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Notes

  • Inaugurated in 2011 and first presented in 2012 (for the award year 2011).

Latest Winners / Recipients

Year: 2020

winner form y separately published work icon Babyteeth Rita Kalnejais , ( dir. Shannon Murphy ) Australia : Whitefalk Films , 2019 13197206 2019 single work film/TV

'When seriously ill teenager Milla Finlay falls in love with smalltime drug dealer Moses, it’s her parents’ worst nightmare. But as Milla’s first brush with love brings her a new lust for life, things get messy and traditional morals go out the window. Milla shows everyone in her orbit—her parents, Moses, a sensitive music teacher, a budding child violinist, and a disarmingly honest pregnant neighbor—how to live like you have nothing to lose. What might have been a disaster for the Finlay family instead leads to letting go and finding grace in the glorious chaos of life. Babyteeth joyously explores how good it is not to be dead and how far we will go for love.'

Source: Venice International Film Festival.

Year: 2019

winner form y separately published work icon The Nightingale Jennifer Kent , ( dir. Jennifer Kent ) Australia : Causeway Films , 2018 9595628 2018 single work film/TV historical fiction

'Set in 1825, Clare, a young Irish convict woman (Aisling Franciosi), chases a British officer (Sam Claflin) through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness, bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence he committed against her family. On the way she enlists the services of an Aboriginal tracker named Billy (Baykali Ganambarr), who is also marked by trauma from his own violence-filled past.'

Source: Screen Australia.

Year: 2018

winner form y separately published work icon Sweet Country Steven McGregor , David Tranter , ( dir. Warwick Thornton ) Australia : Retroflex Lateral Pty Limited , 2017 10406376 2017 single work film/TV crime thriller western

'Sweet Country is set in 1929 in the outback of the Northern Territory. It is the story of a young boy called Philomac, who witnesses Sam, an Aboriginal stockman, kill station owner Harry Marsh in self defence. Sam and his pregnant wife Lizzie go on the run and a posse pursues them across the outback. The posse cannot catch Sam, as he is a clever man and an expert bushman. Eventually for the health of his pregnant wife, Sam gives himself up. A trial is held in town and when the truth comes out in the courtroom about Sam's actions, he is acquitted. Justice has been served. Philomac and Sam set off on their journey home, but soon after leaving town, a shot rings out and Justice is crushed…' (Publication summary)

Year: 2017

winner form y separately published work icon Lion Saroo Brierley , Luke Davies , ( dir. Garth Davis ) Australia : Screen Australia See Saw Films Sunstar Entertainment The Weinstein Company , 2016 8160821 2016 single work film/TV

'A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost thousands of kilometers from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia; 25 later, he sets out to find his lost family.' (Production summary)

Year: 2015

winner form y separately published work icon Mad Max : Fury Road Mad Max 4 George Miller , Nico Lathouris , Brendan McCarthy , ( dir. George Miller ) Australia : Kennedy Miller Entertainment , 2015 Z1864561 2015 single work film/TV science fiction

Despite post-dating the third film in the series by some thirty years, this instalment is said to fit in the timeline somewhere between films one and two.

Max Rockatansky, trapped in the citadel of warlord Immortan Joe, crosses paths with Imperator Furiosa, who is on a mission to free Joe's enslaved 'brides' and take them to the Green Place, the Land of Many Mothers.

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