Press release from SAFC
The South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) congratulates all nominees for the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards and is proud to have supported a substantial number of the films nominated in the 2012 awards.
South Australian films feature prominently in this week’s announcement, with three of the six films nominated for the Samsung AACTA Awards for Best Film coming from SA: ORANGES AND SUNSHINE, SNOWTOWN and RED DOG.
Justin Kurzel’s SNOWTOWN picked up an impressive 10 nominations, including Best Film and Best Director. Box office hit RED DOG, co-produced by South Australian producer Julie Ryan, received 8 nominations, including Best Film and Best Director for Kriv Stenders. While ORANGES and SUNSHINE received 7 nominations, including Best Film, Best Lead Actor for David Wenham, and Best Lead Actress for Emily Watson.
These nominations build on the success of South Australian documentaries and short films, with AACTA nominations announced in August including: LIFE IN MOVEMENT (dir. Sophie Hyde and Bryan Mason) and SHUT UP LITTLE MAN! AN AUDIO MISADVENTURE (dir. Matthew Bate) for Best Feature Length Documentary; CROPPED (dir. Dave Wade), and THE PALACE (dir. Anthony Maras) for Best Short Fiction Film and THE MOMENT (dir. Troy Bellchambers and Shane McNeil) for Best Short Animation.
SAFC CEO Richard Harris said “We are thrilled at the success of South Australian filmmakers in the recent AACTA award nominations. These nominations recognise the exceptional quality of South Australian filmmakers, and films that have received SAFC investment, that have been supported through numerous SAFC funding initiatives. The South Australian Film Corporation has a wonderful history in recent times at the AFIs, and this has been demonstrated again by the number of nominations garnered by films that we have supported.”
The AACTA Awards are a continuum of the Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards, which have been awarding screen excellence in Australia since 1958. The inaugural Samsung AACTA Awards will be held in January 2012.