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2002 Australian Film Institute Awards
| 44th Australian Film Institute Awards |
|---|
| 7 December 2002 |
| Princess Theatre, Melbourne |
| Rabbit-Proof Fence |
| Ivan SenBeneath Clouds |
| David GulpililThe Tracker |
| Maria TheodorakisWalking on Water |
| Nathaniel DeanWalking on Water |
| Judi FarrWalking on Water |
| Feature film: Walking on Water (5) |
| Feature film: Rabbit-Proof Fence (10) Television: The Secret Life of Us (5) |
| Network Ten |
The 44th Australian Film Institute Awards (generally known as the 2002 AFI Awards), were a series of awards presented by the Australian Film Institute (AFI). The awards celebrated the best in Australian feature film, television, documentary and short film productions of 2002. The ceremony took place at The Princess Theatre, Melbourne and was televised by Network Ten.
The nominations were announced on 19 October 2002. Leading the feature film nominees was Rabbit-Proof Fence with a total of ten nominations. All four of the Best Film nominees featured Indigenous subjects. The Secret Life of Us, Network Ten's drama about a group of friends who live in a St Kilda, gained the most television nominations with five.
Tony Ayres' directorial debut, Walking on Water, exploring the grief, tenderness, stupidity and humour that arises from death, received five awards, the most for any production. In the television category, the small-screen movie The Road From Coorain, an adaptation of Jill Ker Conway's memoir of the same name, won four awards.
The decision to allow the unreleased drama Swimming Upstream to receive five award nominations was met with great dismay by other entrants. The distributors of all four nominees for best film were quoted as being "angry" and "disappointed" that the nominations include a film without a cinema release by the cut-off date of 26 September 2002. Another film, Garage Days, also received three nominations despite being released a week after the deadline.
Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.
| Best Film | Best Direction |
|---|---|
| Rabbit-Proof Fence – Phillip Noyce, Christine Olsen and John Winter | |
| Australian Rules – Mark Lazarus | |
| Beneath Clouds – Teresa-Jayne Hanlon | |
| The Tracker – Rolf de Heer and Julie Ryan | Ivan Sen – Beneath Clouds |
| Phillip Noyce – Rabbit-Proof Fence | |
| Rolf de Heer – The Tracker | |
| Tony Ayres – Walking on Water | |
| David Gulpilil – The Tracker | |
| David Wenham – Molokai: The Story of Father Damien | |
| Geoffrey Rush – Swimming Upstream | |
| Vince Colosimo – Walking on Water | Maria Theodorakis – Walking on Water |
| Dannielle Hall – Beneath Clouds | |
| Judy Davis – Swimming Upstream | |
| Rachel Griffiths – The Hard Word | |
| Nathaniel Dean – Walking on Water | |
| Luke Carroll – Australian Rules | |
| David Gulpilil – Rabbit-Proof Fence | |
| Joel Edgerton – The Hard Word | Judi Farr – Walking on Water |
| Celia Ireland – Australian Rules | |
| Anna Lise Phillips – Envy | |
| Maya Stange – Garage Days | |
| Roger Monk – Walking on Water | |
| Ivan Sen – Beneath Clouds | |
| Don Watson – The Man Who Sued God | |
| Rolf de Heer – The Tracker | Phillip Gwynne and Paul Goldman – Australian Rules |
| John Briley – Molokai: The Story of Father Damien | |
| Christine Olsen – Rabbit-Proof Fence | |
| Anthony Fingleton – Swimming Upstream | |
