After Warwick Thornton's Samson and Delilah swept the 2009 IF Awards, this year's event is shaping up to be a David and Goliath contest, with the small, critically acclaimed crime drama Animal Kingdom leading the nominations alongside studio-backed box-office hit Mao's Last Dancer. Both films have received seven nominations for the ceremony, which will screen on SBS ONE on November 24.
Animal Kingdom, which has received international critical acclaim and received the prestigious World Cinema Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, is nominated in the Best Film, Best Sound and Best Editing categories. David Michôd is nominated for Best Director and Best Script for the film, while Ben Mendelsohn and Jacki Weaver are up for Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively.
2009/10's highest grossing film, Mao's Last Dancer is nominated in the Best Film, Best Music, Best Script and Best Cinematography categories with Bruce Beresford nominated for Best Director and Best Actor and Actress nominations for Chi Cao and Joan Chen.
Both films will compete with Tomorrow When the War Began and Beneath Hill 60 for Best Film honours. Fellow Best Director nominees include Jeremy Hartley Sims for Beneath Hill 60 and Rachel Perkins for Bran Nue Dae.
Joel Edgerton is in contention for Best Actor for The Waiting City alongside Tomorrow When the War Began newcomer Deniz Akdeniz. Edgerton's The Waiting City co-star Radha Mitchell is nominated in the Best Actress category as is Tomorrow When The War Began's Caitlin Stasey.
Jane Campion's tale of the tragic romance between romantic poet John Keats and Fanny Brice, Bright Star, is nominated in four categories including Best Sound, Best Production Design, Best Editing and Best Cinematography.
The three films nominated in the Short Film category are: The Wake, the story of a misfit's unexpected arrival at the funeral of his friend's father; Celestial Avenue, the tale of finding love in unexpected places; and the dark tale of Daniel's 21st. Best Short Animation nominees include: the story of thirty-something Evelyn's online Second Life in Evelyn Everyone; The Lost Thing, based on Shaun Tan's prize-winning children's book; and the story of Zero's determination and courage. The nominees for Best Short Documentary are: Big Fella, about the effects of obesity and diabetes in indigenous communities; the story of one man's journey to enlightenment From Dope to Dalai Lama; and Little Ripper, about the curious world of pigeon fancying. The Best Documentary category features: Lani's Story, an exploration of a woman's survival of an abusive relationship; Boxing for Palm Island, which follows Palm Island natives taking the future into their own hands; and Strange Birds in Paradise, the story of exiled West Papuans protesting Indonesian oppression through song.
2010 INSIDE FILM AWARDS NOMINEES
Best Short Animation
EVELYN EVERYONE – Director: Kylie Plunkett, Producer: Kate Breen
THE LOST THING – Directors: Shaun Tan, Andrew Ruhemann, Producer: Sophie Byrne
ZERO – Director: Christopher Kezelos, Producer: Christine Kezelos
Best Short Film
CELESTIAL AVENUE – Directors: Colin & Cameron Cairnes, Producer: Scott Alexander
DANIEL'S 21st -- Director: Adrian Wills, Producer: Gillian Moody
THE WAKE -- Director: Gemma Lee, Producer: Charlie Clausen
Best Short Documentary
BIG FELLA – Director: Michael Longbottom, Producer: Lisa Duff
FROM DOPE TO DALAI LAMA – Director: Jason Raftopoulos, Producer: Jason Raftopoulos
LITTLE RIPPER -- Director: Craig Boord, Producer: Craig Boord, Jarrod Boord
Best Documentary
BOXING FOR PALM ISLAND – Director: Adrian Wills, Producer: Michaela Perske
LANI'S STORY – Director: Genevieve Grieves, Producer: Darren Dale
STRANGE BIRDS IN PARADISE – Director: Charlie Hill-Smith, Producer: Jamie Nicolai, John Cherry
Best Music Video
BABY I'M GETTING BETTER, Gyroscope – Director: Nick Pollack, Producer: Anne Robinson
BIG JET PLANE, Angus and Julia Stone – Director: Kiku Ohe
THE GOOD NEWS, Philadelphia Grand Jury – Director: Luke Tierney, Producer: Cameron D'Arcy
Best Direction
BRUCE BERESFORD – Mao's Last Dancer
DAVID MICHÔD – Animal Kingdom
RACHEL PERKINS – Bran Nue Dae
JEREMY HARTLEY SIMS – Beneath Hill 60
Best Script
DAVID MICHÔD – Animal Kingdom
JAN SARDI – Mao's Last Dancer
STUART BEATTIE – Tomorrow When the War Began
Best Actor
BEN MENDELSOHN – Animal Kingdom
CHI CAO – Mao's Last Dancer
DENIZ AKDENIZ – Tomorrow When the War Began
JOEL EDGERTON – The Waiting City
Best Actress
CAITLIN STASEY – Tomorrow When the War Began
JACKI WEAVER – Animal Kingdom
JOAN CHEN – Mao's Last Dancer
RADHA MITCHELL – The Waiting City
Best Feature Film
ANIMAL KINGDOM
BENEATH HILL 60
MAO'S LAST DANCER
TOMORROW WHEN THE WAR BEGAN
Best Sound
SAM PETTY, ROB MACKENZIE, PHILIPPE DECRAUSAZ – Animal Kingdom
JOHN DENNISON, TONY VACCHER, CRAIG BUTTERS – Bright Star
ROBERT SULLIVAN, LIAM EGAN, MARK CORNISH, TONY MURTAGH – Beneath Hill 60
Best Music
CEZARY SKUBISZEWSKI, JIMMY CHI, KUCKLES – Bran Nue Dae
CHRISTOPHER GORDON – Mao's Last Dancer
JOHNNY KLIMEK, REINHOLD HEIL – Tomorrow When The War Began
Best Cinematography
GREIG FRASER – Bright Star
PETER JAMES – Mao's Last Dancer
DENSON BAKER – The Waiting City
Best Production Design
CLAYTON JAUNCEY – Beneath Hill 60
FELICITY ABBOTT – Bran Nue Dae
JANET PATTERSON – Bright Star
Best Editing
LUKE DOOLAN – Animal Kingdom
ALEXANDRE DE FRANCESCHI – Bright Star
VERONIKA JENET – The Waiting City
Independent Spirit
CAUGHT INSIDE
LAN FRANCHI'S MEMORIAL DISCOTHEQUE
LITTLE SPARROWS
Rising Talent
ADRIAN WILLS
ARIEL KLEIMAN
CRAIG BOREHAM
Out of the Box
HUGO JOHNSTONE-BURT
FIRASS DIRANI
EVA LAZARRO
KATHERINE HICKS
RICHARD DAVIES
RYAN CORR
Contribution to TV
ROB SITCH
ANDREW DENTON
BRIAN WALSH
POSIE GRAEME-EVANS
STEVE VIZARD
KIM WILLIAMS
JOHN EDWARDS
HAL MCELROY
MARK AND CARL FENNESSEY
PENNY CHAPMAN
The 2010 IF Awards will screen on SBS ONE on November 24 at 10pm (with catch-up viewing for 30 days online at SBS FILM).
