Australian Film Awards 2009: Aboriginal Drama

• Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards 2009: Chronicling the difficult relationship between two aboriginal teenagers on the run, Warwick Thornton’s feature debut Samson & Delilah was the big winner, topping Best Film, Best Direction, Best Original Screenplay, and five other categories.

Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards 2009: Aboriginal-focused drama Samson & Delilah is the big winner

Screenwriter-director Warwick Thornton’s Aboriginal Australian-centered feature film debut Samson & Delilah was the big winner at the 2009 Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards held at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre in two consecutive evenings, Dec. 11 (“industry” categories) and Dec. 12 (“top” awards). The AFI Award nominations had been announced on Oct. 28. (See further below a partial list of this year’s winners and nominees.)

Besides Best Film and Best Direction, Samson & Delilah topped six other categories: Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography (also Warwick Thornton), Best Sound, the AFI Members’ Choice Award, and two Young Actor awards for newcomers Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson – both of whom had also been Best Actor/Best Actress contenders.

Winner of the Caméra d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, named Best Film at the Asia-Pacific Screen Awards, and Australia’s submission for the 2010 Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award (a chunk of the dialogue is in Warlpiri), Samson & Delilah is set in a remote Aboriginal community in Central Australia, where two teenagers (McNamara, Gibson) attempt to cope with a life of poverty, violence, and substance abuse. After things take an unsettling downturn, they steal a car and drive out to Alice Springs, facing various obstacles along the way.

Three years ago, another feature about Australia’s Aboriginal population also won the AFI’s top award: Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr’s Ten Canoes, which revolves around a group of indigenous Australians of the distant past.

Bloody Portuguese Timor invasion, welfare-recipient mom

Robert Connolly’s political drama Balibo was another multiple Australian Film Institute Award winner, topping the Best Actor (Anthony LaPaglia), Best Supporting Actor (Oscar Isaac), Best Adapted Screenplay (Connolly and David Williamson), and Best Editing (Nick Meyers) categories.

Balibo stars LaPaglia as real-life correspondent Roger East, who traveled to Portuguese Timor (later East Timor) in the mid-1970s to investigate the disappearance of five journalists at the time of the Indonesian invasion of that territory. East would later be executed by the Indonesian military.

The AFI Awards’ Best Actress was Frances O’Connor for her portrayal of a troubled welfare-recipient mother in Ana Kokkinos’ Blessed, while Rachel Griffiths was named Best Supporting Actress for Beautiful Kate, actress-turned-director Rachel Ward’s family drama about two siblings (Griffiths and Ben Mendelsohn) who share a deeply buried secret.

Australians abroad Russell Crowe & Toni Collette

The AFI International Awards – given to Australians working abroad in film or on television – went to Russell Crowe and Toni Collette. The former was singled out for his performance in Kevin Macdonald’s box office disappointment State of Play; the latter for displaying multiple personalities in Diablo Cody’s TV series The United States of Tara.

Additionally, at a previous August ceremony the Australian Film Institute’s noncompetitive International Award for Excellence in Filmmaking was handed to visual effects supervisor Nathan McGuinness for his work on five Hollywood features: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, Terminator Salvation, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and The Unborn.

Also at that ceremony, Best Actor Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush (Shine, 1996) received the Raymond Longford Award for his contribution to Australian cinema.

Australia acknowledged

Winner of the Highest Grossing Film Award – the Australian Film Institute now has a category recognizing commercial success – Baz Luhrmann’s late 2008 release Australia was Samson & Delilah’s antipodal AFI honoree.

At a reported $130 million the most expensive Australian production ever, the World War II-set romantic adventure epic starring Hugh Jackman and Oscar winner Nicole Kidman (The Hours, 2002) took in $26.5 million in its native country and an impressive $211.8 million worldwide – including a relatively modest $49.6 million in the U.S. and Canada.

