Matt Nable’s directorial feature debut, Transfusion, was announced as the winner of the Howard Frank Van Norton Award for Best Film at the Veterans Film Festival over the weekend.
Transfusion, a Stan Original, stars Sam Worthington as a former Special Forces operative who is thrust into the criminal underworld to keep his only son from being taken from him.
Worthington took home the award for Best Actor for his role in the film, while Jennifer Lawrence received Best Actress for Causeway.
Held in Sydney, the Veterans Film Festival screened films from 14 countries across four days.
Nable and producers Michael Schwarz and John Schwarz collected $10,000 for the Best Film prize.
The Red Poppy Award winners were selected by a Jury panel that included Bruce Beresford, Lisa Hoppe, Jenni Baird, Alan Dukes, Julie Kalceff, Cameron Patrick, Petra Salsjo, and Gus O’Brien-Cavanough.
The Red Poppy Awards have been presented annually at the Veterans Film Festival since 2015, except for a COVID break. The festival aims to be Australians premier international film festival devoted to screening films about, for, and by veterans. The festival also includes masterclasses, Q&As, workshops, art exhibitions, and performances.
Others Red Poppy Awards presented:
The Spectrum Films Award for Best Short Film – Soldier, Justin Zimmerman
The Award for Best Student Film – The Search, Thomas Brouns
The Best Music Video – Better Off, song by Johnny Reveille, directed by Casey Andrew
The Harry Julius Award for Best Animation – The Sprayer, Farnoosh Abedi
The Beyond Blue Award for the Best Film Reflecting Hope and Resilience – The Healing, Nick Barkla
Sgt Joseph Cecil Thompson Award for Best Music – Causeway, Lila Neugebauer, music by Alex Somers