The Australian Directors’ Guild (ADG) has named filmmaker and visual artist Samantha Lang as the next recipient of the Cecil Holmes Award.
A former ADG president, Lang is known for helming feature films, The Well, The Monkey’s Mask, and L’Idole, with The Well competing at the Cannes Film Festival for the 1997 Palme d’Or.
In 2019, her feature documentary It All Started with a Stale Sandwich screened at the Sydney Film Festival, while more recently, she has made two VR films — Prehistoric VR and Anthropocene VR — in collaboration with Erth Visual and Physical and supported by Create NSW and Screen NSW.
ADG President Rowan Woods said the length and breadth of Lang’s achievements were “monumental and unique”.
“Her outstanding and internationally recognised feature films, her exceptional leadership as a two-term ADG President, and her significant and transformational work championing diversity and inclusion make Sam Lang the ADG Board’s unanimous pick for this year’s award,” he said.
“Sam’s creativity and humanity inspire all Australian directors and there is no worthier recipient than Sam for this year’s Cecil Holmes Award.
Established in 1995, the Cecil Holmes Award is named in honour of Cecil Holmes, whose work was largely unheralded, and who was later instrumental in mentoring a number of directors during the 70s film renaissance. The award is now generally given in alternate years or with the identification of a deserving recipient who has advocated for Australian directors’ advanced craft and careers.
The announcement comes as the ADG confirmed Jenna Owen and Vic Zerbst as hosts of this year’s awards ceremony, which will be held December 8 at the Actors Centre, Leichhardt, Sydney.
Presenters at this year’s awards include the directors Leah Purcell, Fadia Abboud, Christiaan Van Vuuren, Adele Vuko, and Pearl Tan, with more to be confirmed over the coming days.
Find the full list of nominees here and information about how to attend the event here.