Debut feature scripts are well represented in the Original Feature category for next month’s AWGIE Awards, making up four of the five nominees.
The Australian Writers Guild unveiled the contenders for the 57th edition of the awards yesterday, recognising more than 80 works across film, television, documentary, theatre, interactive and gaming, audio, animation, and children’s television.
Contending the Original Feature award Audrey (Lou Sanz), Inside (Charles Williams), Stubbornly Here (Taylor Broadley), and Windcatcher (Boyd Quakawoot), all of which represent the first feature for their respective writers, alongside Robbie Williams biopic Better Man (Michael Gracey, Oliver Cole, and Simon Gleeson). In the adaptation category, Becca Johnstone’s upcoming debut feature Addition is up against Robert Connolly’s Force of Nature.
The final season of Total Control has two nominations (Pip Karmel and Stuart Page) in the Television Series category, joining episodes of Territory (Steven McGregor), Erotic Stories (Adrian Chiarella), The Artful Dodger (James McNamara) and the second season of the Netflix hit Heartbreak High (Megan Palinkas).
The four titles up for Limited Series are Expats (Alice Bell with Lulu Wang, Janice Y.K. Lee, Gursimran Sandhu and Vera Miao), Fake (Anya Beyersdorf and Jessica Tuckwell with Hyun Lee), High Country (Marcia Gardner and John Ridley with Beck Cole) and The Tattooist of Auschwitz (Jacquelin Perske with Evan Placey and Gabbie Asher).
Fresh from its Golden Globe nomination, Adam Elliot’s Memoir of a Snail will compete in the animation category, alongside Isabella Spagnolo’s short film My Jumper, It Roars! and an episode of the hit sci-fi children’s show Space Nova by Thomas Duncan-Watt.
The winners will be announced on Thursday, February 13 at the Parade Theatre, NIDA in Sydney. For those outside Sydney, a broadcast of the event will be free to watch from home via live stream.
The full list of nominations is below:
Sure, here is the list of nominees for each category:
FEATURE FILM – ADAPTED
- Addition – Becca Johnstone
- Force of Nature – Robert Connolly
FEATURE FILM – ORIGINAL
- Audrey – Lou Sanz
- Better Man – Michael Gracey, Oliver Cole and Simon Gleeson
- Inside – Charles Williams
- Stubbornly Here – Taylor Broadley
- Windcatcher – Boyd Quakawoot
SHORT FILM
- And the Ocean Agreed – Tanya Modini
- Breaking Point – Lochie Graham
- Connected – Kelly Nicholson
- Dragon’s Breath – Melanie Easton
- Housekeepers – Kaede Miyamura
- The Meaningless Daydreams of Augie and Celeste – Gregory Kelly with Pernell Marsden
DOCUMENTARY – COMMUNITY, EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING
- Good Setiquette – Neil Triffett
- What is AWGACS? – Peter Mattessi and Mark O’Toole with Matt Willis
DOCUMENTARY – PUBLIC BROADCAST (INCLUDING VOD) OR EXHIBITION
- Otto by Otto – Karen Johnson
- Renee Gracie: Fireproof – Frances Elliott and Samantha Marlowe
- The Search for the Palace Letters – Daryl Dellora
- Twilight Time – John Hughes
INTERACTIVE MEDIA & GAMING
- Hour of the Wolf – Keziah Warner with Matthew Lutton
- Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical – Liam Esler with David Gaider, Karly Taylor, Tripod and Montaigne
TELEVISION – SERIAL
- EastEnders: Episode 6705 – Peter Mattessi
- Home and Away: Episode 8054 – Andrew Osborne
- Neighbours: Episode 8983 – Paul Gartside
- Neighbours: Episode 8989 – Ceinwen Langley
TELEVISION – SERIES
- The Artful Dodger: Season 1, Episode 1 ‘Yankee Dodge’ – James McNamara
- Erotic Stories: Season 1, Episode 5 ‘Walking Gambit’ – Adrian Chiarella
- Heartbreak High: Season 2, Episode 7 ‘The Grapes of Voss’ – Megan Palinkas
