By Adam Ross
The event was held on March 10th at Melbourne’s Backlot Studios and was hosted by AFCA co-chairs Adam Ross and Nadine Whitney.
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 awards night also celebrated Australian film journalism, with three prizes awarded for writing:
– The Ivan Hutchinson Award (best long-form writing)
– Best Review of an Individual Australian Film (best short-form writing)
– Best Review of an Individual Non-Australian Film (best short-form writing)
And one award for new media:
– The Jim Murphy Broadcast Award. This is a new category and is named after pioneering film critic Jim Murphy who co-hosted Australia’s first movie review program with Ivan Hutchison, Two on the Aisle on Channel Seven.
AFCA also honoured the best in International film with categories of Best Film, Best Film in a foreign language, and Best Documentary.
The full list of winners is 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
Winner: The Stranger
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
Winner: Thomas M. Wright for The Stranger
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
Winner: Joel Edgerton for The Stranger
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
Winner: Leah Purcell for The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
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
Winner: Sean Harris for The Stranger
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
Winner: Jessica De Gouw for The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
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
Winner: Sam Chiplin for The Stranger
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
Winner: Thomas M. Wright for The Stranger
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Ablaze
Anonymous Club
Clean
Franklin
The Lost City of Melbourne
Winner: The Lost City of Melbourne
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
Winner: The Banshees of Inisherin
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Decision To Leave
Drive My Car
Petite Maman
Quo Vadis Aida?
The Quiet Girl
Winner: The Quiet Girl
BEST INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY
A Life on The Farm
Fire Of Love
Moonage Daydream
Navalny
The Velvet Queen
Winner: Moonage Daydream
FILM CRITICS AWARDS
The writing awards were externally judged by three key industry figures – theatre director Peter Blackburn (Holding the Man), Sandra Sciberras (director of The Caterpillar Wish), and Ray Mooney (screenwriter of Everynight… Everynight).
THE IVAN HUTCHINSON AWARD FOR BEST LONG-FORM WRITING
Winner: Thomas Caldwell for Snowtown: Violence in the suburbs (printed in 101 Film’s blu-ray special edition of Snowtown)
BEST REVIEW OF AN INDIVIDUAL NON-AUSTRALIAN FILM (SHORT-FORM)
Winner: Thomas Caldwell for The Quiet Girl (published in ABC Melbourne)
BEST REVIEW OF AN INDIVIDUAL AUSTRALIAN FILM (SHORT-FORM)
Winner: Stephen A. Russell for Moja Vesna (published in Time Out)
THE JIM MURPHY BROADCAST AWARD (ELECTRONIC MEDIA)
Judges: Alex First (ABC Radio), Peter Malone (SIGNIS), Benjamin Norris (TV Reload).
Winner: Bede Jermyn and Marcey Papandrea for The Ozpoit Cast
