Thomas M. Wright’s crime thriller The Stranger has proven popular with the Film Critics Circle of Australia, winning five gongs at the organisation’s awards in Sydney.
The film, which is based on the true story of one of the largest investigations and undercover operations in Australia, took home Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Actor for Joel Edgerton, and Best Actor Supporting Role for Sean Harris.
It comes after Wright was awarded Best Screenplay at last year’s AACTAs and Best Direction in a Narrative Feature Film (Budget $1M or over) at the ADG Awards, with Harris also winning an AACTA for his performance.
Other FCCA winners included Leah Purcell, who was crowned Best Actress for her performance in The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson, and colleague Mark Wareham, who was awarded Best Cinematography for his work on the film.
Best Actress Supporting Role went to Bosch & Rockit‘s Leeanna Walsman, while Amiel Courtin-Wilson’s Man On Earth and John Hughes’ Senses of Cinema shared the honours in the Best Documentary Feature category.
The full list of winners is below:
Best Film
The Stranger (Prod. Joel Edgerton, Iain Canning, Kim Hodgert, Emile Sherman, Rachel Gardner, Kerry Kohansky-Roberts)
Best Director
Thomas M Wright – The Stranger
Best Actress
Leah Purcell – The Drover’s Wife
Best Actor
Joel Edgerton – The Stranger
Best Actor Supporting Role
Sean Harris – The Stranger
Best Actress Supporting Role
Leeanna Walsman – Bosch & Rockit
Best Cinematography
Mark Wareham ACS – The Drover’s Wife
Best Screenplay
Thomas M Wright – The Stranger
Best Documentary Feature
Man On Earth (Dir. Amiel Courtin-Wilson, Prod. Alice Jamieson-Dowd, Amiel Courtin-Wilson)
Senses Of Cinema (Dir. and Prod. John Hughes, Tom Zubrycki)