Australian Directors' Guild
2023 ADG Awards Nominees Announced
FULL LIST OF NOMINEES 2023 ADG AWARDS
Best Direction in a Mobile-First Online Series Episode
Joel Ludemann | Tales From 88 |
Erin Good | Krystal Klairvoyant (E22) – Season Finale |
Best Direction in a Children's TV or SVOD Drama Series Episode
Elissa Down | Ivy + Bean: Doomed to Dance |
Guy Edmonds | Spooky Files (S1 E9) – The Mist of Misery |
Imogen McCluskey | Soundtrack To Our Teenage Zombie Apocalypse (S1 E10) |
Julie Kalceff | The PM’s Daughter (S2 E2) – Be Relentless |
Nicholas Verso | Crazy Fun Park (S1 E1) – I Don’t Want To Grow Up |
Tenika Smith | Turn Up The Volume (E6) |
Best Direction in a TV or SVOD Documentary Series Episode or Documentary One-Off
John Harvey | Still We Rise |
Kriv Stenders | The Black Hand (E1) |
Nick Robinson | Australia’s Wild Odyssey (E1) – Arteries and Veins |
Patrick Abboud | Kids Raising Kids |
Stamatia Maroupas | Queerstralia (E1) – The Law |
Best Direction in a Documentary Short Subject
Hailey Bartholomew | Ageless |
Madeleine Mytkowski | Salt Dreams |
Sofya Gollan & Jodee Mundy OAM | Imagined Touch |
Tilly Robba & Steph Jowett | Lesbians on the Loose |
Tom Chapman | Eden Alone Surpasses Thee |
Best Direction in Commercial Content
Craig Melville | Dead Island 2 – Another Day in HELL.A |
Gavin Banks | Sione’s Story – Department of Communities and Justice |
Gracie Otto | Zimmermann Fall 22 – Stargazer |
Henry Stone | Square Mo-gal Webin-ya! |
James Dive | Don’t You Forget About Me |
Selina Miles | Ovaries. Talk About Them. |
Best Direction in a Commercial Advertisement
Michael Spiccia | Amazon Prime – Separation |
Michael Spiccia | Enchanté – Smell the Roses |
Nash Edgerton | Tag Heuer – The Chase for Carrera |
Sanjay De Silva | IKEA – Show Off Your Savvy |
Tom Noakes | Amazon Books – That Reading Feeling Awaits |
Yianni Warnock | Meat & Livestock Australia – Infinite Cultural Exile |
Best Direction in an Online Drama Series Episode
Bonnie Cee | Casino Beach – Pilot |
Tam Sainsbury | Time & Place |
Best Direction in an Online Comedy Series Episode
Madeleine Gottlieb | Latecomers (E4) – Wet |
Madeleine Gottlieb | Latecomers (E6) – Coming Good |
Max Miller | Finding Yeezus (S1 E1) |
Neil Sharma | Appetite (E1) – Dead Head |
Neil Sharma | Appetite (E2) – Pho Ken What? |
Renée Mao | A Beginner’s Guide To Grief (E1) |
Best Direction in an Interactive or Immersive Project
Kerinne Jenkins & Nicole Hutton-Lewis | In Our Own Right – Black Australian Nurses’ Stories |
Peter Hegedüs | Sorella’s Story |
Stuart McDonald | Choose Love |
Best Direction in a Short Film
Alies Sluiter | Myth |
David Ma | The Dancing Girl and The Balloon Man |
David Robinson-Smith | We Used to Own Houses |
Matthew Thorne & Derik Lynch | Marungka Tjalatjunu – Dipped in Black |
Neer Shelter | Perspectives |
Robin Summons | Victim |
Best Direction in a Student Film
Gabriel Murphy | Enemy Alien |
Gilbert Kemp Attrill | Reunion |
Guillym Davenport | Pitch Black |
Karen Liebau McPherson | Laugh With Me |
Stephen Di Gravio | Anna |
Vee Shi | Jia |
Best Direction in Animation
Christian Barkel | Lego Monkie Kid (S4) |
Ricard Cussó & Tania Vincent | Scarygirl |
Best Direction in a Music Video
Bill Bleakley | The Teskey Brothers – True Life Trilogy |
Jesse Samos Leaman | Didirri – Often Broken |
Kaius Potter | Bad//Dreems – See You Tomorrow |
Lucy Knox | DMAS – Forever |
Sanjay De Silva | Jerome Farah – Concrete Jungle Fever |
Toby Morris | Middle Kids – Bootleg Firecracker |
Best Direction in a TV or SVOD Comedy Series Episode
Robyn Butler & Wayne Hope | Summer Love, (S1 E1) – Jules and Tom and Jonah and Steph |
