Bruna Papandrea will be presented with the AACTA Byron Kennedy Award by Simon Baker at the upcoming AACTA Awards ceremony, recognizing her outstanding contributions to the screen industry. The AACTA Awards presented by Foxtel Group will be hosted by Rebel Wilson and held on Saturday 10 February at HOTA on the Gold Coast, a destination renowned for its beauty and vibrant cultural scene.
Established in 1984, the Byron Kennedy Award is bestowed upon individuals or organizations in the screen industry whose work epitomizes innovation, vision, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. Named in honour of Dr. George Miller’s filmmaking partner and MAD MAX co-creator Byron Kennedy, the award includes a cash prize of $10,000 and is determined by an appointed jury.
Bruna Papandrea, Founder and CEO of Made Up Stories, stands out as a pioneer in the film and television industry. Her exemplary career is marked by a commitment to amplifying diverse voices and telling unforgettable stories, driven primarily by multifaceted females on and off-screen. The AACTA Byron Kennedy Award celebrates Papandrea’s extensive body of work and recognises her contribution to the screen industry as one of the country’s most revered producers.
Papandrea is an award winning and leading producer in the global film and TV industry behind some of the biggest commercial and critical hits. Papandrea won an Emmy® and Golden Globe® for HBO’s worldwide sensation BIG LITTLE LIES and through Made Up Stories, she has produced some of the top premium TV shows of the last several years including Hulu’s most-watched original series of all time, NINE PERFECT STRANGERS, HBO’s most-watched series of 2020, THE UNDOING and Netflix’s worldwide hit shows PIECES OF HER, and ANATOMY OF A SCANDAL,
Notably, Papandrea and Made Up Stories also produced popular and critically acclaimed television such as WOLF LIKE ME, Amazon Prime’s THE LOST FLOWERS OF ALICE HART, Apple TV+’s anthology series ROAR, and most recently Binge’s biggest original series premiere of all-time STRIFE.
On the film front, Papandrea’s and Made Up Stories’ contributions include Netflix’s hit LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE, which was #1 movie globally on the platform, and a string of notable Australian movies such as AACTA-winning film THE NIGHTINGALE, LITTLE MONSTERS, PENGUIN BLOOM and THE DRY. The follow-up to the $20 million Australian box office smash hit THE DRY, FORCE OF NATURE: THE DRY 2 will release in cinemas nationally on February 8.
Together with Made Up Stories co-founder/partner Steve Hutensky and partner Jodi Matterson, Papandrea’s prolific local production slate has brought in as much as $500 million into the Australian economy.
Papandrea’s Made Up Stories is currently in production in Australia on THE LAST ANNIVERSARY and recently started principal photography on season 2 of NINE PERFECT STRANGERS.
Prior to founding Made Up Stories, Papandrea co-launched Pacific Standard with Reese Witherspoon, producing acclaimed films such as worldwide box office hit GONE GIRL and the Oscar-nominated WILD as well as the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning series BIG LITTLE LIES, further solidifying her position as a powerhouse in the entertainment industry.
Bruna Papandrea said “It is truly an honour to be recognized by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time – George Miller and his brilliant partner Doug Mitchell – and the legacy of the incomparable Byron Kennedy. I have long been a fan of their bold, innovative work and their commitment as filmmakers to produce that work in Australia and take it to the world. They really inspired me to create Made Up Stories and find my own way of continuing this country’s tradition of telling provocative, courageous and entertaining stories. Thank you to Kennedy Miller Mitchell and AACTA for celebrating our industry and for this great honour.”
The 2024 AACTA Awards Ceremony will be broadcast on Channel Ten at 7pm AEDT, Saturday 10 February. A special director’s cut including all awards from the ceremony will be available at 7:30pm on Sunday 11 February on BINGE and Foxtel On-Demand and on AACTA TV.
