'Nitram', 'The Dry' and 'High Ground' Lead the 2021 AACTA Nominations

In the TV fields, 'Clickbait' and 'Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun' earned some love, too.
Sarah Ward
Published on November 01, 2021

What do one of the darkest chapters in Australia's recent past, one of the nation's literary best-sellers and the country's ongoing reckoning with its colonial history all have in common? In 2021, they all found a home on the big screen. And, they've all just been named among the year's best homegrown flicks, too, with Nitram, The Dry and High Ground scoring a heap of 2021 AACTA Award nominations.

The AACTA Awards — which were previously called the AFI Awards, before changing their name — recognise the best and brightest in Australian film and television every 12 months. Because they span multiple types of screen content, there's a hefty number of local productions vying for a gong when the winners are announced on Wednesday, December 8.

On the film front, that includes not only the three movies already mentioned above, but also the gold rush era-set western The Furnace, queer rom-com Ellie and Abbie (& Ellie's Dead Aunt), true tale Penguin Bloom and comedy Rams. In terms of stars, everyone from Eric Bana, Simon Baker, Naomi Watts and Claudia Karvan are in the running, as well as Noni Hazlehurst, Judy Davis, Rose Byrne and Michael Caton.

Recognising the wealth of Indigenous talent that's graced our screens over the past year, the acting nominees in the movie fields also include Jacob Junior Nayinggul, Sean Mununggurr and Esmerelda Marimowa from High Ground; Miranda Tapsell for The Dry; and Baykali Ganambarr for The Furnace. Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek also got a nod for the latter — and, in terms of overseas actors, so did American actor and 2021 Cannes Film Festival Best Actor-winner Caleb Landry Jones for Nitram.

In the TV categories, if you've been watching Clickbait or Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun on Netflix, they're both in AACTA contention. So are a wide range of other series — everything from Mr Inbetween to The Newsreader in the drama categories, and from Aftertaste to Rosehaven in the comedy fields, in fact.

Ben King/Netflix

The 2021 AACTA Awards will take place on Wednesday, December 8. Here's a rundown of the major nominations — and you can check out the full list on AACTA's website:

AACTA NOMINEES 2021

FILM AWARDS:

BEST FILM

BEST INDIE FILM

BEST DIRECTION

  • Rob Connolly, The Dry
  • Roderick MacKay, The Furnace
  • Stephen Maxwell Johnson, High Ground
  • Justin Kurzel, Nitram
  • Glendyn Ivin, Penguin Bloom 

BEST LEAD ACTOR

  • Simon Baker, High Ground
  • Eric Bana, The Dry
  • Caleb Landry Jones, Nitram
  • Ahmed Malek, The Furnace
  • Jacob Junior Nayinggul, High Ground

BEST LEAD ACTRESS

  • Rose Byrne, Peter Rabbit 2
  • Judy Davis, Nitram
  • Noni Hazlehurst, June Again
  • Genevieve O'Reilly, The Dry
  • Naomi Watts, Penguin Bloom

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

  • Michael Caton, Rams
  • Baykali Ganambarr, The Furnace
  • Anthony LaPaglia, Nitram
  • Sean Mununggurr, High Ground
  • Jack Thompson, High Ground

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

  • Essie Davis, Nitram
  • Claudia Karvan, June Again
  • Esmerelda Marimowa, High Ground
  • Miranda Tapsell, The Dry
  • Jacki Weaver, Penguin Bloom

BEST SCREENPLAY

  • Rob Connolly and Harry Cripps, The Dry
  • Shaun Grant and Harry Cripps, Penguin Bloom
  • Will Gluck and Patrick Burleigh, Peter Rabbit 2
  • Jules Duncan, Rams

BEST DOCUMENTARY

TELEVISION AWARDS:

BEST DRAMA SERIES

BEST TELEFEATURE OR MINISERIES

BEST NARRATIVE COMEDY SERIES

BEST COMEDY ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM

BEST LEAD ACTOR IN A TELEVISION DRAMA

  • Rudi Dharmaligam, Wakefield
  • Guy Pearce, Jack Irish
  • Sam Reid, The Newsreader
  • Richard Roxburgh, Fires
  • Scott Ryan, Mr Inbetween

BEST LEAD ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION DRAMA

  • Deborah Mailman, Total Control
  • Mandy McElhinney, Wakefield
  • Miranda Otto, Fires
  • Pamela Rabe, Wentworth
  • Anna Torv, The Newsreader

BEST COMEDY PERFORMER

  • Mark Samual Bonanno, Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun
  • Kitty Flanagan, Fisk
  • Tom Gleeson, Hard Quiz
  • Broden Kelly, Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun
  • Sarah Kendall, Frayed
  • Nakkiah Lui, Preppers
  • Luke McGregor, Rosehaven
  • Celia Pacquola, Rosehaven

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A TELEVISION DRAMA

  • Harry Greenwood, Wakefield
  • William McInnes, The Newsreader
  • Matt Nable, Mr Inbetween
  • Stephen Peacocke, The Newsreader
  • Justin Rosniak, Mr Inbetween

BEST GUEST OR SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION DRAMA

  • Michelle Lim Davidson, The Newsreader
  • Marg Downey, The Newsreader
  • Harriet Dyer, Wakefield
  • Rachel Griffiths, Total Control
  • Noni Hazlehurst, The End
Published on November 01, 2021 by Sarah Ward
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