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 responsi ...

(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 film and television indust ...

(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. He is known for his eccentric leading man roles on stage and screen. He is among 24 people who have won the Triple Crown of Acting, having received an Academy Award, a Primetime Em ...

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 may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * '' Our ...

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 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 with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...

(AMPAS) and

British Academy of Film and Television Arts British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

(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 or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

s, 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 archit ...

, 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, 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 – President *

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

– 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 n ...

– Ambassador Source:

Honorary Councillors

* Stuart Beattie, 2011–present * Jan Chapman, 2011–present * Jonathan Chissick, 2011–present *

Abbie Cornish Abbie Cornish (born 7 August 1982) is an Australian actress. Cornish is best known for her film roles as Heidi in '' Somersault'' (2004), Fanny Brawne in '' Bright Star'' (2009), Sweet Pea in '' Sucker Punch'' (2011), Lindy in '' Limitless'' ( ...

, 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 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, 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 Claudia Karvan (born 19 May 1972) is an Australian actress, producer and scriptwriter. As a child actor, she first appeared in the film, '' Molly'' (1983) and followed with an adolescent role in '' High Tide'' (1987). She portrayed a teacher i ...

, 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 Chan ...

, 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 and

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 me ...

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, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venice Film Fes ...

, 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 ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

in 2012.

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