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 Cinema of Australia, Australian film indu ...

(AFI) to act as its industry engagement arm and to administer the

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 cinema of Australia, film and ...

(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 Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. Known for often playing eccentric roles on both stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Geoffrey Rush, numerous accolades, including an Academy Aw ...

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

(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 State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and

federal governments Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

. 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 The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

(AMPAS) and

British Academy of Film and Television Arts The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

(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

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

s, directors, producers and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

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 center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

, that the academy would be called the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) and the inaugural awards ceremony would be renamed the

, 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

. On the night a new gold statuette was revealed, created by Australian sculptor

Ron Gomboc Ratimir Marijan "Ron" Gomboc is an Australian sculptor. Biography Gomboc was born in 1947 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Yugoslavia and received his early schooling in the town of Novi Vinodolski, Croatia. At the age of 13 he emigrated to Australia ...

, which depicts "a human silhouette based on the shape of the

Southern Cross CRUX is a lightweight x86-64 Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system with BSD-style initscripts. It is not based on any other Linux distribution. It also utilizes a ports system to ...

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

Executives

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor and film director. Russell Crowe filmography, His work on screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Russell Crowe, various accolades, including an Academy Award, two Gold ...

– President *

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

– Vice President * George Miller – Patron *

Cate Blanchett Catherine Élise Blanchett ( ; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor and producer. Regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognised for Cate Blanchett on screen and stage, her versatile work across stage and scre ...

– Ambassador * Jack Christian - Chairman Source:

Honorary Councillors

* Stuart Beattie, 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, 2011–present * Antony I. Ginnane * Nikki Gooley, 2011–present * Ian Gracie, 2011–present * David Hirschfelder, 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, 2011–present * Jan Sardi, 2011–present *

Fred Schepisi Frederic Alan Schepisi ( ;Pauline Kael, Kael, Pauline (1984). ''Taking It All In''. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. p. 55. born 26 December 1939) is an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. His credits include ''The Cha ...

, 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

, with the inaugural festival held in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

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

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, Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venic ...

, 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

but, prior to the announcement of the academy, the AFI announced that it would move the awards to January 2012 at the

, 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, 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 Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 2012.

References

External links

* {{Cinema of Australia 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