The AACTA Award for Best Film is an award presented by the
Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) is a professional organisation of film and television practitioners in Australia. The Academy's aim is "to identify, award, promote, and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements i ...
(AACTA), a non-profit organisation whose aim is to "identify, award, promote, and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements in film and television". The award is presented at the annual
AACTA Awards
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industr ...
, which hand out accolades for achievements in
feature film
A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
,
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
,
documentaries
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...
and
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
s. From 1969 to 2010, the category was presented by the
Australian Film Institute
The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsib ...
(AFI), the Academy's parent organisation, at the annual Australian Film Institute Awards (known as the AFI Awards).
When the AFI launched the Academy in 2011, it changed the annual ceremony to the AACTA Awards, with the current award being a continuum of the AFI Award for Best Film.
From 1969 to 1975, the award was presented as a gold, silver, bronze or grand prix prize, or in some years, a cash prize.
The first winner, ''
Jack and Jill: A Postscript'', was nominated in the "general" category of the
1969 awards, and received a silver prize.
Because non-feature films dominated the
Australian film industry
The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'', arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received internati ...
at that time, the film was submitted in the general category.
Despite this, it is considered the first winner by the Academy. From the
1976 Australian Film Awards, the award became competitive, and has been given as such since then.
To be eligible, the film must be Australian; consist of a dramatised story of at least 70 minutes duration; and be publicly exhibited in a commercial cinema for a minimum of seven consecutive days, in at least two capital cities (one of which is
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
or
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
). The producer of the film is considered the nominee, and is presented the award upon winning.
Winners and nominees
In the following table, the years listed correspond to the year of film release; the ceremonies are usually held the same year. Films in bold and in dark blue background have received a gold, silver, bronze or grand prix prize, or a cash prize; those in bold and in yellow background have won a regular competitive award. Films that are neither highlighted nor in bold are the nominees. When sorted chronologically, the table always lists the winning film first and then the other nominees.
[Winners and nominees by year:
*1969:
*1970:
*1971:
*1972:
*1973:
*1974–75:
*1976:
*1977:
*1978:
*1979:
*1980:
*1981:
*1982:
*1983:
*1984:
*1985:
*1986:
*1987:
*1988:
*1989:
*1990:
*1991:
*1992:
*1993:
*1994:
*1995:
*1996:
*1997:
*1998:
*1999:
*2000:
*2001:
*2002:
*2003:
*2004:
*2005:
*2006:
*2007:
*2008:
*2009:
*2010:
*2011:
*2012:
*2013:
*2014: ][Additional winners and nominees references:
*
*
*
*
]
Notes
:A: From 1958–2010, the awards were held during the year of the films release. However, the 1974–75 awards was held in 1975 for films released in 1974 and 1975, and the first AACTA Awards were held in 2012 for films released in 2011.
:B: ''
Jack and Jill: A Postscript'' received a silver prize, and was nominated in the "general category" in 1969.
:C: ''
Three to Go: Michael'' received the Grand Prix award for the film in 1970.
:D: ''
Homesdale
''Homesdale'' is a 1971 Australian film directed by Peter Weir. ''Homesdale'' is a black comedy about visitors at a guest-house acting out their violent private fantasies and games under the control of the house staff.
Plot
Several people gather ...
'' was the winner of the Grand Prix award in 1971, and was the last film to receive this prize.
:E: ''
Stork
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...
'' was awarded the Australian Film Development Corporation Award for the Best Fiction Film over 65 minutes, and was given a five-thousand dollar cash prize.
:F: ''
Libido: The Child'' and ''
27A'' were joint recipients of the gold prize for fiction in 1973.
:G: ''
Sunday Too Far Away
''Sunday Too Far Away'' is a 1975 Australian drama film directed by Ken Hannam. It belongs to the Australian Film Renaissance or the "Australian New Wave", which occurred during that decade.
The film is set on a sheep station in the Australian o ...
'' won the golden reel prize, and an additional A$5000, at the
1974–75 Awards.
:H: Although not considered to be nominees, ''
Petersen
Petersen is a common Danish patronymic surname, meaning ''"son of Peter"''. There are other spellings. Petersen may refer to:
People In arts and entertainment
* Adolf Dahm-Petersen, Norwegian voice specialist
* Anja Petersen, German operatic s ...
'' and ''
Between Wars
''Between Wars'' is an Australian 1974 drama/war film released on 15 November 1974. It was directed by Michael Thornhill and written by Frank Moorhouse.
Plot
Four episodes in the life of doctor Edward Trenbow:
*In 1918 Trenbow is treating shel ...
'' won the silver and bronze prizes, respectively.
They are not highlighted in dark blue, in order not to confuse the reader in regards to who the winner is, and in order of precedence gold was always the highest honour, followed by silver then bronze.
Further reading
*
References
External links
Official website of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian Film Institute Award For Best Film
Film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...
Awards for best film
Lists of films by award
Awards established in 1969
1969 establishments in Australia