The AACTA Awards ceremonies form part of AACTA Festival, a four-day celebration of Australia’s vibrant screen industry. With more than 90 events, AACTA Festival will present a dynamic array of panels, meet-and-greet, screenings and activities offering a place for the Australian screen industry to connect from February 8-11, 2024. Many nominees and winners from the AACTA Awards will be presenting on panels and discussions throughout the Festival. AACTA Festival will be held at HOTA on the Gold Coast, a destination renowned for its beauty and vibrant cultural scene. Find out more at aactafestival.com
Key Details:
2024 AACTA Industry Awards: Thursday, 8 February
2024 AACTA Awards Ceremony: Saturday, 10 February
AACTA Awards Broadcast: Channel Ten at 7pm AEDT, Saturday 10 February;
Special director’s cut including all awards from the ceremony will be available at 7:30pm on Sunday 11 February on BINGE and Foxtel On-Demand and on AACTA TV.
AACTA Festival: Thursday, 8 February – Sunday, 11 February
For information on the AACTA Awards and ticket sales, click here.
For information on the AACTA Festival, click here.
About Bruna Papandrea
Emmy® and Golden Globe® winning producer Bruna Papandrea is the Founder and CEO of Made Up Stories, a development and production company that amplifies distinctive voices to tell unforgettable stories about the diversity of human experience, driven primarily by multifaceted females on and off-screen.
Through Made Up Stories, Papandrea has recently produced a number of television series including Netflix’s hit shows PIECES OF HER starring Toni Colette and ANATOMY OF A SCANDAL starring Sienna Miller; the anthology ROAR for Apple TV+; Spectrum Original’s LONG SLOW EXHALE and the genre-bending romantic comedy WOLF LIKE ME starring Isla Fisher and Josh Gad for Peacock and Stan. Papandrea and Made Up Stories also have produced HBO’s most watched series of 2020, THE UNDOING starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant, the Amazon Prime Video series TELL ME YOUR SECRETS, UNDRESSED, an unscripted series for Australia’s Network 10 and Hulu’s NINE PERFECT STRANGERS staring Kidman, which has been Hulu’s most watched original series of all time. Last August, Papandrea and team released the Amazon series THE LOST FLOWERS OF ALICE HART starring Sigourney Weaver which instantly becoming the most successful Australian Amazon Original launch globally and in December the team released the new Binge series STRIFE starring Asher Keddie which was the platform’s biggest original series premier of all-time.
On the film side, Papandrea and Made Up Stories have recently released LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE for Netflix, starring Mila Kunis which premiered at number one globally and kept the spot for two consecutive weeks. The company has also produced, Jennifer Kent’s AACTA-winning THE NIGHTINGALE, Abe Forsythe’s LITTLE MONSTERS, Glendyn Ivin’s PENGUIN BLOOM – a 2020 TIFF selection – and Rob Connolly’s Australian box office smash hit THE DRY starring Eric Bana. The team will soon release FORCE OF NATURE, sequel to THE DRY, also starring Bana.
Prior to Made Up Stories, Papandrea launched Pacific Standard with Reese Witherspoon, producing GONE GIRL and the Oscar-nominated WILD. She also executive produced HBO’s Emmy and Golden Globe-winning series BIG LITTLE LIES.
About AACTA
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) is a not-for-profit organisation, aimed at promoting, encouraging, and celebrating screen excellence in Australia. The Australian Academy is Australia’s only independent, member-based, national screen organisation that represents all differing screen crafts, from directors to producers, actors, writers, musicians, and a vast number of members in below-the-line roles.
For over 60 years, the AACTA Awards (formerly the AFI Awards) have recognised and celebrated Australia’s highest achievements in film, television, short form, and digital content. The AACTA Awards are Australia’s most prestigious screen ceremony, embracing a diverse range of screen productions and recognising some of the biggest and brightest names in the industry. AACTA remains committed to supporting and encouraging the next generation of industry talent through a variety of development initiatives aimed at providing opportunities and support for up-and-coming creatives.
