AACTA has named Made Up Stories founder and CEO Bruna Papandrea as the 2024 recipient of the Byron Kennedy Award.
Simon Baker will present the producer with the honour at next week’s AACTA Awards ceremony in recognition of her contributions to the screen industry.
Established in 1984, the $10,000 prize is determined by a jury and given to individuals or organisations whose work “epitomises innovation, vision, and an unwavering commitment to excellence”. It is named in honour of George Miller’s filmmaking partner and Mad Max co-creator Byron Kennedy.
Papandrea said the work of Miller, his partner Doug Mitchell, and Kennedy had inspired her to create Made Up Stories and find her own way of “continuing this country’s tradition of telling provocative, courageous and entertaining stories”.
“It is truly an honour to be recognised by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time – George Miller and his brilliant partner Doug Mitchell – and the legacy of the incomparable Byron Kennedy,” she said.
“I have long been a fan of their bold, innovative work and their commitment as filmmakers to produce that work in Australia and take it to the world. Thank you to Kennedy Miller Mitchell and AACTA for celebrating our industry and for this great honour.”
Through Made Up Stories, which she runs alongside co-founder/partner Steve Hutensky and partner Jodi Matterson, Papandrea has produced series such as Nine Perfect Strangers, The Undoing, Pieces of Her, and Anatomy of a Scandal, as well as films including The Nightingale, Little Monsters, Penguin Bloom, The Dry, and its upcoming sequel Force of Nature: The Dry 2, due to be released in cinemas on February 8. The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, which it produced with Amazon Studios and Fifth Season, is up for 12 AACTA Awards.
The company is in production on the series adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s The Last Anniversary for Binge in Sydney, as well as starting principal photography on season two of Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers, both of which are collaborations with Nicole Kidman and Per Saari’s Blossom Films.
Prior to founding Made Up Stories, Papandrea co-launched Pacific Standard with Reese Witherspoon, producing films such as Gone Girl and Wild, as well as Emmy and Golden Globe-winning series Big Little Lies.
The AACTA Awards main ceremony, which will be hosted by Rebel Wilson, will be broadcast on 10 at 7pm AEDT, February 10, while a ‘director’s cut’, featuring all awards will be available on Binge, Foxtel On-Demand, and AACTA TV the next day.