| Allan Collins – Beneath Clouds | |
| Geoffrey Hall – Dirty Deeds | |
| Christopher Doyle – Rabbit-Proof Fence | |
| Ian Jones – The Tracker | Reva Childs – Walking on Water |
| Mark Perry – Dirty Deeds | |
| Veronika Jenet and John Scott – Rabbit-Proof Fence | |
| Tania Nehme – The Tracker | |
| Peter Gabriel – Rabbit-Proof Fence | |
| Mick Harvey – Australian Rules | |
| Alister Spence and Ivan Sen – Beneath Clouds | |
| Antony Partos – Walking on Water | Bronwyn Murphy, Craig Carter, Ian McLoughlin and John Penders – Rabbit-Proof Fence |
| Phil Judd, Julius Chan, Ross Boyer and Jenny T. Ward – Australian Rules | |
| Peter Grace, Tony Vaccher, Phil Winters and Simon Leadley – Garage Days | |
| Liam Egan, Robert Sullivan, Delia McCarthy and Jenny T. Ward – Walking on Water | |
| Chris Kennedy – Dirty Deeds | |
| Michael Philips – Garage Days | |
| Roger Ford – Rabbit-Proof Fence | |
| Roger Ford – Swimming Upstream | Tess Schofield – Dirty Deeds |
| Roger Ford – Rabbit-Proof Fence | |
| Angus Strathie – Swimming Upstream | |
| George Liddle – WillFull |
| Best Drama Series | Best Telefeature or Mini Series |
|---|---|
| Kath & Kim (ABC) – Mark Ruse | |
| All Saints: Series 5 (Seven Network) – Di Drew | |
| MDA (ABC) – Riccardo Pellizzeri and Greg Haddrick | |
| The Secret Life of Us (Network Ten) – Amanda Higgs and John Edwards | The Road From Coorain (ABC) – Penny Chapman |
| Halifax f.p.: Series 6, Episode 3 "Takes Two" (Nine Network) – Roger Le Mesurier, Roger Simpson and Steve Jodrell | |
| Heroes' Mountain (Network Ten) – Anthony Buckley | |
| Secret Bridesmaids' Business (ABC) – Lynda House | |
| Joel Edgerton – The Secret Life of Us (Network Ten) | |
| Shane Bourne – MDA (ABC) | |
| Peter O'Brien – White Collar Blue (Network Ten) | |
| Tom Long – Young Lions (Nine Network) | Juliet Stevenson – The Road From Coorain (ABC) |
| Mary Docker – Halifax f.p.: Series 6, Episode 3 "Takes Two" (Nine Network) | |
| Kerry Armstrong – MDA (ABC) | |
| Claudia Karvan – The Secret Life of Us (Network Ten) | |
| Clayton Watson – Always Greener: Series 2 (Seven Network) | |
| Gary Waddell – Bad Cop, Bad Cop: Episode 8 "Yesterday's Zero" (ABC) | |
| Tom Long – Heroes' Mountain (Network Ten) | |
| Angus Grant – MDA: Episode 7 "When it Rains, it Pours" (ABC) | Magda Szubanski – Kath & Kim: Episode 8 "The Wedding" (ABC) |
| Belinda McClory – All Saints: Series 5, Episode 1 "Opening Night" (Seven Network) | |
| Rebecca Frith – Secret Bridesmaids' Business (ABC) | |
| Sacha Horler – Secret Bridesmaids' Business (ABC) | |
| Brendan Maher – The Road From Coorain (ABC) | |
| Peter Fisk – All Saints: Series 5, Episode 1 "Opening Night" (Seven Network) | |
| Ken Cameron – Halifax f.p.: Series 6, Episode 3 "Takes Two" (Nine Network) | |
| Richard Jasek – The Secret Life of Us: Episode 18 "Intimations of Mortality" (Network Ten) | Gina Riley and Jane Turner – Kath & Kim: Episode 8 "The Wedding" (ABC) |
| Katherine Thomson – Halifax f.p.: Series 6, Episode 3 "Takes Two" (Nine Network) | |
| Gina Riley and Jane Turner – Kath & Kim: Episode 2 "Gay" (ABC) | |
| Christopher Lee – The Secret Life of Us: Episode 18 "Intimations of Mortality" (Network Ten) | |
| Short Cuts (Seven Network) – Margot McDonald | |
| Escape of the Artful Dodger (Nine Network) – Roger Mirams, Howard Rubie and Emanuel Matsos | |
| Southern Cross (Nine Network) – Sue Taylor and Paul Barron | |
