It was always going to be a film that pleased the critics and Ten Canoes did just that, winning best film at the Film Critics Circle of Australia awards.

Rolf de Heer's film, which brings to life the story an Aboriginal hunter tells his younger companion while on an expedition, took the award at a ceremony held on 28 October in Melbourne.

But the most awards went to the drama Jindabyne, which won best director for Ray Lawrence, supporting actor for Deborra-Lee Furness, and adapted screenplay for Beatrix Christian, whose script revolving around the discovery of a dead body on a fishing trip was based on a Raymond Carver short story.

David Williamson also won a cinematography award for Jindabyne, but it was shared with Ian Jones, for Ten Canoes.

Ten Canoes editor Tania Nehme also won her category, giving that film three awards compared to Jindabyne's four.

Not surprisingly, given how much attention the performances have attracted, Candy, Neil Armfield's drama about heroin addiction, received two awards in the acting category: for Abbie Cornish and, in the supporting category, for Geoffrey Rush.

The award for best male actor in a leading role went to Shane Jacobson, who played the title character in the comedy Kenny. He and his brother, director Clayton Jacobson, also won best original screenplay.

The FCCA Awards have been running for over a decade; previous winners of the Best Film accolade include Look Both Ways (2005) and Lantana (2001).

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