Warwick Thornton’s The New Boy leads the nominations for the 2024 AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) Awards with 12 nods, closely followed by horror Talk To Me with 11 nominations.
The New Boy is up for best film, actress for Cate Blanchett and actor for newcomer Aswan Reid while Australian Indigenous filmmaker Thornton is nominated for best director, screenplay and cinematography.
The film is set in 1940s Australia and stars Blanchett (who also serves as a producer) as a nun who takes in a nine-year-old Aboriginal orphan boy. It premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, opened Sydney Film Festival in June and won the top prize at Poland’s Camerimage last month.
Talk To Me, the feature debut of Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou, is also nominated for best film as well as lead actress for Sophie Wilde, supporting actor for Zoe Terakes, and best director for the Philippou brothers. The film, which played Sundance and Berlin, has taken $92m worldwide and became A24’s highest grossing horror release at the North American box office.
Noora Niasari’s Shayda has nine nominations including best film, actress for Zar Amir Ebrahimi and actor for Osamah Sami as well as nods in the director and screenplay categories. Niasari’s feature debut, which premiered at Sundance and is executive produced by Blanchett, is Australia’s Oscars entry.
Goran Stolevski’s gay romance Of An Age has five nominations, including best film and two best actor nominations for leads Elias Anton and Thom Green.
The best film category is rounded out by Jub Clerc’s Sweet As and Kitty Green’s The Royal Hotel.
The 2024 AACTA Awards ceremony also recognises TV and online productions, and will be held on February 10 as part of the AACTA Festival, which runs from February 8-11 at the Home of the Arts (HOTA) on the Gold Coast.
AACTA 2024 film nominations
Best Film
Of An Age
Shayda
Sweet As
Talk to Me
The New Boy
The Royal Hotel
Best Direction in Film
Of An Age – Goran Stolevski
Shayda – Noora Niasari
Sweet As – Jub Clerc
Talk to Me – Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou
The New Boy – Warwick Thornton
The Royal Hotel – Kitty Green
Best Lead Actress in Film
Zar Amir Ebrahimi – Shayda
Shantae Barnes-Cowan – Sweet As
Cate Blanchett – The New Boy
Julia Garner – The Royal Hotel
Sarah Snook – Run Rabbit Run
Sophie Wilde – Talk to Me
Best Lead Actor in Film
Elias Anton – Of An Age
Simon Baker – Limbo
Thom Green – Of An Age
Phoenix Raei – The Rooster
Aswan Reid – The New Boy
Osamah Sami – Shayda
Best Supporting Actress in Film
Alex Jensen – Talk to Me
Deborah Mailman – The New Boy
Tasma Walton – Sweet As
Mia Wasikowska – Blueback
Ursula Yovich – The Royal Hotel
Selina Zahednia – Shayda
Best Supporting Actor in Film
Mojean Aria – Shayda
Eric Bana – Blueback
Wayne Blair – The New Boy
Rob Collins – Limbo
Zoe Terakes – Talk to Me
Hugo Weaving – The Rooster
Best Indie Film
A Savage Christmas
Limbo
Monolith
Streets of Colour
The Rooster
The Survival of Kindness
Best Screenplay in Film
Of An Age – Goran Stolevski
Shayda – Noora Niasari
Talk to Me – Danny Philippou, Bill Hinzman
The New Boy – Warwick Thornton
The Royal Hotel – Kitty Green, Oscar Redding
Best Cinematography in Film
Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism – Carl Allison
Shayda – Sherwin Akbarzadeh
Sweet As – Katie Milwright
Talk to Me – Aaron McLisky
The New Boy – Warwick Thornton
Best Editing in Film
Carmen – Dany Cooper
Scarygirl – Michelle McGilvray, Matt Villa, Courtney Teixera
Sweet As – Katie Flaxman
Talk to Me – Geoff Lamb
The New Boy – Nick Meyers
Best Original Score in Film
Blueback – Nigel Westlake
Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism – Dmitri Golovko
Suka – Me-Lee Hay
Talk to Me – Cornel Wilczek
The Big Dog – Sam Weiss
Best Production Design in Film
Carmen – Steven Jones-Evans
Scarygirl – Nathan Jurevicius
The New Boy – Amy Baker
The Portable Door – Matthew Putland
True Spirit – Michelle McGahey, Bill Booth, Gillian Butler
Best Costume Design in Film
Blueback – Lien See Leong
Carmen – Emily Seresin
Seriously Red – Tim Chappel
The New Boy – Heather Wallace
The Rooster – Ellen Stanistreet
Best Sound in Film
Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism – Benni Knop
Scarygirl – Stuart Morton, Cameron Grant
Seriously Red – Sam Hayward, Angus Robertson, Guntis Sic, Danielle Wiessner
Talk to Me – Emma Bortignon, Pete Smith, Nick Steele
Three Chords and the Truth – Anthony Marsh
Best Casting in Film
Run Rabbit Run – Allison Meadows, Keziah Morgan
Shayda – Anousha Zarkesh
Sweet As – Jane Norris
The New Boy – Anousha Zarkesh
The Royal Hotel – Kirsty McGregor
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