The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts has set its nominations for Oz’s highest honors in both fields. Leading in the film races is Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge. The pacifist World War II action drama scored 13 nods including Best Film, Best Director, and a mention in each of the acting categories.
Gibson’s Hacksaw marks a return to directing after 10 years and has been heaped with praise since it first bowed at the Venice Film Festival to strong reviews and a 10-minute standing ovation. The story of real-life conscientious objector Desmond T Doss is equal parts faith-based film and horrors-of-war action drama. It tells how Doss (Andrew Garfield) saved 75 men in Okinawa without ever carrying a gun. It was filmed on a relatively low budget in Australia, and, as Pete Hammond noted yesterday, also received a sustained ovation at Monday’s Academy screening in Los Angeles. Gibson will receive the Hollywood Film Awards’ Director Award on November 6 and will also appear at Deadline’s The Contenders event November 5 at the DGA. The film releases internationally beginning November 3 and goes to the States on November 4.
Below is the list of AACTA nominees. Prizes will be handed out at two ceremonies in Sydney on December 5 and December 7.
BEST FILM
The Daughter
Girl Asleep
Goldstone
Hacksaw Ridge
Tanna
BEST DIRECTION
Rosemary Myers – Girl Asleep
Ivan Sen – Goldstone
Mel Gibson – Hacksaw Ridge
Martin Butler & Bentley Dean – Tanna
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Abe Forsythe – Down Under
Ivan Sen – Goldstone
Andrew Knight & Robert Schenkkan – Hacksaw Ridge
Damian Hill – Pawno
BEST LEAD ACTOR
John Brumpton – Pawno
Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge
Damian Hill – Pawno
Ewen Leslie – The Daughter
BEST LEAD ACTRESS
Maeve Dermody – Pawno
Maggie Naouri – Joe Cinque’s Consolidation
Teresa Palmer – Hacksaw Ridge
Odessa Young – The Daughter
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mark Coles Smith – Pawno
Damion Herriman – Down Under
Sam Neill – The Daughter
Hugo Weaving – Hacksaw Ridge
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kerry Armstrong – Pawno
Rachel Griffiths – Hacksaw Ridge
Miranda Otto – The Daughter
Anna Torv – The Daughter
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Andrew Commis – Girl Asleep
Simon Duggan – Hacksaw Ridge
Bonnie Elliot – Spear
Bentley Dean – Tanna
BEST EDITING
Veronika Jenet – The Daughter
Karyn de Cinque – Girl Asleep
Ivan Sen – Goldstone
John Gilbert – Hacksaw Ridge
BEST SOUND
The Daughter – Liam Egan, Nick Emond, Tony Murtagh, James Andrews, Yulia Akerholt, Robert Sullivan
Gods Of Egypt – Wayne Pashley, Peter Grace, Derryn Pasquill, Fabian Sanjurjo, Greg P. Fitzgerald, Peter Purcell
Hacksaw Ridge – Andrew Wright, Robert Mackenzie, Kevin O’Connell, Mario Vaccaro, Tara Webb, Peter Grace
Tanna – Emma Bortignon, James Ashton, Martin Butler
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Daughter – Steven Jones-Evans
Girl Asleep – Jonathan Oxlade
Goldstone – Matt Putland
Hacksaw Ridge – Barry Robison
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Girl Asleep – Jonathan Oxlade
Gods Of Egypt – Liz Palmer
Hacksaw Ridge – Lizzy Gardiner
Spear – Jennifer Irwin
BEST HAIR AND MAKE-UP (combined with television)
A Place To Call Home (Foxtel) – Wizzy Molineaux
Cleverman (ABC) – Kath Brown, Simon Joseph, Troy Follington
Gods Of Egypt – Lesley Vanderwalt, Lara Jade Birch, Adam Johansen
Hacksaw Ridge – Shane Thomas, Larry Van Duynhoven
Read more at Deadline.com
In theaters everywhere November 4th. HacksawRidge.movie