AACTA celebrated its 10th year with the 2020 AACTA Awards Ceremony presented by Foxtel at The Star Sydney. In a year that looked a little different, the celebrations were as significant as ever for screen entertainment in Australia. Stateless, Babyteeth, Bluey, MasterChef Australia, Mystery Road, Cate Blanchett, Rebel Wilson, Ben Mendelsohn, Shaun Micallef, Yvonne Strahovski and Essie Davis were among the winners announced at the ceremony.
Leading the 2020 AACTA Awards season with a total of 13 Awards was Stateless, including Best Telefeature or Miniseries, Best Screenplay in Television and all four acting Awards across television drama. In film, Babyteeth received nine Awards including Best Film presented by Foxtel and Best Direction for Shannon Murphy, marking her directional debut.
AACTAs 2020 Darren Gilshenan, Tony Ayres, Elise McCredie and Sheila Jayadev- Stateless
The full list of Awards presented today are as follows:
• AACTA Award Best Telefeature or Mini Series: Stateless Cate Blanchett, Elise McCredie, Tony Ayres, Sheila Jayadev, Paul Ranford, Liz Watts, Andrew Upton—Matchbox Pictures, Dirty Films (ABC)
• AACTA Award Best Reality Program: MasterChef Australia Marty Benson, Adam Fergusson—Endemol Shine Australia (Network 10)
• AACTA Award Best Entertainment Program: Have You Been Paying Attention? Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Michael Hirsh, Rob Sitch—Working Dog Productions (Network 10)
• AACTA Award Best Lifestyle Program – The Living Room Sarah Thornton, Caroline Spencer, Nicole Rogers, Ciaran Flannery—Network Ten (Network 10)
• AACTA Award Best Online Entertainment: The Norris Nuts Sabre Norris, Sockie Norris, Biggie Norris, Naz Norris—The Norris Nuts
• AACTA Award Best Online Drama or Comedy: Love In Lockdown Robyn Butler, Wayne Hope, Lucy Durack, Eddie Perfect—Gristmill
• AACTA Award Best Children’s Program: Bluey Joe Brumm, Charlie Aspinwall, Sam Moor, Daley Pearson—Ludo Studio (ABC)
• AACTA Award Best Comedy Entertainment Program: Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell Shaun Micallef, Peter Beck, Gary McCaffrie—ITV Studios Australia, Giant Baby Productions (ABC)
• AACTA Award Best Drama Series: Mystery Road David Jowsey, Greer Simpkin—Bunya Productions (ABC)
• AACTA Award Best Comedy Series: Upright Jason Stephens, Helen Bowden, Melissa Kelly, Chris Taylor, Tim Minchin—Lingo Pictures (Foxtel)
• AACTA Award Best Factual Entertainment Program: Gogglebox Australia Howard Myers, David McDonald, Kerrie Kerr—Endemol Shine, Network 10, Foxtel (Foxtel, Network 10)
• AACTA Award Best Documentary or Factual Program: Murder in The Outback: The Falconio And Less Mystery Andrew Farrell, Matt Campbell, Bethan Arwel-Lewis, Sophie Meyrick—CJZ (Seven Network)
• AACTA Award Subscription Television Award for Best Presenter: Rebel Wilson—LOL: Last One Laughing Australia
• AACTA Award Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama: Fayssal Bazzi (Stateless)
• AACTA Award Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama: Yvonne Strahovski (Stateless)
• AACTA Award Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama: Darren Gilshenan (Stateless)
• AACTA Award Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama: Cate Blanchett (Stateless)
• AACTA Award Best Screenplay in Television: Elise McCredie Stateless Episode 1 – The Circumstances in Which They Come
• AACTA Award Best Direction in a TV Drama or Comedy: Emma Freeman Stateless Episode 1 – The Circumstances in Which They Come
• AACTA Award Best Comedy Performer: Tim Minchin (Upright)
• AACTA Award Best Film presented by Foxtel: Babyteeth Alex White—Whitefalk Films
• AACTA Award Best Indie Film: Standing Up For Sunny Steve Vidler (Dir), Jamie Hilton, Michael Pontin, Drew Bailey—Ticket To Ride
• AACTA Award Best Asian Film: Better Days Kwok Cheung Tsang (Dir.), Jojo Yuet-Jan Hui
• AACTA Award Best Documentary: Firestarter – The Story of Bangarra Nel Minchin (Dir.), Wayne Blair (Dir.), Ivan O’Mahoney—In Films
• AACTA Award Best Screenplay in Film: Rita Kalnejais (Babyteeth)
• AACTA Award Best Direction in Film: Shannon Murphy (Babyteeth)
• AACTA Award Best Lead Actor in Film: Toby Wallace (Babyteeth)
• AACTA Award Best Lead Actress in Film: Eliza Scanlen (Babyteeth)
• AACTA Award Best Supporting Actor in Film: Ben Mendelsohn (Babyteeth)
• AACTA Award Best Supporting Actress in Film: Essie Davis (Babyteeth)
• AACTA Award Best Short Film: The Mirror Joel Kohn (Dir.), Mike Horvath, Tom Davies—Screen Invaders, Finest Hour Company, Savvy Cinema
• AACTA Award Best VFX or Animation: The Eight Hundred Tim Crosbie, Joy Wu, Jason Troughton, Tom Wood, Julian Hutchens—Rising Sun Pictures
AACTAs 2020 MasterChef Judges
The Byron Kennedy Award was also presented, recognising the impact of Australian low-budget genre filmmaking and celebrating the outstanding creative enterprise within the screen industry. Jennifer Kent was announced as the recipient for her international success on the AACTA Award-winning film, The Babadook.
Chairman of the Byron Kennedy Award, Dr. George Miller, who ambitiously created Max Mad with his producing partner Byron Kennedy said: “During the past 10 years Australian filmmakers have created a number of uniquely independent films. They were driven by raw talent and a fierce pursuit of excellence. Many found audiences and some impacted globally. These are precisely the criteria the Byron Kennedy Award seeks to acknowledge. This year’s recipient is Jennifer Kent for her unforgettable film The Babadook.”
Steve Bedwell, Bryan Cockerill and Geraldine Coy were the proud recipients of the inaugural AACTA Reg Grundy Award, established to support new voices in screen entertainment and fast track original productions. The trio received a $50,000 prize comprised of cash and development funds to create their winning television entertainment concept, Seven Pups.
AACTA Reg Grundy Award recipient said: “The AACTA Reg Grundy Award has given us the opportunity to shine a light on an idea we’ve been tinkering with for many years. Progressing through the rounds has been enlightening and fun.”
Other highlights of the Ceremonies included Mahalia Barnes’s performance of I Am Woman, Tim Minchin’s original Carry You which features in the final episode of 2020 AACTA Award-winning Best Comedy Series, Upright. In Memoriam featured a touching performance from Swing On This members Matt Lee and Ben Mingay, paying tribute to their late member Michael Falzon and many other leading figures in the industry.
AACTA CEO Damian Trewhella said “COVID has been an enormous challenge for everyone but it has also highlighted just how critical our screen industry is to audiences around the world. We have turned to the local entertainment industry to keep us informed and entertained, with the work of our creative industry valued by audiences more than ever before. It has been a great pleasure to be able to gather tonight, albeit in smaller numbers than we are used to, to celebrate the outstanding productions of 2020 across television, film, documentary and the ever evolving, exciting online space.”
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Top Photo: AACTAs 2020 Mystery Road team (L-R) David Jowsey, Rob Collins, Kodie Bedford, Greer Simkin, Warwick Thornton, Tasma Walton, Ngaire Pigram and Wayne Blair