The 1977 Australian Film Awards ceremony, presented by the Australian Film Institute (AFI), honoured the best Australian films of 1976 on 21 September 1977 at Regent Theatre, in Sydney,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. It was televised on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. Actors

Keir Dullea Keir Atwood Dullea (; born May 30, 1936) is an American actor. He played astronaut David Bowman in the 1968 film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' and its 1984 sequel, '' 2010: The Year We Make Contact''. His other film roles include '' David and Lisa ...

and

Karen Black Karen Blanche Black (née Ziegler; July 1, 1939 – August 8, 2013) was an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence for her work in various studio and independent films in the 1970s, frequently portrayi ...

, and former

Australian Prime Minister The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the federal government of Australia and is also accountable to federal parliament under the principl ...

John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician who served as the nineteenth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1968 to 1971. He led the Liberal Party during that time, having previously been a l ...

hosted the show. ''

Don's Party ''Don's Party'' is a 1971 play by David Williamson set during the 1969 Australian federal election. The play opened on 11 August 1971 at The Pram Factory theatre in Carlton. Plot Don Henderson is a schoolteacher living with his wife Kath and b ...

'' won six awards including Best Direction and

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

. Other winners were ''

The Picture Show Man ''The Picture Show Man'' is a 1977 Australian film about a travelling film exhibitor (John Meillon) in the 1920s. He has to deal with the rebelliousness of his son ( Harold Hopkins) and a rival American exhibitor (Rod Taylor). The film was Rod Ta ...

'' with four awards, and '' Storm Boy'' with two awards including

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

and the

Jury Prize A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England duri ...

. Charles Chauvel was posthumously awarded the Raymond Longford Award.

Ceremony

The ceremony was held on 21 September 1977 at Regent Theatre, in Sydney,

. It was hosted by actors

and

, and former

. Films were nominated for awards in thirteen categories, marking the first time the awards were presented competitively and not as a film prize like previous years, with the exception of the non-feature film categories. The Awards were televised on ABC.

Winners and nominees

The Australian Film Institute (AFI) presented awards across eighteen categories. Three new award categories were presented for Best Achievement in Sound, Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction, and the award for Best Original Music Score was reinstated after it had not been given since 1973. The recipients of the peer voted feature-film awards included the film '' Storm Boy'', for

;

Bruce Beresford Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally and internationally in the United States. Beresford's notable films he has directed include '' B ...

for Best Direction, for ''

'';

John Meillon John Meillon, ( ; 1 May 1934 – 11 August 1989), was an Australian character actor, known for many straight as well as comedy roles, he became most widely known internationally as Walter Reilly in the films ''Crocodile Dundee'' and ''Crocodil ...

for Best Actor, for ''

The Fourth Wish ''The Fourth Wish'' is a 1976 Australian family film directed by Don Chaffey based on a three-part 1974 TV drama from the ABC. Plot Casey learns that his 12-year-old son Sean has leukaemia and will die in a few months. Casey leaves his job to dev ...

''; and

Pat Bishop Patricia Mary Bishop (13 June 1946 – 28 March 2000) was an Australian actress, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland noted for her performances in theatre, film and television series. She was married to the renowned Australian actor Bill Hunter ...

for

, for ''

''. Charles Chauvel received the Raymond Longford Award posthumously for his contribution to Australian screen culture and environment, and was presented to his wife

Elsa Chauvel Elsa Chauvel, (''née'' Elsie May Wilcox; 10 February 1898 – 22 August 1983) was an Australian filmmaker and actress, and the wife and collaborator of film director Charles Chauvel. Elsa Chauvel was a pioneer in Australian film making, best ...

. ''Storm Boy'' was nominated for nine awards but only received two; and ''Don's Party'' won five of the six awards it was nominated for, winning the most awards at the ceremony.
Non-feature films were presented with a gold, silver or bronze prize, or an honourable mention, and the awards were determined by a jury. ''

The Love Letters from Teralba Road ''The Love Letters from Teralba Road'' is a 1977 Australian short film directed by Stephen Wallace. In 1980 David Stratton called it "not only the most moving love story given to us by the Australian cinema, but also probably the best featurette ...

'' received a gold and silver prize, and a special award for creativity.

Peer voted awards

Jury voted prizes

Special awards

;Raymond Longford Award * Charles Chauvel ;Jedda Award *'' Storm Boy'' – Matt Carroll ;Creativity award * Tom Cowan – '' Journey Among Women'' * Stephen Wallace – ''

'' *

Alexander Stitt Alexander Arthur Henry Stitt (January 3, 1937 – October 2, 2016) was an Australian cartoonist, artist and celebrity whose work is well remembered in the Life. Be in it. campaign, as well as for Sid the Seagull, and Norm, both created for a var ...

– ''

Rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US ...

'' * Adrian Ussher – '' Phone Home To...'' ;Macro Photography * Densey Clyde, Jim Frazier – '' Garden Jungle''

References

External links

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Official website
{{Australian Film Institute Awards Film A 1977 in Australian cinema