Two years after the outback western Sweet Country premiered, the critically acclaimed film has won the top prize at the Australian Director’s Guild Awards.
The film tells the story of 1920s Alice Springs where a young boy witnesses an Aboriginal stockman kill a white station owner in self-defence, and the chilling and thrilling repercussions of such an act.
The film was inspired by true events, dominated last year’s Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards and won a swag of prizes around the world.
Warwick Thornton won best director Australian Director’s Guild Awards on Monday, edging out Garth Davis (Mary Magdalene), Anthony Maras (Hotel Mumbai) and Joel Edgerton (Boy Erased).
The awards were a triumph for Indigenous film and TV, with Rachel Perkins being recognised for the ABC TV series Mystery Road and Paul Damien Williams winning a prize for the documentary feature Gurrumul.
