The AACTA Award for Best Indie Film is an award presented by the
Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) since 2018.
The award is presented at the annual
AACTA Awards, which hand out accolades for achievements in feature film, television, documentaries and short films. Since 2024 the awards have been held at the
Gold Coast, Queensland
The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the state of Queensland, Australia, approximately south-southeast of the centre of the state capital Brisbane. With a population over 600,000, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, the nati ...
.
History
The establishment of the AACTA Award for Best Indie Film was announced on 1 May 2018.
The inaugural award was won by ''
Jirga
A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic ...
'', directed by
Benjamin Gilmour.
Eligibility
The intention of the award is to allow "a pathway into competition for a greater number of films from filmmakers with diverse backgrounds (gender, sexual and cultural diversity), as well as films from emerging filmmakers". Only films with a budget of under million are eligible.
[
]
Winners and nominees
2018
The winner of the inaugural award in 2018, in the 8th AACTA Awards
The 8th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (generally known as the AACTA Awards) is an award ceremony to celebrate Australian films of 2018. The main ceremony was televised on Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly kno ...
:Jirga
A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic ...
'', directed by Benjamin Gilmour
Other films nominated were:[
*'']Brothers' Nest
''Brothers' Nest'' is a 2018 Australian comedy-drama thriller film directed by Clayton Jacobson and starring him and his brother Shane Jacobson, reuniting the two after 2006's ''Kenny''.
Plot synopsis
One cold morning in Victoria, brothers Terr ...
'' ( Clayton Jacobson)
*''The Second
''The Second'' is the second studio album by Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf, released in October 1968 on ABC Dunhill Records. The album contains one of Steppenwolf's most famous songs, " Magic Carpet Ride". The background of the origin ...
'' (Mairi Cameron Mairi may refer to:
Given name
Mairi or Màiri is a given name, a Scottish Gaelic form of Mary.
Notable people with this name include:
* Mairi MacEwan, (born 2003) Scottish dancer from Aberdeen
*Mairi Campbell, Scottish singer and musician
*Mairi ...
)
*''Strange Colours
''Strange Colours'' is a 2017 Australian film set in the opal-mining town of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales. It was directed by Alena Lodkina.
Plot
A young woman, Milena, visits her estranged father Max, an opal miner who is in hospital, ap ...
'' (Alena Lodkina)
*''West of Sunshine
''West of Sunshine'' is a film set and shot in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, and depicts an eventful day in the life of working-class Jimmy, an inveterate gambler, and his estranged son Alex.
Plot
Scruffy-haired, heavily tattooed ...
'' (Jason Raftopoulos
''West of Sunshine'' is a film set and shot in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, and depicts an eventful day in the life of working-class Jimmy, an inveterate gambler, and his estranged son Alex.
Plot
Scruffy-haired, heavily tattooed ...
)
2019
The winner of the 2019 award, in the 9th AACTA Awards
The 9th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (generally known as the AACTA Awards) is an award's ceremony to celebrate the best of Australian films and television of 2019. The main ceremony was held at The Star (Sydney), The St ...
:Buoyancy
Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is an upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of a partially or fully immersed object. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus the p ...
'', directed by Rodd Rathjen Rod Rathjen is an Australian film director. Life
He was born in Colbinabbin and graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2010.
Rodd is a graduate from the Victorian College of the Arts. His final year film 'Thirst' won 'Best Directing' a ...
Other films nominated were:[
* '']Acute Misfortune
''Acute Misfortune'' is a 2018 Australian drama film co-written, directed and produced by Thomas M. Wright. The story is based on Sydney journalist Erik Jensen's biography of Australian artist Adam Cullen, who died at the age of 46, and stars ...
'' (Thomas M. Wright
Thomas Michael Wright (born 22 June 1983) is an Australian actor, writer, film director and producer. He is the co-founder (2006) and director of theatre company Black Lung and director of the feature film '' Acute Misfortune'' (2019). As an a ...
)
* ''Book Week
The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...
'' (Heath Davis
Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi Davis (born 30 November 1971) is a former New Zealand cricketer. He played five Tests and eleven One Day Internationals in the 1990s. He played his provincial cricket for Wellington.
Early and personal life
Davis was ...
)
* '' Emu Runner'' (Imogen Thomas
Imogen Mary Thomas (born 29 November 1982) is a Welsh model and television personality. She won the Miss Wales award in 2003, and appeared on the seventh series of Channel 4 reality television programme '' Big Brother'' in 2006. In 2011, her a ...
)
* ''Sequin in a Blue Room
''Sequin in a Blue Room'' is a 2019 Australian independent queer coming-of-age, mystery and drama film directed by Samuel Van Grinsven, in his feature film debut. It was written by Van Grinsven and Jory Anast. The film stars Conor Leach in his ...
'' (Samuel Van Grinsven)
2020
The winner of the 2020 award, in the 10th AACTA Awards
The 10th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (generally known as the AACTA Awards) is an award's ceremony to celebrate the best of Australian films and television of 2020. The main ceremony was held at The Star in Sydney and t ...