Bjorn Stewart | Gold Diggers (S1 E5) – Man Ban |
Helena Brooks | Gold Diggers (S1 E3) – I’m with the Bandits |
Matthew Moore | Colin From Accounts – (S1 E6) – The Good Room |
Max Miller | Aunty Donna’s Coffee Café (S1 E2) |
Shaun Wilson | Romantic Getaway |
Best Direction in a TV or SVOD Drama Series Episode
Emma Freeman | The Newsreader (S2) - Episode 5 |
Gracie Otto | Heartbreak High (S1 E8) |
Gracie Otto | Deadloch (S1 E6) |
Jennifer Leacey | The Secrets She Keeps (S2 E3) |
Sian Davies | Black Snow (E1) |
Best Direction in a TV or SVOD Mini- Series Episode
Peter Andrikidis & Katrina Irawati Graham | Bali 2002 (E1) – Island of the Gods |
Jeffrey Walker | The Clearing (E1) – The Season of Unfoldment |
Corrie Chen | Bad Behaviour (E1) – Moth to a Flame |
Peter Andrikidis & Katrina Irawati Graham | Bali 2002 (E2) – From the Ashes |
Stevie Cruz-Martin | Safe Home (E1) |
Tony Krawitz | Significant Others (E1) |
Best Direction in a Documentary Feature
Allan Clarke | The Dark Emu Story |
Emma Sullivan | Into the Deep |
Gillian Moody & Adrian Russell Wills | Kindred |
Laurence Billiet & Rachael Antony | The Giants |
Poppy Stockell | John Farnham – Finding the Voice |
Selina Miles | Harley & Katya |
Best Direction in a Debut Feature Film
Brenda Matthews & Nathaniel Schmidt | The Last Daughter |
Gabriel Gasparinatos | OneFour – Against All Odds |
Jub Clerc | Sweet As |
Mark Leonard Winter | The Rooster |
Matt Vesely | Monolith |
Thomas Hyland | This Is Going to Be Big |
Best Direction in a Feature Film (Budget under $1M)
Amin Palangi | Tennessine |
Claire Pasvolsky | Three Chords and the Truth |
James Vinson | Slant |
Molly Haddon | The Longest Weekend |
Scott Major | Darklands |
Best Direction in a Feature Film (Budget $1M or over)
Colin & Cameron Cairnes | Late Night With The Devil |
Gracie Otto | Seriously Red |
Jeffrey Walker | The Portable Door |
Noora Niasari | Shayda |
Warwick Thornton | The New Boy |
NOMINEES ANNOUNCEMENT
2023 AUSTRALIAN DIRECTORS’ GUILD AWARDS
First Nations director Warwick Thornton, whose feature films Samson and Delilah and Sweet Country won international acclaim, is among a slew of Indigenous Australians nominated in the prestigious 2023 Australian Directors’ Guild Awards.
Thornton’s direction of The New Boy, about an orphaned Aboriginal boy sent to live in an outback monastery, sets the scene for a strong focus on First Nations storytelling among this year’s awards nominees.
The full list of nominations for the 2023 Australian Directors’ Guild Awards, which recognise Australia’s top directing talent, has been announced today.
Australian Directors’ Guild Executive Director Sophie Harper said the awards would be a celebration of the very best in Australian directing across all genres and platforms.
“The Australian Directors’ Guild Awards are the only awards in Australia where directors are judged by their peers, many of whom are world-renowned for their own achievements,” Ms Harper said.
Vying with Thornton for Best Direction in a Feature Film (Budget $1m or over) is an eclectic mix of talent. Tehran-born Australian director Noora Niasari has been nominated for her debut feature Shayda; horror film siblings Colin and Cameron Cairnes have been recognised for Late Night with the Devil; Gracie Otto has been nominated for her debut narrative feature film Seriously Red and former actor and director Jeffrey Walker is in the running for fantasy adventure The Portable Door.
Niasari’s Shayda, about a young Iranian mother who finds refuge with her daughter in an Australian women’s shelter, has been named Australia’s official entry for the Best International Feature category at next year’s Oscars.
