Elvis Sweeps 2022 AACTA Awards

Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis has swept the 2022 AACTA Awards with 11 wins from 15 nominations including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Lead Actor for Austin Butler. Elsewhere, Thomas M. Wright’s The Stranger picked up two wins for Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Sean Harris, while Jennifer Peedom’s River was named Best Documentary

Presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts whose membership contains professionals from a cross-section of the screen industry, the awards are considered the highest honour in Australian film.

Winners in bold below.

Best Film
Elvis
Here Out West
Sissy
The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
The Stranger
Three Thousand Years of Longing

Best Indie Film
A Stitch In Time
Akoni
Darklands
Lonesome
Pieces
Smoke Between Trees 

Best Documentary
Ablaze
Clean
Everybody’s Oma
Franklin
Ithaka
River

Best Direction in Film
Baz Luhrmann – Elvis
Hannah Barlow, Kane Senes – Sissy
Leah Purcell – The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
Thomas M. Wright – The Stranger
George Miller – Three Thousand Years of Longing

Best Lead Actor in Film
Austin Butler – Elvis
Rob Collins – The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
Joel Edgerton – The Stranger
Idris Elba – Three Thousand Years of Longing
Damon Herriman – Nude Tuesday

Best Lead Actress in Film
Aisha Dee – Sissy
Leah Purcell – The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
Julia Savage – Blaze
Tilda Swinton – Three Thousand Years of Longing
Jackie van Beek – Nude Tuesday

Best Supporting Actor in Film
Simon Baker – Blaze
Jemaine Clement – Nude Tuesday
Malachi Dower-Roberts – The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
Tom Hanks – Elvis
Sean Harris – The Stranger

Best Supporting Actress in Film
Jada Alberts – The Stranger
Jessica De Gouw – The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
Olivia DeJonge – Elvis
Joanna Lumley – Falling For Figaro
Yael Stone – Blaze

Best Screenplay in Film
Elvis – Baz Luhrmann, Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce, Jeremy Doner
Nude Tuesday – Jackie van Beek
The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson – Leah Purcell
The Stranger – Thomas M. Wright
Three Thousand Years of Longing – George Miller, Augusta Gore

Best Cinematography in Film
Blaze – Jeremy Rouse
Elvis – Mandy Walker
The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson – Mark Wareham
The Stranger – Sam Chiplin
Three Thousand Years of Longing – John Seale

Best Costume Design in Film
Elvis – Catherine Martin
Here Out West – Wendy Cork
Pieces – Monique Wilson, Kristie Rowe
The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson – Tess Schofield
Three Thousand Years of Longing – Kym Barrett

Best Editing in Film
Blaze – Dany Cooper
Elvis – Matt Villa, Jonathan Redmond
Nude Tuesday – Nick Meyers
The Stranger – Simon Njoo
Three Thousand Years of Longing – Margaret Sixel

Best Original Score in Film
A Stitch In Time – Angela Little
Elvis – Elliott Wheeler
Falling For Figaro – Cezary Skubiszewski
The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson – Salliana Seven Campbell
Three Thousand Years of Longing – Tom Holkenborg

Best Production Design in Film
Elvis – Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy, Beverley Dunn
Interceptor – George Liddle
The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson – Sam Hobbs
The Stranger – Leah Popple
Three Thousand Years of Longing – Roger Ford

Best Sound in Film
Bosch & Rockit – Angus Robertson, Sam Hayward, Scott Mulready, Leah Katz, Cameron Grant, Les Fiddess
Elvis – David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson, Michael Keller
The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson – Liam Egan, Nick Emond, Leah Katz, Robert Sullivan, Tom Heuzenroeder, Les Fiddess
The Stranger – Andy Wright, Will Sheridan, Beth Bezzina, Chris Goodes
Three Thousand Years of Longing – Robert Mackenzie, Ben Osmo, Yulia Akerholt, James Ashton

Best Hair and Makeup
Elvis – Jason Baird, Mark Coulier, Louise Coulston, Shane Thomas
Gold – Jennifer Lamphee
The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson – Beth Halsted, Simon Joseph, Jennifer Lamphee
Three Thousand Years of Longing – Lesley Vanderwalt
Wyrmwood: Apocalypse – Rachel Scane, Helen Magelaki, Mariel McClorey

Best Casting
Elvis – Nikki Barrett, Denise Chamian
Heartbreak High – Amanda Mitchell
Love Me – Nathan Lloyd
The Stranger – Anousha Zarkesh
The Twelve – Kirsty McGregor

Best Visual Effects or Animation
DC League of Super-Pets – Sharna Hackett, Feargal Stewart, Christian So, Miles Green, Etienne Marc – Animal Logic
Elvis – Tom Wood, Fiona Crawford, Julian Hutchens, Joshua Simmonds, Adam Hammond – Warner Bros. Pictures
Spider-Man: No Way Home – Kelly Port, Julia Neighly, Brendan Seals, Kilou Picard – Luma Pictures
Thor: Love and Thunder – Jake Morrison, Lisa Marra, Dan Oliver, Dan Bethell, Ian Cope – Rising Sun Pictures
Three Thousand Years of Longing – Jason Bath, Paul Butterworth, Chris Spry, Alastair Stephen, Roy Malhi, Chris Davies – Fin Design + Effects

Author: Doug Jamieson

From musicals to horror and everything in between, Doug has an eclectic taste in films. Both a champion of independent cinema and a defender of more mainstream fare, he prefers to find an equal balance between two worlds often at odds with each other. A film critic by trade but a film fan at heart, Doug also writes for his own website The Jam Report, and Australia’s the AU review.