By FilmInk Staff

The Australian Academy Of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) has awarded its prestigious Byron Kennedy Award to acclaimed artist and director Lynette Wallworth, best known for her pioneering work in the field of virtual reality. First awarded in 1984, The Byron Kennedy Award celebrates outstanding creative enterprise within the screen industry, and is given to an individual or organisation whose work embodies the qualities of innovation, vision, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. The Award, which honours Dr. George Miller’s original filmmaking partner and Mad Max co-creator, Byron Kennedy, includes a cash prize of $10,000 and is a discretionary award determined by an appointed jury.

Lynette Wallworth on the set of Collisions
Lynette Wallworth on the set of Collisions

Wallworth’s documentary, Tender, received five AACTA nominations and won the AACTA Award for Best Documentary Television Program at the 4th AACTA Awards, while her most recent work, Collisions, is a virtual reality film that explores the collision of science and spirit with Aboriginal elder, Nyarri Nyarri Morgan. “I’ve wanted to do this story for four years, and initially I thought to create an enormous installation for that work,” Wallworth told FilmInk. “But when I saw virtual reality, I realised that what it does which is so incredible is that it makes everything personal. It locates the viewer inside the story. I have worked my whole life to create ways of calling the viewer inside the work. And this technology does it in a remarkable way. It was a really natural transition.”

Wallworth joins a long list of impressive Byron Kennedy recipients, standing alongside the likes of award winning writer and director, Jane Campion; iconic duo, Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin; acclaimed filmmaker and multitasker, Ivan Sen (Mystery Road, Goldstone); and bravura cinematographer, Adam Arkapaw (Animal Kingdom, True Detective). “The names of some of the previous winners of the Byron Kennedy Award count amongst my heroes, and I am humbled and amazed to be considered amongst them,” Lynette Wallworth said in an official statement. “Despite a wonderful life as an international artist forging new pathways, there is nothing more meaningful to me than being acknowledged here at home. I am so grateful to the jury for thinking my work was worthy of this honour, and I am thrilled to be associated, in any way, with the artistry of a fearless visionary like George Miller.”

Lynette Wallworth in the virtual world
Lynette Wallworth in the virtual world

And though recognised for her groundbreaking work in virtual reality, for Lynette Wallworth – like all great filmmakers – it’s always about the story that she’s telling. “I am comfortable working with new technology, but I’ve never chosen a technology for the sake of the technology,” she told FilmInk. “That’s why I don’t necessarily repeat using a technology; I’m always driven by the story. With Collisions, I took four years to contemplate what the best way was to tell this story. And virtual reality, I believe, is the best way to deliver this particular story. And that’s why I can shift from doing an interactive installation with multiple projector and multiple trigger points to doing a feature documentary which is broadcast on television, because that was the right form for that story.”

The Byron Kennedy Award will be presented to Lynette Wallworth at The 6th AACTA Awards on Wednesday December 7 at The Star Event Centre in Sydney. Tickets to the ceremony are on sale now. For all information, head to the official website.

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