The film is the clear frontrunner in the 2008 IF Awards, having scored 10 nominations, including a nod for Best Feature Film. This comes on top of the film’s recent nomination for a prestigious Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
Peter Duncan’s Unfinished Sky scored eight nominations in the IF Awards, which are voted for by the cinema-going public. Curiously, Unfinished Sky missed out on a best feature film nod but scored well in the craft categories.
Notably absent from any of the award categories are the bigger budget releases Not Quite Hollywood, Death Defying Acts or Hey, Hey it’s Esther Blueberger.
The Black Balloon will compete with the independent films Men’s Group and Son of a Lion for the best feature film nod.
The IF Awards ceremony will take place on Queensland’s Gold Coast on November 13, with a live broadcast on SBS.
The full list of IF Award nominees is as follows:
Best Feature Film
The Black Balloon – directed by Elissa Down and produced by Tristram Miall
Men’s Group – directed by Michael Joy and produced by Michael Joy and John L Simpson
Son of a Lion – directed by Benjamin Gilmour and produced by Carolyn Johnson
Best Director
David Nerlich and Andrew Traucki – Black Water
Elissa Down – The Black Balloon
Peter Duncan – Unfinished Sky
Best Actor
Rhys Wakefield – The Black Balloon
Grant Dodwell – Men’s Group
William McInnes – Unfinished Sky
Best Actress
Gemma Ward – The Black Balloon
Maeve Dermody – Black Water
Monic Hendrickx – Unfinished Sky
Best Cinematography
Denson Baker ACS – The Black Balloon
Jules O’Loughlin – September
Robert Humphreys ACS – Unfinished Sky
Best Music
Michael Yezerski – The Black Balloon
Haydn Walker – Men’s Group
Amanda Brown – Son of a Lion
Best Script
Elissa Down and Jimmy The Exploder – The Black Balloon
Michael Joy and John L Simpson – Men’s Group
Peter Duncan – Unfinished Sky
Best Documentary
The Burning Season – Directed by Cathy Henkel and produced by Jeff Canin, Trish Lake and Cathy Henkel.
The Oasis – Co-directed by Ian Darling and Sascha Ettinger Epstein and produced by Ian Darling.
Playing In The Shadows – Co-directed and co-produced by Sascha Ettinger Epstein and Marco Ianiello
Best Short Film
fOUR – Directed by Erin White and produced by Zyra McAuliffe
Spider – Directed by Nash Edgerton and produced by Nicole O’Donohue.
You Better Watch Out – Directed by Steve Callen and produced by Jules Callen.
Best Animation
The Covenant of Mr Kasch – Co-directed and co-produced by Joshua Beahan and Ruwan de Silva
Dog With Electric Collar – Directed by Steve Baker and produced by Damon Escott.
Mutt – Directed by Glen Hunwick and produced by Beth Frey.
Best Short Documentary
Mad Morro – Directed by Kelrick Martin and produced by Tom Zubrycki.
Rare Chicken Rescue – Directed by Randall Wood and produced by Vickie Gest.
Undressing Vanessa – Directed by Matthew Pond and produced by Tina Lymberis.
Best Music Video
Director Luke Eve and producer Simon Ritch – Emergency! Emergency! by The Hot Lies.
Directors Damon Escott and Stephen Lance and producer Leanne Tonkes – If You Keep Losing Sleep by Silverchair.
Directors Angus and Julia Stone, Josh Groom and Andrew Yoole and producers Madeleine Milasas and Jodie Passmore – Just A Boy by Angus and Julia Stone
Best Production Design
Nicholas McCallum – The Black Balloon
Sam Hobbs – September
Laurie Faen – Unfinished Sky
Best Editing
Veronica Jenet ASE – The Black Balloon
Rodrigo Balart – Black Water
Suresh Ayyar – Unfinished Sky
Best Sound
Paul Pirola – The Black Balloon
Sam Petty – The Square Andrew Plain, Annie Breslin, Will Ward – Unfinished Sky
Independent Spirit
Christopher Weekes, writer/director and lead actor – Bitter & Twisted
Jason Byrne, producer – Rats & Cats
Benjamin Gilmour (director) and Carolyn Johnson (producer) – Son of a Lion
Rising Talent
Amy Gebhardt (Director of Heart, Look Sharp)
Cris Jones (Director of The Funk)
Leon Ford (Director of Katoomba, Actor The Last Chip)
Best Unproduced Screenplay
Sam Voutas – Red Light Revolution
Kieran Darcy-Smith – Memorial Day
Matthew C Vaughan – Get Black
The following awards will also be presented on the night at the Inside Film Awards:
Living Legend
Box Office Achievement
Festival of the Year
