The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts has made three major announcements.
Firstly, the lineup of stars presenting the AACTA Awards presented by Foxtel Group have been announced.
Acclaimed actor and AACTA president Russell Crowe, Oscar, BAFTA, and AACTA Award winning director Baz Luhrmann, AACTA Award Winner and Emmy Nominated Succession star Sarah Snook, and comedian Rebel Wilson will be first up.
Joining them on stage for the ceremony on Wednesday, December 8, are Sam Neill (Rams), Rachel Griffiths (Total Control), Jack Thompson (High Ground), Marta Dusseldorf (Wentworth), brothers Stephen and Bernard Curry, Phoebe Tonkin (Bloom), director Taika Waititi and the creator of The Newsreader, Michael Lucas.
Also featuring will be musical performances from Lime Cordiale, Baker Boy, and Steve Kilbey.
Lime Cordiale’s latest single, Apple Crumble, is a collaboration between the band and actor Idris Elba, who will feature in their performance at the Ceremony in a world-first exclusive.
Celebrating the lives of the entertainers and creatives who have died in the past year, singer Steve Kilbey will perform a solo acoustic version of The Church classic Under the Milky Way during the In Memoriam section of the broadcast.
Other Australian screen stars attending include: Eric Bana, Deborah Mailman, Stephen Peacocke, Matt Nable, Nakkiah Lui, Simon Baker, Eliza Scanlen, Bojana Novakovic, Michelle Lim-Davidson, Toby Leonard Moore, Susie Youssef, Dave Hughes, Courtney Act, Celia Pacquola, Shane Jacobson, Amanda Keller, and Tom Gleeson.
The 2021 AACTA Awards presented by Foxtel Group ceremony will be broadcast on Channel 10 at 7.30pm on Wednesday, December 8, and encored in the days following on Fox Arena on Foxtel, Binge, and AACTA TV.
Also being revealed on Wednesday December 8 will be the winner of the AACTA Audience Choice Awards.
Now in its second year, Audience Choice Awards allows the viewing public the opportunity to vote for their favourite actors, films and TV shows from the past year. Following an online poll, five nominees in seven categories including Favourite Actor (both male and female), Favourite Film and Favourite Television Drama have been determined.
The AACTA Audience Choice Awards nominees are:
Favourite Actor:
Eric Bana
Asher Keddie
Deborah Mailman
Celia Pacquola
Pamela Rabe
Favourite Television Drama:
Clickbait – Netflix
Home & Away – Seven Network
Jack Irish – ABC
Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) – Seven Network
Wentworth – Foxtel
Favourite Film:
A Sunburnt Christmas
The Dry
Mortal Kombat
Penguin Bloom
Peter Rabbit 2
Favourite Television Host:
Carrie Bickmore – The Project – Network Ten
Hamish Blake – LEGO Masters Australia – Nine Network
Costa Georgiadis – Gardening Australia – ABC
Tom Gleeson – Hard Quiz – ABC
Adam Hills – Spicks and Specks – ABC
Favourite Competition Reality Show:
Australian Survivor: Brains V Brawn – Network Ten
The Block – Nine Network
Lego Masters – Nine Network
MasterChef Australia – Network Ten
The Voice Australia – Seven Network
Favourite Digital Comedy Creator:
Christian Hull
Jimmy Rees
Millie Ford
Sam Cotton
Sooshi Mango
Favourite Entertainment Show:
Anh’s Brush with Fame – ABC
Bondi Rescue – Network Ten
Gardening Australia – ABC
Gogglebox Australia – Foxtel/Network Ten
Have you Been Paying Attention? – Network Ten
Finally, AACTA has announced that ScreenFest is back for a second year to give fans and industry insiders access to exclusive content and behind-the-scenes insights from homegrown production leaders and stars such as Sarah Snook on her role in Succession, and Murray Bartlett on the Foxtel series The White Lotus.
Local behind-the-scenes talent forms an integral part of ScreenFest and this year features award-winning filmmaker Greig Fraser unpacking his work on the blockbuster Dune, Oscar-winning writer Tony McNamara on crafting Disney’s most notorious villain in Cruella, and cinematographer Toby Oliver describing shooting Jordan Peele’s horror Get Out.
From Saturday, December 4, the program begins with tutorials on creating content for social media presented by Meta, a masterclass in producing with Bruna Papandrea and her Made Up Stories partners, documentary & kids’ TV showcases, and exclusive panel discussions with cast and crew who have achieved outstanding feats in screen and entertainment.
In a milestone for the Australian screen industry, 2021 saw more Australian First Nations scripted projects go into production in a single year than ever before. AACTA are marking this historic moment with Celebrating First Nations New Wave featuring Nakkiah Lui, Darren Dale, Trisha Morton-Thomas, Danielle MacLean, and Dena Curtis.