The Australian Film Institute annual awards provide yearly recognition for outstanding Australian work in film. Best film awards have been made by the Institute since 1958. Until 1975 this category included non-features and documentaries. It was awarded solely to feature movies since that time.
2007:
Romulus, My Father
The directorial debut of actor Richard Roxburgh from a screenplay by poet and playwright Nick Drake, Romulus, My Father stars Eric Bana as Romulus, father to the young Raimond Gaita (played in the film by Kodi Smit-McPhee). The book on which the film is based is professor of philosophy and author Raimond Gaita's celebrated memoir detailing his parents' struggle in the face of great adversity to bring up their son Raimond.2006:
Ten Canoes
Ten Canoes, directed by Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr, won six Australian Film Institute awards: best picture, director, original screenplay, cinematography, editing and sound. This is the first Australian feature film to have been made completely in an indigenous Aboriginal language. Set in both the distant past and a nearer time frame, Ten Canoes weaves an almost mythic story of jealousy and desire. Narrated in English by David Gulpilil, with the spoken Aboriginal language subtitled in English.
2005:
Look Both Ways
The debut feature of animator Sarah Watt, Look Both Ways is an innovative mix of animation and live action, set over a scorchingly hot weekend, when people dealing with unexpected events find their lives intersecting. Watt also won the AFI awards for best direction and best screenplay. Cast member Anthony Hayes won the AFI best supporting actor award.
2004:
Somersault
This was the year of Somersault at the Australian Film Institute Awards. Cate Shortland won for best direction and best original screenplay, Abbie Cornish was best actress, Lynette Curran best suporting actress and Erik Thomson best supporting actor. Additionally, the film won the AFI awards for original score, sound, production design, costume design, editing and cinematography. Somersault was Shortland's debut feature. Its evocative setting is the New South Wales town of Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains where Cornish plays a 16-year-old on the run from her family and a troubled past.
2003:
Japanese Story
Directed by Sue Brooks, Japanese Story tells of a relationship forged in the Australian Outback where a high-strung Australian geologist (Toni Collette) escorts a Japanese businessman (Gotaro Tsunashima) through Western Australia's Pilbara Desert. With an initial mutual dislike arising from vast cultural differences — the egalitarian freewheeling Aussie lifestyle versus the structured, strictured, sometimes sexist customs of another race — the pair suddenly find themselves in a fight for survival which forges a deeper connection between the two. Then comes a sudden, unexpected shock.
2002:
Rabbit-Proof Fence
Set in 1931 Australia, Rabbit-Proof Fence tells the story of three Aboriginal girls snatched from their homes who escape from a government camp where, along with other half-caste children of mixed parentage, they were to be trained to work as servants. Directed by Philip Noyce and based on the true story of Aboriginal woman Molly Craig, the film tells part of the story of what is now known as the Stolen Generation. The Aboriginal cast comprised mainly untrained indigenous actors. The film also features British actor Kenneth Branagh as the legal guardian of the Aboriginal people, and Aboriginal actors David Gulpilil and Deborah Mailman.
2001:
Lantana
Lantana is a mosaic of complex relationships superbly acted by an ensemble cast including Anthony LaPaglia, Geoffrey Rush, Barbara Hershey, Kerry Armstrong, Russell Dykstra, Daniela Farinacci, Vince Colosmo, Peter Phelps, Rachael Blake and Leah Purcell. It is director Ray Lawrence's first film since Bliss in 1985. The Lantana screenplay was adapted by Andrew Bovell from his own play Speaking in Tongues. The film won seven Australian Film Institute Awards for best picture, best director (Lawrence), best actor (LaPaglia), best actress (Armstrong), best supporting awards (Blake, Colosimo), and best adapted screenplay (Bovell).
Best picture for 2000 was Looking for Alibrandi which is currently not available on DVD.
1999:
Two Hands
Starring Bryan Brown, Heath Ledger and Rose Byrne, Two Hands is a fast-paced thriller directed by Gregor Jordan and set in the Sydney underworld. The film revolves around the misadventures of a 19-year-old (Ledger) who loses some gang loot and must find some way to recover it or else suffer "punishment" from the criminal overlord (Brown) and his gang. Unfortunately, two street kids have found the money and have now embarked on a wild spending spree.
1998:
The Interview
This is a tense, taut, tit-for-tat thriller where a suspected criminal (Hugo Weaving) is haled into a police station and confronted by an astute interrogator (Tony Martin). There are overtones of a Kafkaesque nightmare as questions about a minor crime seems to point to a more serious, as yet unspecified, crime. Twists and turns in the interrogation process appear to both clarify and obfuscate the truth. The film won three Australian Film Institute Awards for best film, best original screenplay (Craig Monahan and Gordon Davie) and best actor (Weaving).
Best picture for 1997 was Kiss or Kill which is currently not available on DVD.
Next page: More AFI Award Winners
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