The Longford Lyell Award is a lifetime achievement award presented by the
Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) is a professional organisation of film and television practitioners in Australia. The Academy's aim is "to identify, award, promote, and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements i ...
(AACTA), a non-profit organisation whose aim is "to identify, award, promote and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements in film and television." The award is presented at the annual
AACTA Awards
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industry, ...
, which hand out accolades for technical achievements in feature film, television, documentaries and short films. From 1968 to 2010, the award was presented by the
Australian Film Institute
The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsib ...
(AFI), the Academy's parent organisation, at the annual Australian Film Institute Awards (known as the AFI Awards).
When the AFI launched the Academy in 2011, it changed the annual ceremony to the AACTA Awards, with the current award being a continuum of the AFI Raymond Longford Award.
Originally named after Australian prolific producer, director, writer and actor
Raymond Longford
Raymond Longford (born John Walter Hollis Longford, 23 September 18782 April 1959) was a prolific Australian film director, writer, producer and actor during the silent era. Longford was a major director of the silent film era of the Australian ...
(1878–1959), the award recognises "a person who has shown an unwavering commitment over many years to excellence in the film and television industries and has, through their body of work to date, contributed substantially to the enrichment of Australian screen culture", and is the highest honour the Academy bestows.
In 2015, the name of the award was changed to Longford Lyell Award in recognition of Longford's creative and life partner, actress and filmmaker
Lottie Lyell
Lottie Lyell (born Charlotte Edith Cox, 23 February 1890 – 21 December 1925) was an Australian actress, screenwriter, editor and filmmaker. She is regarded as Australia's first film star, and also contributed to the local industry during the ...
.
Recipients of this award are film and television directors, directors, producers, actors,
cinematographers
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
and
film editors. People of Australian origin dominate the list, but European-born
Australian citizen
Australian nationality law details the conditions in which a person holds Australian legal nationality. The primary law governing nationality regulations is the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, which came into force on 1 July 2007 and is applic ...
s have also been recognised. The award was first presented to film director and editor Ian Dunlop (director).
The award has also been made posthumously to actor
John Meillon
John Meillon, ( ; 1 May 1934 – 11 August 1989), was an Australian character actor, known for many straight as well as comedy roles, he became most widely known internationally as Walter Reilly in the films ''Crocodile Dundee'' and ''Crocodil ...
in 1989 who died that year.
Winners
References
External links
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AACTA Awards
Lifetime achievement awards