The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) today announced the winners of the 2nd AACTA International Awards, recognising international excellence across five categories, as determined by a jury of eminent Australian screen practitioners working in the U.S. and Australia from a cross-section of crafts: Best Film, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Actress.
Also announced were two AACTA International Awards as determined by the Australian Film Institute (AFI) AACTA Board of Governors. These discretionary Awards were presented for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.
Winners were announced at the 2nd AACTA International Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles, with Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Australian Film Institute Award winning actor Russell Crowe leading fellow Australians presenting at the Ceremony, Jacki Weaver and Scott Hicks.
Funny, brave and humane, Silver Linings Playbook was the big winner at the AACTA International Awards, winning Best Film for producers Donna Gigliotti, Bruce Cohen and Jonathan Gordon; Best Direction for David O. Russell; and Best Lead Actress for Jennifer Lawrence.
The offbeat comic drama sees Lawrence playing a reckless young widow who befriends a bipolar schoolteacher (Bradley Cooper) who is obsessing about his ex-wife. Rounding out the film’s stellar cast are Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver and Chris Tucker.
The AACTA International Award for Best Lead Actor went to Daniel Day-Lewis for his virtuosic performance as Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s historical drama. Set in 1865, Lincoln centres on the final four months in the life of the 16th President of the United States, in which he battled for constitutional reform to abolish slavery.
Hot on the heels of his Golden Globe win for Best Screenplay for Django Unchained, writer and director Quentin Tarantino today won the AACTA International Award for Best Screenplay for his scripting of the fast-paced and talkative epic western. Set in America’s Deep South, Django Unchained follows a freed slave (Jamie Foxx) and a bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) as they go on a quest to free his wife (Kerry Washington) from the grips of a cruel plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio).
The two discretionary AACTA International Awards went to Robert De Niro for his role as an obsessive compulsive football-crazed father in Silver Linings Playbook, and to Jacki Weaver, for her role as De Niro’s tolerant and forgiving wife in the film. Page 2 of 5 AACTA President, Geoffrey Rush, said: “The AACTA International Awards are Australia’s international stamp of screen success. They recognise our international counterparts, add an Australian voice to international Academy discussion, and celebrate our fellow Australians working internationally. I’m delighted that this, our second Awards season in the U.S. through the new Australian Academy, has continued the success of our launch a year ago, and I thank our American peers for embracing Australia’s AACTA Awards so enthusiastically.
“I congratulate this year’s AACTA International Award recipients, and look forward with anticipation to seeing if our international peers have concurred with Australian jurors in this exciting Awards season,’’ Rush said.
The AACTA International Awards recognise film excellence regardless of geography, as determined by a jury of eminent Australian screen practitioners working in the U.S. and Australia from a cross-section of crafts, and with a wealth of local and international experience.
Australia’s New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell congratulated the winners of the AACTA International Awards, saying New South Wales continued to produce world-class screen talent including Award nominees Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts.
“New South Wales is home to some of the biggest names in film today and I am delighted that this outstanding creative talent continues to shine both overseas and in Australia. The New South Wales
Government is proud to support our State’s screen industry, ensuring New South Wales, the home of Australia’s creative industries, remains the number one State for film and television production,” Mr O’Farrell said.
AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARDS NOMINEES AND WINNERS
AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST SCREENPLAY
• Argo. Chris Terrio
• Django Unchained. Quentin Tarantino – WINNER
• Lincoln. Tony Kushner
• The Master. Paul Thomas Anderson
• Silver Linings Playbook. David O. Russell
• Zero Dark Thirty. Mark Boal
AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTION
• Argo. Ben Affleck
• Life Of Pi. Ang Lee
• Lincoln. Steven Spielberg
• The Sessions. Ben Lewin
• Silver Linings Playbook. David O. Russell – WINNER
• Zero Dark Thirty. Kathryn Bigelow
AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST ACTOR
• Bradley Cooper. Silver Linings Playbook
• Daniel Day-Lewis. Lincoln – WINNER
• John Hawkes. The Sessions
• Hugh Jackman. Les Misérables
• Joaquin Phoenix. The Master
• Denzel Washington. Flight
Source: Media Room, Australian Academy Cinema Television Arts 2013
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