| Tracey McBean (ABC) – Noel Price, Charlotte Damgaard and Mark Irvine |
| Best Documentary | Best Direction in a Documentary |
|---|---|
| A Wedding in Ramallah – Sherine Salama | |
| East Timor, Birth of a Nation: Rosa's Story – Luigi Acquisto and Stella Zammataro | |
| Rainbow Bird and Monster Man – John Lewis | |
| The Diaries of Vaslav Nijinski – Paul Cox and Aanya Whitehead | Sherine Salama – A Wedding in Ramallah |
| Luigi Acquisto – East Timor, Birth Of A Nation: Rosa's Story | |
| Michael Rubbo – Much Ado About Something | |
| Dennis K. Smith – Rainbow Bird and Monster Man | |
| The Host – Nicholas Tomnay | |
| Eve of Adha – Leonard Yip | |
| Into the Night – Tony Krawitz | |
| Roundabout – Rachel Griffiths | Shhh... – Adam Robb |
| Into the Dark – Dennis Tupicoff | |
| Pa – Neil Goodridge | |
| Show and Tell – Mark Gravas | |
| Cath Moore – Into the Night | |
| Leonard Yip – Eve of Adha | |
| Ben Chessell – The Only Person in the World | |
| Matthew Hawkins – The Shot | Denson Baker – Jack |
| Valeriu Campan – East Timor, Birth of a Nation: Rosa's Story | |
| Tristan Milani ACS – Roundabout | |
| Simon Smith – Surviving Shepherd's Pie | |
| Uri Mizrahi – Rainbow Bird and Monster Man | |
| Terrence Doran – East Timor, Birth of a Nation: Rosa's Story | |
| Merlin Cornish – Jack | |
| Geordie Anderson – Roundabout | Robert Sullivan and Nigel Christensen – Shadow Play |
| Shannon O'Neill – Beginnings | |
| George Craig, Paul Pirola and Skye Ritchie – Roundabout | |
| Sam Petty – Two Thirds Sky: Artists in Desert Country |
| Young Actor's Award | Best Foreign Film |
|---|---|
| Emily Browning – Halifax f.p.: Series 6, Episode 2 "Playing God" (Nine Network) | |
| Luke O'Loughlin – Escape of the Artful Dodger (Nine Network) | |
| Everlyn Scampi – Rabbit Proof Fence | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Peter Jackson, Barrie M. Osborne, Fran Walsh and Tim Sanders |
| A Beautiful Mind – Brian Grazer and Ron Howard | |
| Amélie – Claudie Ossard | |
| Gosford Park – Robert Altman, Bob Balaban and David Levy | |
| The Road From Coorain (ABC) – Jo Ford (for Production Design) | |
| Halifax f.p.: Series 6, Episode 3 "Takes Two" (Nine Network) – Brent Crockett ACS (for Cinematography) | |
| The Road From Coorain (ABC) – Tristan Milani ACS (for Cinematography) | |
| The Road From Coorain (ABC) – Stephen Rae (for Original Score) | Dad's Clock – Dik Jarman (for Production Design) |
| East Timor, Birth of a Nation: Rosa's Story – Kavisha Mazzella, Anito Matos and Helder De Araujo (for Original Score) | |
| Rainbow Bird and Monster Man – Neil Angwin (for Production Design) | |
| The Way Back – Norman Yemm (for Acting) |
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Byron Kennedy Award | Rachel Perkins |
| Raymond Longford Award | Patricia Edgar |
| Global Achievement Award | Mel Gibson |
| AFI Screenwriting Prize | Ivan Sen |
The following films received multiple nominations.
-
10 nominations: Rabbit-Proof Fence
-
9 nominations: Walking on Water
-
6 nominations: Australian Rules, Beneath Clouds and The Tracker
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AACTA Awards
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The Australian Film Institute | Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts official website
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