Nalluri, Travis Fimmel as Lyle Orlik in Boy Swallows Universe S1. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2023

Netflix series Boy Swallows Universe is well on its way to topping the winners’ list at this year’s AACTA Awards, converting six of its 11 nominations at the Industry Gala at the Gold Coast on Wednesday night.

The Queensland-shot adaptation of Trent Dalton’s best-selling novel was recognised for casting, cinematography, direction, editing, production design, and sound to be the only multiple winner in the television categories.

The film awards proved to be a two-horse race between George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Michael Gracey’s Better Man, which both snared five gongs. The Robbie Williams-inspired drama, which leads the overall film nominations with 16 nods, took home prizes for casting, editing, original score, screenplay, and visual effects, for which it has also secured an Oscar nomination. Miller’s Mad Max prequel won awards for cinematography, costume design, production design, sound, and hair and makeup.

Elsewhere, Jack Clark and Jim Weir’s indie drama Birdeater was named Best Indie Film, while Madeleine Hetherton-Miau’s Mozart’s Sister was a multiple winner in the documentary section, awarded Best Original Score and Best Sound.

Wednesday’s ceremony at HOTA, hosted by Stephen Curry, precedes the AACTA Awards on Friday evening, to be broadcast on Channel Ten at 7.30pm AEDT that evening.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Television

AACTA Award for Best Casting in Television presented by Casting Networks

  • Boy Swallows Universe – Nikki Barrett

AACTA Award for Best Cinematography in Television

  • Boy Swallows Universe – Episode 4 – Shelley Farthing-Dawe

AACTA Award for Best Comedy Performer

  • Tom Gleeson – Hard Quiz

AACTA Award for Best Costume Design in Television

  • Ladies in Black – Episode 2 – Marion Boyce

AACTA Award for Best Direction in Drama or Comedy

  • Boy Swallows UniverseEpisode 1 – Bharat Nalluri

AACTA Award for Best Direction in Nonfiction Television

  • Muster DogsEpisode 3 – Sally Browning, Monica O’Brien

 AACTA Award for Best Documentary or Factual Program

  • Miriam Margolyes Impossibly Australian – Jo Siddiqui, Helen Barrow, Paulo Vivan, Laurie Critchley, Julie Hanna  – Southern Pictures Pty Ltd (ABC)

 AACTA Award for Best Editing in Television

  • Boy Swallows UniverseEpisode 4 – Mark Perry

AACTA Award for Best Entertainment Program presented by EMG/Gravity Media

  • Spicks and Specks – Rowdie Walden, Michiko Smith, Anthony Watt – ABC (ABC)

AACTA Award for Best Lifestyle Program

  • Grand Designs Australia – Brooke Bayvel, Michael Collett – Fremantle Australia (ABC)

AACTA Award for Best Original Score in Television

  • BlueyEpisode 2 – Joff Bush, Daniel O’Brien, Jazz Darcy, Joseph Twist

AACTA Award for Best Production Design in Television

  • Boy Swallows UniverseEpisode 4 – Michelle McGahey

AACTA Award for Best Sound in Television

  • Boy Swallows UniverseEpisode 4 – Sam Hayward, Scott Mulready, Danielle Wiessner, Nigel Christensen

Film

AACTA Award for Best Casting in Film presented by Casting Networks

  • Better Man – Alison Telford, Kate Leonard, Kate Dowd

 AACTA Award for Best Cinematography in Film

  • Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Simon Duggan

 AACTA Award for Best Costume Design in Film

  • Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Jenny Beavan

 AACTA Award for Best Editing in Film presented by Spectrum Films

  • Better Man – Martin Connor, Lee Smith, Spencer Susser, Jeff Groth, Patrick Correll

 AACTA Award for Best Indie Film

  • Birdeater – Jack Clark (Dir.), Jim Weir (Dir.), Ulysses Oliver, Stephanie Troost – Breathless Films and Fax Machine

 AACTA Award for Best Original Score in Film

  • Better Man – Batu Sener

AACTA Award for Best Production Design in Film

  • Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Colin Gibson, Katie Sharrock

 AACTA Award for Best Screenplay in Film

  • Better Man – Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole, Michael Gracey

AACTA Award for Best Sound in Film

  • Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Robert Mackenzie, Ben Osmo, James Ashton, Yulia Akerholt, Jessica Meier, Tom Holkenborg.

 DOCUMENTARY

AACTA Award for Best Cinematography in a Documentary

  • The Musical Mind: A Portrait In Process – Geoffrey Hall, Emerson Hoskin

AACTA Award for Best Editing in a Documentary

  • Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line – Gretchen Peterson

 AACTA Award for Best Original Score in a Documentary

  • Mozart’s Sister – Jessica Wells

 AACTA Award for Best Sound in a Documentary

  • Mozart’s Sister – Damian Jory

SHORT FILM

 AACTA Award for Best Short Film

  • Gorgo – Katie Amos, Veniamin Gialouris,  Danielle Stamoulos – Australian Film, Television and Radio School

ONLINE

AACTA Award for Best Online Drama or Comedy

  • Buried – Fran Derham, Charlotte George, Miriam Glaser – Frantales Productions

OTHER

AACTA Award for Best Hair and Makeup

  • Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Lesley Vanderwalt, Larry Van Duynhoven, Matteo Silvi, Luca Vannella

 AACTA Award for Best Soundtrack

  • Heartbreak High – Jemma Burns

AACTA Award for Best Visual Effects or Animation

  • Better Man – Luke Millar, Andy Taylor, Craig Young, Tim Walker – Wētā