Del Kathryn Barton and Huna Amweero’s Blaze; Renée Webster’s How To Please A Woman; Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes’ Sissy; and Jub Clerc and Steve Rodgers’ Sweet As will contend for the best original feature prize at this year’s AWGIE Awards.
The feature film – adapted category will be a contest between Mrs Harris Goes to Paris writer Keith Thompson with Carroll Cartwright, Anthony Fabian and Olivia Hetreed; Thomas M. Wright for The Stranger, and Leah Purcell for The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson. Purcell’s original play swept the AWGIEs back in 2017, winning the Major Award, the Stage award and the David Williamson Prize for excellence in writing for Australian theatre.
This year’s AWGIEs return in person for the first time in two years, to be held November 17 at Sydney’s Seymour Centre. The event will also celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG). For those unable to make it to Sydney, there will be a stream to watch from home or at AWG events in Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Hobart.
Awards will be presented across 20 individual categories, including feature film, television, documentary, theatre, interactive media & gaming, audio, animation and children’s television. Individual category winners will be eligible for the Major Award, given to the most outstanding script of the year.
On the night, the guild will also present various special including AWG Life Membership, the Dorothy Crawford Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession and the Industry, the Fred Parsons Award for Outstanding Contribution to Australian Comedy, and the Hector Crawford Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Craft as a Script Producer, Editor or Dramaturg.
In television, ABC’s The Newsreader leads the series category, with nominations for prior AWGIE winners Niki Aken and Michael Lucas, as well as emerging writer Kim Ho, while Pip Karmel picks up her third AWGIE nomination in three years for Total
Control. Last year’s Major Award winner, Kodie Bedford, is up for AMC+’s Firebite, with the category rounded out by Jessica Tuckwell for Stan’s Bump and Hannah Carroll Chapman for Netflix’s Heartbreak High.
The limited series category sees ABC’s Fires writers Tony Ayres, Belinda Chayko, Anya Beyersdorf, Steven McGregor and Jacquelin Perske with Mirrah Foulkes, pitted against Jason Herbison and Margaret Wilson with Anthony Ellis for 10’s Lie With Me.
Writers for outgoing serial Neighbours are also saluted via Jess Paine and Emma J Steele, with Louise Bowes also nominated for Home & Away.
The children’s P category is dominated by Little J and Big Cuz, with nominations for three episodes, written by Samuel Nuggin-Paynter, Dot West and Adam Thompson. They compete against Charlotte Rose Hamlyn, who is nominated for Beep & Mort.
In the children’s C category, The PM’s Daughter is nominated twice, with nods for Angela McDonald and Lou Sanz. Also vying for the prize are Rock Island Mysteries‘ Marisa Nathar and Strange Chores‘ Luke Tierney.
The comedy chops of Nick Musgrove (How to Stay Married), Henry Boffin with Nicholas Kraak (Metrosexual) and Kala Ellis (Spreadsheet) are each recognised for the comedy – narrative or situation prize. For the second year, the sketch or light entertainment category sees the Gruen team up against that of The Feed.
The short film category celebrates the work of Natasha Henry of Pasifika Drift, Becki Bouchier of Snapshot, Tanya Modini of The Moths Will Eat Them Up and Rae Choi of When The Sky Was Blue.
Kodie Bedford is nominated for a second time in the web series category for All My Friends Are Racist with Enoch Mailangi, along with Anna Lindner for A Beginner’s Guide to Grief, Jeanette Cronin of It’s Fine, I’m Fine, AB Morrison for Iggy & Ace and Alexandra Keddie and Bobbie-Jean Henning for The Power of the Dream.
Documentary is a contest between Beyond The Reef’s Georgia Harrison; Big Deal‘s Craig Reucassel and Christiaan Van Vuuren; Girl Like You‘s Frances Elliott with Samantha Marlowe, Ithaka‘s Ben Lawrence and Peace Pilgrims‘ John Hughes.
