Elvis, Three Thousand Years of Longing, and Poker Face dominate the feature film nominees for this year’s Australian Production Design Guild (APDG) Awards, set to be held in August.
Baz Luhrmann’s story of the iconic crooner leads the way with six nominations, with Catherine Martin and Karen Murphy (production design), Jason Baird (hair and make-up), Jessica Barrell, Samantha Dabrowski and Bowen Ellames (graphic design), Beverly Dunn (set decoration), Josh Simmonds (visual effects), and the team of Damien Drew, Tuesday Stone, Christopher Tangney and Matt Wynne (art direction) all recognised.
The nominees from George Miller’s fantasy romance comprise Roger Ford (production design), Sophie Nash and Nicholas Dare (art direction), Annet Mackie (concept art), and Lisa Thompson (set decoration). Russell Crowe’s Poker Face is just behind with nods for Gypsy Taylor (costume design), Jan Edwards (set decorator) and Lynne O’Brien (hair and make-up).
The field for the Production Design for a Feature Film award also includes The Invitation‘s Felicity Abbott and You Won’t Be Alone‘s Bethany Ryan. Contesting Costume Design for a Feature Film award are True Spirit‘s Justine Seymour, Thirteen Lives’ Tess Schofield and Cris Baldwin, and Blueback‘s Lien See Leong.
In the digital design/VFX category, Stuart White was nominated for Interceptor and Glenn Melenhorst for Lyle, Lyle Crocodile. Other feature film nominees include Dale J. Mackie (art direction) for Thor Love and Thunder and Rose Saffioti (hair and make-up) for Blaze.
La Brea season two and Bali 2002 both received two nominations apiece in the small screen categories with Carrie Kennedy and Ben Morieson (production design) and Kate Saunders (art direction) recognised for the former, while Tim Ferrier (production design) and Tom Coppola (set decoration) are included for the latter.
Rounding out the nominees for Production Design for a Television Production are The Twelve‘s Fiona Donovan and Beep and Mort‘s Jonathon Oxlade.
Black Snow‘s Vanessa Loh, Heartbreak High’s Rita Carmody, Irreverent’s Edie Kurzer, and Mystery Road Origin‘s Terri Lamer are up for Costume Design for a Television Production.
Elsewhere, Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power‘s Matt Hatton and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ Daniel J Burns are nominated for concept art; Stephanie Leigh and Phoenix Waddell from Crazy Fun Park are both up for the graphic design award; and Halloween Ends‘ Zenon Kohler and Slant‘s Nathan Su will compete for the title design gong.
This year’s emerging design screen nominees are Occam’s Razor‘s Lufan Shi, Small‘s Pernell Marsden, Starlings of the Hyperreal‘s Amelia Hutchinson, and Thallium Enthusiasts‘ Bethany Hewitt.
In congratulating this year’s nominees, APDG president Michael Scott-Mitchell said peer acknowledgement and support were profoundly important to members of the guild and a vital component in building a national design community.
“We are very excited to be returning to Melbourne for our night of nights,” he said.
“Congratulations to all the nominees and I look forward to seeing the exceptional work of our talented members.”
The 2023 APDG Awards will be held at Federation Hall in Melbourne’s Victorian College of the Arts on Saturday, August 26.
Find the full list of nominees here.