Overview
Maybe you've spent much of 2020 glued to the small screen, viewing your way through this year's lockdown periods. Perhaps, as cinemas have been reopening around the country, you've flocked to the big screen to get your movie fix. Either way, if you've been thinking and supporting local — as has been the trend all-round in 2020 — then you've had plenty of Australian films and television shows to watch. And, from this hectic year, the best of the bunch have just been named 2020 AACTA Award nominees.
The AACTA Awards — which were previously called the AFI Awards, before changing their name — span multiple types of screen content, so there's a hefty number of local productions vying for a gong when the winners are announced on Monday, November 30. From the initial rundown of nominees — with more set to be revealed on November 12 — three of the year's best Aussie movies rank among the top film contenders, with teen cancer drama Babyteeth scoring 12 nods, the blistering True History of the Kelly Gang picking up ten and the latest version of The Invisible Man receiving eight.
Other movie nominees across directing, acting and cinematography categories include the family-friendly H is for Happiness, horror flick Relic, zombie movie Little Monsters, sheep farming comedy-drama Rams and Helen Reddy biopic I Am Woman. In terms of stars, everyone from Hugo Weaving, Richard Roxburgh, Russell Crowe and Ben Mendelsohn to Eliza Scanlen, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Essie Davis and Deborah Mailman are in the running — as well as overseas actors such as Elisabeth Moss, Lupita Nyong'o, Sam Neill and George MacKay.
On the TV front, if you've been watching Mystery Road's latest season and mini-series Stateless, they each picked up seven nods a piece. Comedy-wise, series nominees include At Home Alone Together, Black Comedy, The Other Guy, Rosehaven and Upright.
The 2020 AACTA Awards will take place on Monday, November 30. Here's a rundown of the major nominations — and you can check out the full list of nominees as they're announced on the AACTA's website:
AACTA NOMINEES 2020
FILM AWARDS:
BEST FILM
- Babyteeth
- H is for Happiness
- I Am Woman
- The Invisible Man
- True History of the Kelly Gang
- Relic
BEST INDIE FILM
- A Boy Called Sailboat
- Hot Mess
- Koko: A Red Dog Story
- A Lion Returns
- Standing Up for Sunny
- Unsound
BEST DIRECTION
- Shannon Murphy, Babyteeth
- John Sheedy, H is for Happiness
- Leigh Whannell, The Invisible Man
- Justin Kurzel, True History of the Kelly Gang
- Natalie Erika James, Relic
BEST LEAD ACTOR
- George MacKay, True History of the Kelly Gang
- Sam Neill, Rams
- Richard Roxburgh, H is for Happiness
- Toby Wallace, Babyteeth
- Hugo Weaving, Measure for Measure
BEST LEAD ACTRESS
- Tilda Cobham-Hervey, I Am Woman
- Laura Gordon, Undertow
- Elisabeth Moss, The Invisible Man
- Lupita Nyong'o, Little Monsters
- Eliza Scanlen, Babyteeth
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Fayssal Bazzi, Measure for Measure
- Russell Crowe, True History of the Kelly Gang
- Aaron Jeffery, The Flood
- Ben Mendelsohn, Babyteeth
- Wesley Patten, H is for Happiness
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Emma Booth, H is for Happiness
- Essie Davis, Babyteeth
- Bella Heathcote, Relic
- Deborah Mailman, H is for Happiness
- Doris Younane, Measure for Measure
BEST SCREENPLAY
- Rita Kalnejais, Babyteeth
- Abe Forsythe, Little Monsters
- Leigh Whannell, The Invisible Man
- Natalie Erika James and Christian White, Relic
- Shaun Grant, True History of the Kelly Gang
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Andrew Commis, Babyteeth
- Brad Shield, Bloody Hell
- Geoffrey Hall, Escape From Pretoria
- Bonnie Elliott, H is for Happiness
- Stefan Duscio, The Invisible Man
BEST DOCUMENTARY
- Brazen Hussies
- Brock: Over the Top
- Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky
- Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra
- Slim & I
- Suzi Q
TELEVISION AWARDS:
BEST DRAMA SERIES
- Bloom
- Doctor Doctor
- Halixfax: Retribution
- The Heights
- Mystery Road
- Wentworth
BEST TELEFEATURE OR MINISERIES
- The Gloaming
- Hungry Ghosts
- Operation Buffalo
- The Secrets She Keeps
- Stateless
BEST COMEDY SERIES
- At Home Alone Together
- Black Comedy
- The Other Guy
- Rosehaven
- Upright
BEST LEAD ACTOR IN A TELEVISION DRAMA
- Fayssal Bazzi, Stateless
- Bryan Brown, Bloom
- Jai Courtney, Stateless
- Ewen Leslie, Operation Buffalo
- Aaron Pedersen, Mystery Road
BEST LEAD ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION DRAMA
- Jada Alberts, Mystery Road
- Rebecca Gibney, Halixfax: Retribution
- Asher Keddie, Stateless
- Pamela Rabe, Wentworth
- Yvonne Strahovski, Stateless
BEST COMEDY PERFORMER
- Milly Alcock, Upright
- Anne Edmonds, At Home Together
- Luke McGregor, Rosehaven
- Tim Minchin, Upright
- Celia Pacquola, Rosehaven
BEST GUEST OR SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A TELEVISION DRAMA
- Rob Collins, Mystery Road
- Darren Gilshenan, Stateless
- Damon Herriman, The Commons
- Callan Mulvey, Mystery Road
- Ed Oxenbould, Bloom
BEST GUEST OR SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION DRAMA
- Cate Blanchett, Stateless
- Jacqueline McKenzie, Bloom
- Ngaire Pigram, Mystery Road
- Tasma Walton, Mystery Road
- Jacki Weaver, Bloom