Ruby Rose. (Photo: Greg Gayne/The CW — © 2019 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.)
Ruby Rose, Sarah Snook, Dacre Montgomery, Anthony Maras and Bill Draper are among those who will be honoured at the 2019 Australians in Film (AiF) Awards, to be held in LA in October.
Rose, who plays the lead CW’s upcoming series Batwoman, will be presented with the Create NSW Annette Kellerman Award, which recognises a screen industry figure who has been a trailblazer for Australian women. Previous winners of the award, introduced in 2016, include Hannah Gadsby, Kate Dennis and Rebel Wilson.
Rose said: “I am so proud to receive this award. As an Australian woman who also had to carve her own path to get to where I am today, I can only imagine the barriers Annette Kellerman had to break to accomplish what she did. Thank you to AiF for this incredible honor.”
Actors Snook and Montgomery and director Maras will each be honoured with the Screen Australian Breakthrough Award, which recognises Aussie screen talent that has had a major international presence over the last year. Snook is among the main cast in HBO’s Succession, while Montgomery stars in Netflix’s Stranger Things. Maras’ debut feature, Hotel Mumbai, earned more than $USD9 million at the box office in The States. Previous breakthrough honourees include Margot Robbie, Chris Hemsworth, Elizabeth Debicki, Joel Edgerton, Katherine Langford, Keiynan Lonsdale and Mia Wasikowska.
“We Aussie filmmakers are truly blessed to have bodies like Screen Australia and Australians in Film in our corner,” said Maras.
“I am so grateful for the support Screen Oz has offered since my very first short film, so honoured to receive this Breakthrough Award, and so thankful to AiF for getting our work out to the wider world.”
Snook said: “Being a recipient of an AiF Breakthrough Award feels like being given a dignified pat on the back from a bunch of your mates, and a bunch of people you look up to that you wish were your mates. I absolutely love being part of such a vibrant, unified community, and am so proud of what Australians continue to achieve on the international stage. It’s an honour for AiF to recognise my small contribution to that this year.”
Montgomery said: “I am beyond words, humbled and flattered at the acknowledgement of my pursuit to be a part of this amazing industry. Upon hearing this, I took the news to my ten year old self. Smiling from ear to ear, I doubt he would have believed it. But, he had a dream. I have a dream. I believed in myself. Thank you AiF – for this, this is a testament to those who believe in themselves unequivocally. That anyone can go out there and make their dream a reality. So, go out there and get it!”
Warner Bros’ president worldwide physical production Bill Draper will receive the Ausfilm International Award for his contribution to the Australian film industry. Draper has been responsible for productions such as Aquaman, The Great Gatsby, Happy Feet 1 & 2, Where the Wild Things Are, Fool’s Gold, Queen of the Damned and The Matrix trilogy shooting in Australia and Gravity, Crazy Rich Asians and IT Chapter 2 completing visual effects with Australian studios.
“My first venture to Australia was in 1998 to see if we could make The Matrix not knowing whether the infrastructure or crew base could accommodate a large scale and technical film,” said Draper.
“I was quickly dissuaded of my concerns and pleasantly surprised as the Australian industry was more than up to the challenge. That experience kicked off a wonderful relationship both personally and professionally between Warner Bros. and Australia that more than 20 years and almost 40 projects later it is stronger than ever. Australia has firmly established itself as one of the premier production centres in the world.”
The 8th AiF Awards Gala and Benefit Dinner will take place at Intercontinental Los Angeles on October 23. The event will be hosted by singer-songwriter, comedian, writer and actor, Eddie Perfect.