- Territory: Season 1, Episode 3 – Steven McGregor
- Total Control: Season 3, Episode 5 – Pip Karmel
- Total Control: Season 3, Episode 6 – Stuart Page
TELEVISION – LIMITED SERIES
- Expats – Alice Bell with Lulu Wang, Janice Y.K Lee, Gursimran Sandhu and Vera Miao
- Fake – Anya Beyersdorf and Jessica Tuckwell with Hyun Lee
- High Country – Marcia Gardner and John Ridley with Beck Cole
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz – Jacquelin Perske with Evan Placey and Gabbie Asher
ANIMATION
- Memoir of a Snail – Adam Elliot
- My Jumper, It Roars! – Isabella Spagnolo
- Space Nova: Season 2, ‘The Twister’ – Thomas Duncan-Watt
CHILDREN’S TELEVISION – ‘P’ CLASSIFICATION (PRESCHOOL – UNDER 5 YEARS)
- Beep and Mort: Season 2, Episode 8 ‘Friends at First Snow’ – Amy Stewart
- Beep and Mort: Season 2, Episode 16 ‘Free Melly’ – Wendy Hanna
- Beep and Mort: Season 2, Episode 19 ‘Grown Ups Grown Downs’ – Charlotte Rose Hamlyn
CHILDREN’S TELEVISION – ‘C’ CLASSIFICATION (CHILDREN’S – 5–14 YEARS)
- Planet Lulin: Season 1, Episode 4 ‘The Truth is Really Out There’ – Jessica Paine
- Rock Island Mysteries: Season 2, Episode 8 ‘New Friends’ – Trent Roberts
- Rock Island Mysteries: Season 2, Episode 12 ‘Secrets in the Ice’ – Dave Cartel
- Spooky Files: Season 1, Episode 5 ‘Welcome to Lake Tranquillity’ – Marisa Nanakhorn Brown
COMEDY – SITUATION OR NARRATIVE
- Gold Diggers: Season 1, Episode 2 ‘Wife Material’ – Erica Harrison and Jack Yabsley
- Gold Diggers: Season 1, Episode 8 ‘Hanging Tough’ – Jack Yabsley and Wendy Mocke
- Mother and Son: Season 1, Episode 8 ‘Bad Influence’ – Matt Okine and Tristram Baumber
- Population 11: Season 1, Episode 1 ‘Outback UFO Tours’ – Phil Lloyd
- Thou Shalt Not Steal: Season 1, Episode 5 ‘There Will be Murder’ – Sophie Miller with Dylan River
- White Fever: Season 1, Episode 5 ‘Asian Guy Cherry’ – Ra Chapman and Harvey Zielinski
COMEDY – SKETCH OR LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT
- Gruen: Season 15, ‘Hello Dolly’ – James Colley, Bec Melrose, Alice Tovey and Genevieve Fricker with Cameron James
- The Last Year of Television: 2023 – Mitch McTaggart
- The Weekly: The Week in TV with Margaret Pomeranz – Rob Hunter
AUDIO – FICTION
- Compromised: ‘The Tourist’ – Meegan May
- Diversity Work: Episode 1 – Pearl Tan
- Hovering: Episodes 1-3 – Alexander Duncan
AUDIO – NON-FICTION
- House of Skulls: ‘The Classroom’ and ‘The City That Bombed Itself’ – Marc Fennell with Pallavi Kottamasu
- Laya’s Way Home: Episode 1 – Rick Kalowski with Michaela Kalowski
- Missing Magdalens – Donna Abela
STAGE – ADAPTED
- The Dictionary of Lost Words – Verity Laughton
- My Sister Jill – Patricia Cornelius
- On the Beach – Tommy Murphy
- Unprecedented – Campion Decent
STAGE – ORIGINAL
- Anne Being Frank – Ron Elisha
- Beyond the Break – Challito Browne
- Hubris & Humiliation – Lewis Treston
- Miss Peony – Michelle Law
- Sex Magick – Nicholas Brown
- Summer of Harold – Hilary Bell
MUSICAL THEATRE
- The Dismissal: An Extremely Serious Musical Comedy – Jay James-Moody with Blake Erickson and Laura Murphy
- Forgetting Tim Minchin – Jules Orcullo
- Three Marys – Christine Evans
COMMUNITY AND YOUTH THEATRE
- Only one nomination and the winner will be announced on the night
THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES
- Lingo Lah Lah – Peter Docker with Adam Edwards
- The Princess, the Pea and the Brave Escapee – Finegan Kruckemeyer
- Rosieville – Mary Rachel Brown
WEB SERIES AND OTHER NON-BROADCAST/NON-‘SUBSCRIPTION VIDEO ON DEMAND’ TV SHORT WORKS
- Become the One – Adam Fawcett
- Greystanes – Ryan Cauchi with Matt Ferro
- KingsLand – Jon Rex Williams
- Urvi Went to an All Girls School – Urvi Majumdar