By Adam Ross
Other films that scored big were Del Kathryn Barton’s Blaze, Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, Thomas M. Wright’s The Stranger, and Goran Stolevski’s You Won’t Be Alone, which all received six nominations each. Hannah Barlow & Kane Senes’ Sissy received five nominations, and Sara Kern’s Moja Vesna received four.
AFCA also recognises international achievements, with Oscar hopefuls The Banshees of Inisherin, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Fire of Love, and The Quiet Girl receiving nominations in their respective categories.
The Australian Film Critics Association is one of Australia’s professional associations for film critics, film reviewers, and film journalists who work regularly in the media, and provide informed discussion, analysis, and comment about Australian and world cinema. The winners of their awards are determined by a two-stage voting process involving AFCA’s membership body. Previous Best Australian Film winners include Nitram, The Nightingale, Hounds of Love, and Sweet Country.
The AFCA awards also celebrate the best in film criticism, with four awards up for grabs for its members. The awards are externally judged by key industry figures – previous judges include Kriv Stenders (director of Red Dog) and Ray Mooney (screenwriter of Everynight… Everynight).
The three writing awards – The Ivan Hutchinson Award (best long-form writing), Best Review of an Individual Australian Film (best short-form writing), and Best Review of an Individual Non-Australian Film (best short-form writing) – will be joined by a new award, the Jim Murphy Broadcast award, recognising the best in radio broadcast or podcasting. This new award is named after pioneering film critic Jim Murphy who co-hosted Australia’s first movie review program with Ivan Hutchison, Two on the Aisle.
The awards will be held on Friday, March 10 at The Backlot Studio in Melbourne. The event is closed to AFCA members and nominees.
Check out the full list of nominees below:
AUSTRALIAN CATEGORIES
BEST FILM
Blaze
Elvis
Moja Vesna
Sissy
The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
The Stranger
You Won’t Be Alone
Last year’s winner: Nitram
BEST DIRECTOR
Del Kathryn Barton – Blaze
Hannah Barlow & Kane Senes – Sissy
Sara Kern – Moja Vesna
Baz Luhrmann – Elvis
Leah Purcell – The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
Goran Stolevski – You Won’t Be Alone
Thomas M Wright – The Stranger
Last year’s winner: Justin Kurzel for Nitram
BEST ACTOR
Austin Butler – Elvis
Joel Edgerton – The Stranger
Idris Elba – Three Thousand Years of Longing
Zac Efron – Gold
Nitin Vengurlekar – The Lonely Spirits Variety Hour
Last year’s winner: Caleb Landry Jones for Nitram
BEST ACTRESS
Aisha Dee – Sissy
Loti Kovacic – Moja Vesna
Leah Purcell – The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
Julia Savage – Blaze
Noomi Rapace – You Won’t Be Alone
Last year’s winner: Judy Davis for Nitram
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Simon Baker – Blaze
Rob Collins – The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
Sean Harris – The Stranger
Daniel Monks – Sissy
Malachi Dower Roberts – The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
Last year’s winner: Ben Mendelsohn for Babyteeth
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jessica De Gouw – The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
Olivia De Jonge – Elvis
Emily De Margheriti – Sissy
Alice Englert – You Won’t Be Alone
Yael Stone – Blaze
Last year’s winner: Essie Davis for Nitram
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Sam Chiplin – The Stranger
Matthew Chuang – You Won’t Be Alone
Jeremy Rouse – Blaze
Mandy Walker – Elvis
Mark Wareham – The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
Last year’s winner: Ari Wegner for The True History of the Kelly Gang
BEST SCREENPLAY
Sara Kern – Moja Vesna
Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce, Sam Bramell – Elvis
Leah Purcell – The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
Goran Stolevski – You Won’t Be Alone
Thomas M Wright – The Stranger
Last year’s winner: Shaun Grant for Nitram
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Ablaze
Anonymous Club
Clean
Franklin
The Lost City of Melbourne
Last year’s winner: My Name is Gulpilil
INTERNATIONAL CATEGORIES
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM IN ENGLISH
The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Nope
Top Gun: Maverick
Last year’s winner: The Power of the Dog
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Decision To Leave
Drive My Car
Petite Maman
Quo Vadis Aida?
The Quiet Girl
BEST INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY
A Life on The Farm
Fire Of Love
Moonage Daydream
Navalny
The Velvet Queen
Last year’s winner: Flee
