By Erin Free
From the witticisms of Geoffrey Rush and awkward on-stage banter between presenters to the strains of Culture Club and the sight of Dami Im bashing her way through “Flight Of The Bumblebee” in tribute to the 20th anniversary of Shine, The 6th AACTA Awards continued the path trodden by previous ceremonies by being a mix of the award-show-typical and the enjoyably incongruous. Like the Australian film industry itself, the ceremony was a mix of slickness (tuxedos, gowns, tedious red carpet interviews etc), grittiness (Hugo Weaving filmed his acceptance speech on his phone in a hotel room), and Hollywood servitude (Isla Fisher appears to have been gifted with The Trailblazer Award merely because she’s featured in a few American movies).
The big winner on the night was Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge, with the WW2 drama about heroic American medic and pacifist, Desmond Doss, taking out the gongs for Best Film, Best Screenplay (for Andrew Knight), Best Actor (Andrew Garfield), and Best Supporting Actor (for the aforementioned Hugo Weaving). The film also tore its way through the technical categories, taking out Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound, and Best Production Design. Its army greens, however, were no match for the vivid wardrobe of the teen comedy, Girl Asleep, which received the Best Costume Design award.
The acclaimed Australian family drama, The Daughter, also performed well on the night, scoring the awards for Best Actress (for eighteen-year-old Odessa Young), Best Supporting Actress (for Miranda Otto), and Best Adapted Screenplay (for the film’s debut director, Simon Stone). Other winners included Tanna (Best Original Score for Antony Partos) and Chasing Asylum (Best Documentary).
For a full list of winners, head to the AACTA website.