See the full list of nominees for the 55th annual AWGIE Awards below:
FEATURE FILM – ORIGINAL
Blaze – Del Kathryn Barton and Huna Amweero
How To Please A Woman – Renée Webster
Sissy – Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes
Sweet As – Jub Clerc and Steve Rodgers
FEATURE FILM – ADAPTED
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris – Keith Thompson with Carroll Cartwright & Anthony Fabian, and Olivia Hetreed
The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson – Leah Purcell
The Stranger – Thomas M. Wright
SHORT FILM
Pasifika Drift – Natasha Henry
Snapshot – Becki Bouchier
The Moths Will Eat Them Up – Tanya Modini
When The Sky Was Blue – Rae Choi
DOCUMENTARY – PUBLIC BROADCAST (INCLUDING VOD) OR EXHIBITION
Beyond The Reef – Georgia Harrison
Big Deal – Craig Reucassel and Christiaan Van Vuuren
Girl Like You – Frances Elliott with Samantha Marlowe
Ithaka – Ben Lawrence
Peace Pilgrims – John Hughes
TELEVISION – SERIAL
Home and Away: Episode 7742 – Louise Bowes
Neighbours: Episode 8654 – Jessica Paine
Neighbours: Episode 8801 – Emma J Steele
TELEVISION – SERIES
Bump: Season 2, ‘AITA (Am I the Arsehole)’ – Jessica Tuckwell
Firebite: Season 1, ‘I Wanna Go Home’ – Kodie Bedford
Heartbreak High: Season 1, Episode 1 – Hannah Carroll Chapman
The Newsreader: Season 1, ‘A Step Closer to the Madness’ – Niki Aken
The Newsreader: Season 1, ‘No More Lies’ – Kim Ho and Michael Lucas
Total Control: Season 2, Episode 2 – Pip Karmel
TELEVISION – LIMITED SERIES
Fires – Tony Ayres, Belinda Chayko, Anya Beyersdorf, Steven McGregor and Jacquelin Perske with Mirrah Foulkes
Lie With Me – Jason Herbison and Margaret Wilson with Anthony Ellis
ANIMATION
Only one nomination and the winner will be announced on the night
CHILDREN’S TELEVISION – ‘P’ CLASSIFICATION (PRESCHOOL – UNDER 5 YEARS), ORIGINAL OR ADAPTED, ANIMATED OR PERFORMED
Beep and Mort: Season 1, ‘Beep’s Home’ – Charlotte Rose Hamlyn
Little J & Big Cuz: Season 3, ‘Levi Learns’ – Samuel Nuggin-Paynter
Little J & Big Cuz: Season 3, ‘Serpent’s Eye’ – Dot West
Little J & Big Cuz: Season 3, ‘Shelter’ – Adam Thompson
CHILDREN’S TELEVISION – ‘C’ CLASSIFICATION (CHILDREN’S – 5–14 YEARS), ORIGINAL OR ADAPTED, ANIMATED OR PERFORMED
Rock Island Mysteries: Season 1, ‘A Young Mystery’ – Marisa Nathar
The PM’s Daughter: Season 1, Episode 4 – Angela McDonald
The PM’s Daughter: Season 1, Episode 8 – Lou Sanz
The Strange Chores: Season 2, ‘Walk Wolfman’ – Luke Tierney
COMEDY – SITUATION OR NARRATIVE
How to Stay Married: Season 3, ‘Keyboard Warriors’ – Nick Musgrove
Metro Sexual: Season 2, ‘Martha Bradbury’ – Henry Boffin with Nicholas Kraak
Spreadsheet: Season 1, ‘Chlamydia & Nits’ – Kala Ellis
COMEDY – SKETCH OR LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT
Gruen: Season 13, ‘Punts’ – Sophie Braham and James Colley with Cameron James, Bec
Melrose and Mark Sutton
The Feed: ‘Comedy Sketches, 2021’ – Ben Jenkins, Alex Lee, Jenna Owen, Vidya Rajan and Vic Zerbst
AUDIO – FICTION
Sunshadow: Episode 1, Episode, 9 and Episode 10 – Phil Enchelmaier and Bronwen Noakes
The Bazura Project’s Radio Free Cinema: ‘Herzog’s Adventures in Wernerland’ – Lee
Zachariah with Shannon Marinko
The Fitzroy Diaries: Season 3, Episode 1, Episode 3, Episode 7 and Episode 8 – Lorin Clarke
The Great Mantini – Simon Luckhurst
Untrue Romance: ‘Call You Back’ – Tommy Murphy
AUDIO – NON-FICTION
Only one nomination and the winner will be announced on the night
STAGE – ORIGINAL
Dogged – Andrea James and Catherine Ryan
Horizon – Maxine Mellor
STAGE – ADAPTED
Animal Farm – Van Badham
Playing Beatie Bow – Kate Mulvany
My Father’s Wars – Elaine Acworth
COMMUNITY AND YOUTH THEATRE
Euphoria – Emily Steel
Summer at Suspended Stone Camp – Madelaine Nunn
Very Happy Children With Bright and Wonderful Futures – Joshua Maxwell
THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES
Cactus – Madelaine Nunn
House – Dan Giovannoni
We Are The Mutable – Matthew Whittet
INTERACTIVE MEDIA & GAMING
Only one nomination and the winner will be announced on the night
WEB SERIES AND OTHER NON-BROADCAST/NON-‘SUBSCRIPTION VIDEO ON DEMAND’ TV SHORT WORKS
A Beginner’s Guide to Grief: Segment 1: Denial, ‘Stung By A Thousand Bees’ – Anna Lindner
All My Friends Are Racist: Season 1, ‘Cancelled’ – Kodie Bedford and Enoch Mailangi
Iggy & Ace: Season 1, Episode 3 and Episode 4 – AB Morrison
It’s Fine, I’m Fine: Season 1, ‘Poo Boy’ – Jeanette Cronin
The Power of the Dream: Season 1, ‘Swimming’ and ‘Weightlifting’ – Alexandra Keddie and Bobbie-Jean Henning