Bypassed in the Best Film, Best Direction, and most of the acting categories (12-year-old newcomer Brandon Walters was a Best Supporting Actor nominee), Australia topped three other AFI Award categories: Best Production Design (Catherine Martin, Ian Gracie, Karen Murphy, and Beverley Dunn), Best Costume Design (Catherine Martin and Eliza Godman; earlier this year, only Martin received an Oscar nomination for her work), and Best Visual Effects.

Besides Jackman, Kidman, and Walters, the extensive Australia cast includes David Wenham, Bryan Brown, Jack Thompson, David Gulpilil, Ben Mendelsohn, Essie Davis, Barry Otto, and Kerry Walker.

Immediately below is a partial list of this year’s Australian Film Institute winners and nominees.

Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards 2009: Winners & nominations

FEATURES

Best Film
Balibo – John Maynard & Rebecca Williamson
Beautiful Kate – Leah Churchill-Brown & Bryan Brown
Blessed – Al Clark
Mao’s Last Dancer – Jane Scott
Mary and Max – Melanie Coombs
* Samson & Delilah – Kath Shelper

Best Director
Bruce Beresford – Mao’s Last Dancer
Robert Connolly – Balibo
* Warwick Thornton – Samson & Delilah
Rachel Ward – Beautiful Kate

Best Actor
* Anthony LaPaglia – Balibo
Rowan McNamara – Samson & Delilah
Ben Mendelsohn – Beautiful Kate
Hugo Weaving – Last Ride

Best Actress
Marissa Gibson – Samson & Delilah
Sacha Horler – My Year Without Sex
Sophie Lowe – Beautiful Kate
* Frances O’Connor – Blessed

Best Supporting Actor
Bryan Brown – Beautiful Kate
Damon Gameau – Balibo
* Oscar Isaac – Balibo
Brandon Walters – Australia

Best Supporting Actress
Maeve Dermody – Beautiful Kate
Mitjili Gibson – Samson & Delilah
* Rachel Griffiths – Beautiful Kate
Bea Viegas – Balibo

Best Original Screenplay
Cedar Boys – Serhat Caradee
Mary and Max – Adam Elliot
My Year Without Sex – Sarah Watt
* Samson & Delilah – Warwick Thornton

Best Adapted Screenplay
* Balibo – Robert Connolly & David Williamson
Beautiful Kate – Rachel Ward
Blessed – Andrew Bovell, Melissa Reeves, Patricia Cornelius & Christos Tsiolkas
Mao’s Last Dancer – Jan Sardi

Best Cinematography
Balibo – Tristan Milani
Beautiful Kate – Andrew Commis
Last Ride – Greig Fraser
* Samson & Delilah – Warwick Thornton

Best Film Editing
* Balibo – Nick Meyers
Blessed – Jill Bilcock
Mao’s Last Dancer – Mark Warner
Samson & Delilah – Roland Gallois

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE
Australia – David Hirschfelder, Felix Meagher, Baz Luhrmann & Angela Little
Balibo – Lisa Gerrard
* Mao’s Last Dancer – Christopher Gordon
Samson & Delilah – Warwick Thornton

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
* Australia – Catherine Martin, Ian Gracie, Karen Murphy & Beverley Dunn
Balibo – Robert Cousins
Mao’s Last Dancer – Herbert Pinter
Mary and Max – Adam Elliot

Best Costume Design
* Australia – Catherine Martin & Eliza Godman
Balibo – Cappi Ireland
Lucky Country – Mariot Kerr
Mao’s Last Dancer – Anna Borghesi

Best Sound
Australia – Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Wayne Pashley & Guntis Sics
Balibo – Sam Petty, Emma Bortignon, Phil Heywood & Ann Aucote
Mao’s Last Dancer – David Lee, Andrew Neil, Yulia Akerholt, Mark Franken & Roger Savage
* Samson & Delilah – Liam Egan, David Tranter, Robert Sullivan, Tony Murtagh, Yulia Akerholt & Les Fiddess

