By Travis Johnson
While the spread of nominations among this year’s usual suspects – Hacksaw Ridge, Goldstone, The Daughter, Looking for Grace, and festival fave Girl Asleep – is as one might expect, it’s Melbourne-shot indie Pawno that has become a surprise contender, picking up five nominations at this year’s Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards (Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Script).
The Daughter led the pack with a total of ten nominations, with Hacksaw Ridge closely following with nine. Apart from the big guns, the rest of the field is scattered, with A Month of Sundays scoring a couple of acting nominations, the stunning Spear in the running for Best Cinematography, and Boys in the Trees getting a nod for its retro soundtrack. Even Gods of Egypt picked up a nom (Best Music).
Still, that is a tight shot grouping for a award supposed to acknowledge the breadth of Australian cinema. There are more than a few glaring omissions from the slate. No love, apart from Damon Herriman’s Best Supporting nod, for Down Under? Nothing for Steve Le Marquand in Broke? Nothing for Venice winner, Early Winter? Down River, Is This the Real World, The Legend of Ben Hall?
Red Dog: True Blue? Nothing? Come on.
For all that, we are happy for all the nominees and wish them the best of luck. We just wish there were more of them.
BEST FILM
Girl Asleep
Goldstone
Hacksaw Ridge
Looking for Grace
The Daughter
BEST DIRECTOR
Mel Gibson – Hacksaw Ridge
Rosemary Myers – Girl Asleep
Matthew Saville – A Month of Sundays
Ivan Sen – Goldstone
Simon Stone – The Daughter
BEST ACTOR
John Brumpton – Pawno
Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge
Ewen Leslie – The Daughter
Aaron Pedersen – Goldstone
Richard Roxburgh – Looking for Grace
BEST ACTRESS
Maeve Dermody – Pawno
Radha Mitchell – Looking for Grace
Maggie Naouri – Joe Cinque’s Consolation
Bethany Whitmore – Girl Asleep
Odessa Young – The Daughter
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Andrew Commis ACS – The Daughter
Andrew Commis ACS – Girl Asleep
Simon Duggan ACS – Hacksaw Ridge
Bonnie Elliott ACS – Spear
Katie Milwright ACS – Looking for Grace
BEST ACTRESS SUPPORTING ROLE
Kerry Armstrong – Pawno
Justine Clarke – A Month of Sundays
Rachel Griffiths – Hacksaw Ridge
Miranda Otto – The Daughter
Jacki Weaver – Goldstone
BEST ACTOR SUPPORTING ROLE
Mark Coles-Smith – Pawno
Damon Herriman – Down Under
Sam Neill – The Daughter
Hugo Weaving – Hacksaw Ridge
Terry Norris – Looking for Grace
BEST SCRIPT
Damian Hill – Pawno
Andrew Knight, Robert Schenkkan – Hacksaw Ridge
Ivan Sen – Goldstone
Simon Stone – The Daughter
Matthew Whittet – Girl Asleep
BEST MUSIC
Marco Beltrami – Gods of Egypt
Mark Bradshaw – The Daughter
Rupert Gregson-Williams – Hacksaw Ridge
Ivan Sen – Goldstone
Shinjuku Thief & Darrin Verhagen – Boys in the Trees
BEST EDITOR
Peter Carrodus – Looking for Grace
Karryn de Cinque – Girl Asleep
John Gilbert – Hacksaw Ridge
Veronika Jenet – The Daughter
Ivan Sen – Goldstone
BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
Another Country
In the Shadow of the Hill
The Family
On Richard’s Side
Zach’s Ceremony
The FCCA Awards will be held on Tuesday, February 21, 2017, at the Paddington Woollahra RSL.