Shaun Grant made it three wins in three years at this evening’s AWGIE Awards, collecting the original feature prize for Nitram to go with his previous film adaptation wins for Penguin Bloom and The True History of the Kelly Gang.
He was one of 26 recipients announced at the virtual ceremony, presented by the Australian Writer’s Guild.
Grant’s writing partner on Penguin Bloom, Harry Cripps, also became a repeat winner, taking out feature film adaptation with Robert Connolly for The Dry.
It was a good night for past recipients in television categories as well, with 2019 original feature film winner Tony McNamara awarded best series or miniseries lasting more than four hours for The Great, while Peter Mattessi, who won last year’s television serial award for The Heights, was again recognised in the category, this time for Neighbours.
Alex Lee, Jenna Owen and Victoria Zerbst from SBS’s The Feed were also crowned winners in the light entertainment and sketch comedy category for the second year running along with Ben Jenkins.
There was, however, some fresh blood across the other television winners, with the New Gold Mountain writing team of Peter Cox, Yolanda Ramke, Benjamin Law, Greg Waters, and Pip Karmel topping the telemovie or mini-series category, and Mark Bonanno, Naomi Higgins and Humyara Mahbub triumphing in situation or narrative comedy for Why Are You Like This?
Kodie Bedford, who has written for Mystery Road and All My Friends Are Racist, was recognised for her talents as a playwright, picking up the Major and Stage Award for her play Cursed!.
Of the children’s categories, Lina Foti was awarded best preschool program for Pocoyo and Hannah Fitzpatrick won the children’s C classification award for The Gamers 2037.
In the documentary stakes, Tim Bain’s Water Safety with Kangaroo Beach received the award for community, educational and training, with Alec Morgan and Tiriki Onus’s Ablaze named best public broadcast documentary.
John Armstrong continued Space Nova‘s streak in the animation award, while Tim Spencer and Zoe Norton Lodge’s Ding Dong I’m Gay and Caitlin Richardson’s The Tailings were both recognised in the web series category.
The winners of the 54th AWGIE Awards are as follows:
MAJOR AWARD
Cursed! – Kodie Bedford
DAVID WILLIAMSON PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN WRITING FOR AUSTRALIAN THEATRE
Claire Della and the Moon – Jamie Hornsby with Ellen Graham
FEATURE FILM – ORIGINAL
Nitram – Shaun Grant
FEATURE FILM – ADAPTATION
The Dry – Harry Cripps and Robert Connolly
SHORT FILM
The Last Elephant on Earth – Piri Eddy
DOCUMENTARY – PUBLIC BROADCAST (INCLUDING VOD) OR EXHIBITION
Ablaze – Alec Morgan with Tiriki Onus
DOCUMENTARY – COMMUNITY, EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING (OR OTHERWISE COMMISSIONED TO A SPECIFIC BRIEF)
Water Safety with Kangaroo Beach – Tim Bain
TELEVISION – SERIAL
Neighbours: Episode 8367 – Peter Mattessi
TELEVISION – SERIES OR MINISERIES OF MORE THAN 4 HOURS DURATION, INCLUDING ORIGINAL AND ADAPTED WORKS
The Great: Season 1, ‘The Beaver’s Nose’ – Tony McNamara
TELEVISION – TELEMOVIE OR MINISERIES OF 4 HOURS OR LESS DURATION, INCLUDING ORIGINAL AND ADAPTED WORKS
New Gold Mountain – Peter Cox, Yolanda Ramke, Benjamin Law, Greg Waters and Pip Karmel
CHILDREN’S TELEVISION – ‘P’ CLASSIFICATION (PRESCHOOL – UNDER 5 YEARS), ORIGINAL OR ADAPTED, ANIMATED OR PERFORMED
Pocoyo: Season 4, ‘The Remote Control’ – Lina Foti
CHILDREN’S TELEVISION – ‘C’ CLASSIFICATION (CHILDREN’S – 5–14 YEARS), ORIGINAL OR ADAPTED, ANIMATED OR PERFORMED
The Gamers 2037: Season 1, ‘The Decision’ – Hannah Fitzpatrick
COMEDY – SITUATION OR NARRATIVE
Why Are You Like This: Season 1, ‘The Pressures of Late Capitalism’ – Mark Bonanno, Naomi Higgins and Humyara Mahbub
COMEDY – SKETCH OR LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT
The Feed: ‘Comedy Sketches 2020’ – Ben Jenkins, Alex Lee, Jenna Owen and Victoria Zerbst
AUDIO
CrossBread: ‘In The Beginning’ – Declan Fay with Chris Ryan and Megan Washington
STAGE
Cursed! – Kodie Bedford
COMMUNITY AND YOUTH THEATRE
Trackers – Donna Hughes
THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES
Claire Della and the Moon – Jamie Hornsby with Ellen Graham
MUSIC THEATRE
Notre-Dame – Alana Valentine
ANIMATION
Space Nova: Season 1, ‘Seaweed Samba’ – John Armstrong
WEB SERIES AND OTHER NON-BROADCAST/NON-‘SUBSCRIPTION VIDEO ON DEMAND’ TV SHORT WORKS
Ding Dong I’m Gay: Season 1, ‘Easier Said Than Cum’ – Tim Spencer and Zoe Norton Lodge
The Tailings: Season 1, Episode 5 and Episode 6 – Caitlin Richardson
RICHARD LANE AWARD For Outstanding Service and Dedication to the Australian Writers’ Guild
Jacqueline Elaine
DOROTHY CRAWFORD AWARD For Outstanding Contribution to the Profession and the Industry
Wesley Enoch
FRED PARSONS AWARD For Outstanding Contribution to Australian Comedy
Tim Minchin
AUSTRALIAN WRITERS’ GUILD LIFE MEMBERSHIP
Rob George
AUSTRALIAN WRITERS’ GUILD LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Roger Simpson