AFI MEMBERS’ CHOICE AWARD
Australia – Baz Luhrmann, G. Mac Brown & Catherine Knapman
Balibo – John Maynard & Rebecca Williamson
Beautiful Kate – Leah Churchill-Brown & Bryan Brown
Mao’s Last Dancer – Jane Scott
Mary and Max – Melanie Coombs
* Samson & Delilah – Kath Shelper

HIGHEST GROSSING FILM AWARD
Australia – Marc Wooldridge, Baz Luhrmann, G. Mac Brown, Catherine Knapman, Stuart Beattie, Ronald Harwood & Richard Flanagan

INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FILMMAKING
Nathan McGuinness

RAYMOND LONGFORD AWARD
Geoffrey Rush

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TELEVISION (partial list of winners)

BEST TELEFEATURE, MINI SERIES OR SHORT RUN SERIES (winner & nominees)
* False Witness – Greg Haddrick & Peter Andrikidis
The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce – Nial Fulton
Saved – Michael McMahon & Tony Ayres
3 Acts of Murder – Sue Taylor

BEST TELEVISION DRAMA SERIES
East West 101 – Season 2. Kristine Wyld & Steve Knapman

BEST TELEVISION COMEDY SERIES
Review with Myles Barlow – Dean Bates

BEST LEAD ACTOR IN A TELEVISION DRAMA
Roy Billing – Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities

BEST LEAD ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION DRAMA
Susie Porter – East West 101 – Season 2

BEST GUEST OR SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A TELEVISION DRAMA
Damian de Montemas – Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities – Episode 11: “The Brotherhood”

BEST GUEST OR SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION DRAMA
Anni Finsterer – 3 Acts of Murder

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OTHER AFI FILM/TV AWARDS (partial list)

AFI INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST ACTOR
* Russell Crowe – State of Play
Martin Henderson – House
Anthony LaPaglia – Without a Trace
Guy Pearce – Bedtime Stories

AFI INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS
Rose Byrne – Damages
* Toni Collette – United States of Tara
Melissa George – In Treatment
Mia Wasikowska – In Treatment

AFI YOUNG ACTOR AWARD (tie)
* Marissa Gibson – Samson & Delilah
Sebastian Gregory – Beautiful
* Rowan McNamara – Samson & Delilah
Tom Russell – Last Ride
Toby Wallace – Lucky Country
Brandon Walters – Australia

VISUAL EFFECTS AWARD
* Australia – Chris Godfrey, James E. Price, Andy Brown & Rob Duncan
Death of the Megabeasts – Matt Drummond & Mike Dunn
Plastic – Sandy Widyanata, Eric So, Matthew Mackereth & Christopher Jackson
Scorched – Bertrand Polivka & Soren Jensen

BEST FEATURE-LENGTH DOCUMENTARY
Bastardy – Philippa Campey, Amiel Courtin-Wilson, Lynn-Maree Milburn & Andrew de Groot
The Choir – Chris Hilton & Michael Davie
* Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts – Scott Hicks & Susanne Preissler
Lionel – Lizzette Atkins

BEST SHORT ANIMATION
* The Cat Piano – Jessica Brentnall, Eddie White & Ari Gibson
Chicken of God – Jodi Satya & Frank Woodley
The Not So Great Eugene Green – Melanie Brunt & Michael Hill
Reach – Luke Randall

BEST SHORT FICTION FILM
Burn – Anna Kaplan & David Selvarajah Vadiveloo
Liebermans In The Sky – Jessica Redenbach & Richard Vilensky
* Miracle Fish – Drew Bailey & Luke Doolan
Water – Sarah Shaw & Corrie Jones

“Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards 2009: Aboriginal Drama” notes

Australian Film Institute (AFI) website.

Australia box office information via boxofficemojo.com.

Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson Samson & Delilah image: Madman Entertainment.

“Australian Film Awards 2009: Aboriginal Drama” last modified in November 2025.