Otto, daughter of Australian acting royalty Barry and sister of Miranda, has been recognised in two additional categories – Best Direction of Commercial Content for Zimmermann Fall 22 – Stargazer; and two nominations for Best Direction in a TV or Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD) Drama Series Episode for Heartbreak High and Deadloch. Walker received a second nomination in the TV or SVOD Mini-Series category for The Clearing.
In an all-female line-up, Otto’s fellow nominees in the TV or SVOD Drama Series Episode category include Emma Freeman (The Newsreader), Jennifer Leacey (The Secrets She Keeps) and Sian Davies (Black Snow).
Emma Sullivan’s depiction of the story of journalist Kim Wall who was murdered after boarding Danish inventor Peter Madsen’s submarine in Into the Deep, and Selina Miles’ direction of Harley and Katya, the tragic story of an Australian figure skating duo, have each earned a nomination for Best Direction in a Documentary Feature.
They’re joined by Laurence Billiet and Rachael Antony for The Giants, about the life of politician-turned-environmentalist Bob Brown, and Poppy Stockell for her direction of John Farnham – Finding the Voice.
Indigenous director Allan Clarke’s The Dark Emu Story, charting the impact of Bruce Pascoe’s book, and Wodi Wodi woman Gillian Moody’s Kindred, about her connection back to her bloodlines after being adopted into a white family, have also earned them a nomination in the documentary feature category.
Torres Strait Islander John Harvey has been nominated in the Best Direction in a TV or SVOD Documentary Series Episode or Documentary One-Off category for Still We Rise, documenting the Aboriginal Tent Embassy opposite Old Parliament House in the year of its 50th anniversary. Also nominated in the category are Kriv Stenders (The Black Hand - E1); Nick Robinson (Australia’s Wild Odyssey E1 – Arteries and Veins); Patrick Abboud (Kids Raising Kids) and Stamatia Maroupas (Queerstralia E1 – The Law).
First Nations director Jub Clerc’s Sweet As, about an Australian teen who discovers her love for photography at a youth camp in Western Australia, has earned her a nomination for Best Direction in a Debut Feature Film. Brenda Matthews and Nathaniel Schmidt have also been nominated in the category for The Last Daughter, charting Matthews’ search for the white foster family with whom she had lost all contact.
Other debut feature film nominees include Gabriel Gasparinatos (OneFour – Against All Odds); Mark Leonard Winter (The Rooster); Matt Vesely (Monolith) and Thomas Hyland (This is Going to Be Big).
For Best Direction in a Short Film, Yankunytjatjara man Derik Lynch and Matthew Thorne have been nominated for Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black), alongside Alies Sluiter (Myth); David Ma (The Dancing Girl and the Balloon Man); David Robinson-Smith (We Used to Own Houses); Neer Shelter (Perspectives) and Robin Summons (Victim).
The winners of the 20 categories in the 2023 Australian Directors’ Guild Awards will be announced at an awards ceremony at The Grand Electric in Sydney’s Surry Hills on Tuesday, December 5.
ADG President Rowan Woods said: “The awards recognise outstanding directing in everything from mobile-first online series and children’s TV drama to best music video, animation or feature film, and we’re delighted to see more nominations than ever this year.
“Judges have been blown away by the quality of entrants and have been particularly impressed by the calibre of up-and-coming talent. A win for any one of these newcomers could be the launch pad for an enduring and impactful career and we’re excited to see who takes out the awards on December 5.”
Ms Harper urged those with a passion for Australian filmmaking to come along to the awards ceremony, which is open to the public as well as industry members.
“Whether you’re an emerging director wanting to network with the best of the best in the field or a film buff who wants an inside run on the hottest new Australian directors, get in quickly and grab your tickets,” Ms Harper said.
The ADG Awards is supported by sponsors including Principal Partner ASDACS and Major Partner Netflix Australia. Limited tickets are available. Book now at www.strutnfret.com/grand-electric
2023 ADG Awards Entries Now Closed |
2023 ADG AWARDS CATEGORIES
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Terms and conditions for eligibility and category information can be found HERE If you have any questions or concerns, please email ash.gray@adg.org.au. |
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To visit the ADG 2022 AWARDS page, go to: Australian Directors' Guild - ADG AWARDS 2022
To visit the ADG 2021 AWARDS page, go to: Australian Directors' Guild - ADG AWARDS 2021