:Steve Vidler
''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen
Notable people with the name include:
steve jops
* Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people
* Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people
* Steve ...
)
Other nominations:[
* '']A Boy Called Sailboat
''A Boy Called Sailboat'' is a 2018 American-Australian comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Nugent and starring Lew Temple, Elizabeth De Razzo, Noel Gugliemi, Jake Busey and J. K. Simmons.
At the ARIA Music Awards of 2020, its so ...
'' ( Cameron Nugent)
* ''Hot Mess'' ( Lucy Coleman (director))
* '' Koko: A Red Dog Story'' (Dominic Pearce)
* ''A Lion Returns
''A Lion Returns'' is a 2020 Australian drama film directed by Serhat Caradee, starring Tyler De Nawi, Danny Elacci, Jacqui Purvis, Taffy Hany, Buddy Dannoun, Helen Chebatte and Maha Wilson.
Cast
* Tyler De Nawi as Jamal Alamein
* Danny Elacci ...
'' ( Serhat Caradee)
* '' Unsound'' ( Ian Watson)
2021
The winner of the 2021 award, in the 11th AACTA Awards
The 11th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (generally known as the AACTA Awards) is an award's ceremony to celebrate the best of Australian films and television of 2021. The main ceremony occurred on 8 December 2021 at the ...
:Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie's Dead Aunt)
''Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie's Dead Aunt)'' is a 2020 AACTA award winning LGBT romance comedy film written and directed by Monica Zanetti, in her feature directorial debut. It is based on her own 2016 stage play. The film stars Sophie Hawkshaw, Zoe ...
'' (Monica Zanetti)
Other films nominated were:[
*'' Disclosure'' (Michael Bentham)
* '']Lone Wolf
A lone wolf is a wolf not belonging to a pack.
Lone wolf or Lone Wolf may also refer to:
Literature
*''Lone Wolf'', a book by Kathryn Lasky, part of the series called ''Wolves of the Beyond''
*''Lone Wolf and Cub'', a 1970 Japanese graphic nov ...
'' (Jonathan Ogilvie)
* ''Moon Rock for Monday
Moon Rock For Monday is a 2022 Cinema of Australia, Australian independent film. The film was written and directed by Kurt Martin and produced by Jim Robison. It stars Australian actors George Pullar, Nicholas Hope, Alan Dukes, Aaron Jeffery, Jessi ...
'' ( Kurt Martin)
* '' My First Summer'' (Katie Found)
* '' Under My Skin'' (David O'Donnell
David John O'Donnell (born in Nelson in 1956) is a theatre director, actor and academic based in Wellington, New Zealand. He has been a full professor at Victoria University of Wellington since 2019.
Education
O'Donnell has a diploma in Acting ...
)
2022
The winner of the 2022 award, in the 12th AACTA Awards
The 12th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (generally known as the AACTA Awards) was an award's ceremony to celebrate the best of Australian films and television of 2022. The main ceremony occurred on 7 December 2022 at the ...
:Craig Boreham
Craig Boreham is an Australian film director, producer, and writer.
Career
To date, Boreham has focussed his attention on short film works that explore issues of marginalised sexuality and the politics of desire. Craig Boreham graduated from bo ...
)
* ''Pieces
Piece or Pieces (not to be confused with peace) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* Piece (chess), pieces deployed on a chessboard for playing the game of chess
* ''Pieces'' (video game), a 1994 puzzle game for the Super NES
* P ...
'' ( Martin Wilson)
* ''Smoke Between Trees'' ( Michael Joy)
2023/4
The winner of the award celebrating the best films released in 2023 in the 13th AACTA Awards
The 13th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (generally known as the AACTA Awards) is an awards ceremony to celebrate the best Australian films and television of 2023. The main ceremony took place on the afternoon of 10 Febr ...
, announced in February 2024:[
*'']The Survival of Kindness
''The Survival of Kindness'' is a 2022 Australian drama film written, produced and directed by Rolf de Heer. It had its world premiere at Adelaide Film Festival on 23 October 2022, and its international premiere in competition at the 73rd Berl ...
'' (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. )
*''A Savage Christmas
''A Savage Christmas'' is a 2023 Australian comedy drama film directed by Madeleine Dyer, and starring Darren Gilshenan and Helen Thomson.
Plot
After years of estrangement, transgender woman Davina Savage returns home for Christmas with her new ...
'' (Madeleine Dyer)
*'' Monolith'' (Matt Vesely)
* '' The Rooster'' (Mark Leonard Winter
Mark Leonard Winter is an Australian actor, known for performances in film, television and on stage.
Early life
Winter's family moved from Australia to Washington DC, United States, when he was in grade ten. It was the freedom of his American ...
)
* '' Streets of Colour'' (Ronnie S. Riskalla)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian Film Institute Award For Best Indie Film
Film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
Awards for best film
Lists of films by award
Awards established in 2019
2019 establishments in Australia