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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 in film and television". It was established in August 2011 with the backing of 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) to act as its industry engagement arm and to administer the AACTA Awards (formerly the Australian Film Institute Awards, also known as the AFI Awards) which rewards achievements in Australian feature film, television, documentary and short films. The Academy is composed of 15 Chapters, each of which represents different screen artists including actors, directors, producers and writers, and it is overseen by the Academy's president and the Honorary Council. Australian actor Geoffrey Rush was the inaugural President from 2011 to 2017, and hosted the inaugural AACTA Awards in January 2012.


Background

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), is a not for profit, membership based, organisation whose aim is "to identify, award, promote and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements in film and television." The Academy is a subsidiary of 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), a non-profit organisation which was established in 1958 to develop an active film culture in Australia and to foster engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. The AFI was also responsible for administering the Australian Film Institute Awards (more commonly known as the AFI Awards), which until 2011 rewarded Australian practitioners in feature film, television, documentary and short film screen crafts. The Academy receives funding by the AFI, and Australian state and federal governments. In June 2011, the AFI proposed the establishment of an "Australian Academy". The objectives for the proposed academy was to raise the profile of Australian film and television in Australia and abroad, and to change the way it rewards talent by mimicking the methods used in foreign film organisations, such as Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). The voting system would change through the establishment of an "Honorary Council", which will govern fifteen chapters composed of professionals from industry guilds and organisations including actors, directors, producers and
screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...
s. It was also stated that the Academy would not replace the AFI and past winners of the AFI Awards would " ..constitute the founding heritage of an 'Australian Academy.'" When the announcement of the proposal was made, the AFI began the consultation phase where members of the public and screen industry gave their feedback on the proposed changes throughout June, 2011. Of the announcement Damian Trewhella, CEO of the AFI said, "We thought a better way to engage with the industry would be to try and improve our professional membership structure ..It's quite a big improvement on the way the AFI does things." By 20 July, weeks after the consultation period ended, the AFI announced that it would go ahead with the proposed changes and the Australian Academy. When asked about the timing of the announcement Trewhella stated that, "Based on the overwhelming industry support we have received, we are now confident that we are moving in the right direction, and therefore that we can move briskly to establish the initial phase of the Academy." On 18 August 2011, the AFI announced, in a special event at the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
, that the academy would be called the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) and the inaugural awards ceremony would be renamed the AACTA Awards, but serve as a continuum to the annual AFI Awards. During the event it was also made known that the president of the inaugural awards would be Geoffrey Rush. On the night a new gold statuette was revealed, created by Australian sculptor Ron Gomboc, which depicts "a human silhouette based on the shape of the Southern Cross constellation."


Structure

The Academy, which has between 1,500 and 2,000 members, comprises fifteen Chapters, with each representing a different area of speciality in feature film, television, documentary and short film. It is overseen by the Academy's president and the Honorary Council. The role of the Honorary Council is to determine policies and strategies for the way the Academy rewards practitioners. The Chapters are as follows: *Actors *Animation *Cinematographers *Composers *Costume Designers *Directors *Editors *Executives *Hair and Make-up Artists *Media and Public Relations *Producers *Production Designers *Screenwriters *Sound *Visual and Special Effects


President, Vice President, Patron & Ambassador

*
Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...
– President * Nicole Kidman – Vice President * George Miller – Patron *
Cate Blanchett Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received nu ...
– Ambassador Source:


Honorary Councillors

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Stuart Beattie Stuart Beattie (born 4 August 1971) is an Australians, Australian filmmaker. His screenplay for ''Collateral (film), Collateral'' (2004) earned him nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay, Satellite Award for Best Original ...
, 2011–present * Jan Chapman, 2011–present * Jonathan Chissick, 2011–present * Abbie Cornish, 2011–present *
Rolf de Heer Rolf de Heer (born 4 May 1951) is a Dutch Australian film director. De Heer was born in Heemskerk in the Netherlands but migrated to Sydney when he was eight years old.
, 2011–present * Elizabeth Drake, 2011–present *
Adam Elliot Adam Elliot (born 2 January 1972) is an Australian stop-motion animation writer, director and producer based in Melbourne, Australia. His five films have collectively participated in over seven hundred film festivals and have received over one ...
, 2011–present *
Antony I. Ginnane Antony I. Ginnane is an Australian film producer best known for his work in the exploitation field. He was head of the Screen Producers Association of Australia from 2008 to 2011. A CD of themes from fourteen of his films was produced in 2008 b ...
*
Nikki Gooley Nikki Gooley is a make-up artist most known for her work on '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe''. She was nominated at the 78th Academy Awards for Best Makeup, she shared her nomination with Dave Elsey, for the fil ...
, 2011–present * Ian Gracie, 2011–present *
David Hirschfelder David Hirschfelder (born 18 November 1960, Ballarat, Victoria) is an Australian musician, film score composer and performer. As a musician he has been a member of Little River Band and John Farnham Band. He has composed film scores for many films ...
, 2011–present * Jessica Hobbs, 2011–present * Cappi Ireland, 2011–present * Peter James ACS ASC, 2011–present * Claudia Karvan, 2011–present * Aphrodite Kondos, 2011–present * Andrew Mason, 2011–present * Deborah Mailman, 2011–present * Tony Murtagh, 2011–present *
Antony Partos Antony Michael Partos (born 1 August 1968) is an Australian film and TV composer. He specialises in creating scores that blend both acoustic and electronic elements with a mix of world musical instruments. His feature film credits include '' Ani ...
, 2011–present *
Jan Sardi Jan Vittorio Sardi (born 1953) is an Australian screenwriter. In 1997, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay), for '' Shine''. He wrote and directed the 2004 film '' Love's Brother''. He adapted the novel b ...
, 2011–present * Fred Schepisi, 2011–present * Emile Sherman, 2011–present * Jack Thompson, 2011–present


Events


Festival of film

The Festival of Film, which is held in conjunction with the Australian Film Institute, showcases the films in competition for the AACTA Awards, with the inaugural festival held in
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 Mountain ...
and Melbourne from October to November in 2011. The festival marks the beginning of the Australian film awards season, and members of the Academy can commence voting for films in all categories, while members of the Institute vote for the Best Short Animation, Best Short Fiction Film and Members' Choice Award only.


Awards

The AACTA Awards replaced the previous Australian Film Institute Awards, but serve as a continuum to past ceremonies. The awards were first instituted by the Australian Film Institute in 1958 (as the Australian Film Awards) as part of the
Melbourne International Film Festival The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venice Film Fest ...
, until 1972. Before 1969, awards were presented as a prize to non-feature films due to a lack of feature films produced in Australia. By 1976 competitive film awards were established and in 1987, awards for television was introduced. The awards were usually held at the end of each year in Melbourne but, prior to the announcement of the Academy, the AFI announced that it would move the awards to January 2012 at the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
, in order to align them with the international film awards season. The awards are held over two events: the AACTA Awards Luncheon, a black tie event where accolades are handed out for non-feature and short films, film production, non-drama related television programs and the
Raymond Longford Award The Longford Lyell Award is a lifetime achievement award presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), a non-profit organisation whose aim is "to identify, award, promote and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements ...
, and the AACTA Awards Ceremony which hands out the awards in all other categories at a larger venue and is broadcast on television. Additionally, awards for achievements in foreign film were presented once at the AACTA International Awards in Los Angeles in 2012.


See also

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Cinema in Australia 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 ...


References


External links

* {{CinemaofAustralia Arts organizations established in 2011 2011 establishments in Australia Australian Film Institute Film-related professional associations Film organisations in Australia Organisations based in Melbourne Television organisations in Australia