Justin Kurzel’s Nitram has dominated the 2021 AACTA Awards with eight wins including Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and all four acting categories. The late David Gulpilil was honoured with the prestigious Longford Lyell Award for his contribution to the film industry, while I Am Gulpilil, the documentary centred on his life, was awarded 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
The Dry
The Furnace
High Ground
Nitram
Penguin Bloom
Rams
Best Indie Film
Disclosure
Ellie and Abbie (& Ellie’s Dead Aunt)
Lone Wolf
Moon Rock For Monday
My First Summer
Under My Skin
Best Documentary
Girls Can’t Surf
I’m Wanita
My Name Is Gulpilil
Playing With Sharks
Strong Female Lead
When The Camera Stopped Rolling
Best Direction in Film
Rob Connolly – The Dry
Roderick MacKay – The Furnace
Stephen Maxwell Johnson – High Ground
Justin Kurzel – Nitram
Glendyn Ivin – Penguin Bloom
Best Lead Actor in Film
Simon Baker – High Ground
Eric Bana – The Dry
Caleb Landry Jones – Nitram
Ahmed Malek – The Furnace
Jacob Junior Nayinggul – High Ground
Best Lead Actress in Film
Rose Byrne – Peter Rabbit 2
Judy Davis – Nitram
Noni Hazlehurst – June Again
Genevieve O’Reilly – The Dry
Naomi Watts – Penguin Bloom
Best Supporting Actor in Film
Michael Caton – Rams
Baykali Ganambarr – The Furnace
Anthony LaPaglia – Nitram
Sean Mununggurr – High Ground
Jack Thompson – High Ground
Best Supporting Actress in Film
Essie Davis – Nitram
Claudia Karvan – June Again
Esmerelda Marimowa – High Ground
Miranda Tapsell – The Dry
Jacki Weaver – Penguin Bloom
Best Original Screenplay in Film
Ellie and Abbie (& Ellie’s Dead Aunt) – Monica Zanetti
The Furnace – Roderick MacKay
High Ground – Chris Anastassiades
June Again – JJ Winlove
Nitram – Shaun Grant
Best Adapted Screenplay in Film
The Dry – Rob Connolly, Harry Cripps
Penguin Bloom – Shaun Grant, Harry Cripps
Peter Rabbit 2 – Will Gluck, Patrick Burleigh
Rams – Jules Duncan
Best Cinematography in Film
The Dry – Stefan Duscio
High Ground – Andrew Commis
Mortal Kombat – Germain McMicking
Nitram – Germain McMicking
Penguin Bloom – Sam Chiplin
Best Costume Design in Film
The Dry – Cappi Ireland
High Ground – Erin Roche
Mortal Kombat – Cappi Ireland
Nitram – Alice Babidge
Rams – Tess Schofield
Best Editing in Film
The Dry – Nick Meyers, Alexandre de Franceschi
Friends and Strangers – James Vaughan
High Ground – Jill Bilcock, Karryn de Cinque, Hayley Miro Browne
Nitram – Nick Fenton
Peter Rabbit 2 – Matt Villa
Best Production Design in Film
2067 – Jacinta Leong
Mortal Kombat – Naaman Marshall
Nitram – Alice Babidge
Penguin Bloom – Annie Beauchamp
Peter Rabbit 2 – Roger Ford
Best Original Score in Film
The Dry – Peter Raeburn
June Again – Christopher Gordon
Nitram – Jed Kurzel
Penguin Bloom – Marcelo Zarvos
Rams – Antony Partos
Best Sound in Film
Ascendant
The Dry
Mortal Kombat
Nitram
Peter Rabbit 2
Best Hair and Makeup
Australian Gangster
Mortal Kombat
Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries
New Gold Mountain
Nitram
Best Casting
The Dry
High Ground
The Newsreader
Nitram
Wakefield
Best Visual Effects or Animation
Jungle Cruise
Mortal Kombat (Method Studios)
Mortal Kombat (Rising Sun Pictures)
Peter Rabbit 2
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings