Reflecting an abundance of outstanding work currently being produced in Australia, the Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG) have announced an exciting field of nominees for the 49th Annual AWGIE Awards.
Among the nominees, writers from the upcoming Australian films Boys in the Trees, Ali’s Wedding and Jasper Jones, join TV’s Cleverman, Wentworth, Wolf Creek, Please Like Me and Glitch, as well as stage writers of Broken, Mortido and The Bleeding Tree, to name just a few.
The 2016 individual category winners will be eligible for the Major Award, given to the most outstanding script of the year. Past winners have included writers of The Water Diviner (2015), The Code (2014), The Sapphires (2012), Animal Kingdom (2010) and Cloud Street (1999).
For 49 years, the Australian Writers’ Guild has presented the AWGIE Awards to recognise and reward excellence in performance writing. The AWGIES are the only writers’ awards judged solely by writers, based on the written script – the writer’s intention rather than the finished product.
In the years since their inception, the list of AWGIE winners have included writers whose stories have shaped Australian culture including feature films, theatre, TV series and serials, miniseries and children’s animated programs.
The AWGIE Awards have long celebrated the nation’s best storytellers, those performance writers judged to have written the best scripts in the past year,” said Australian Writers’ Guild President, Jan Sardi. “To be recognised by your fellow writers is the highest accolade of all.”
In a first for the awards, the newly introduced Short Form category received more than 30 entries – the highest number of any category. Twenty-three AWGIEs will be awarded across categories covering the full spectrum of performance writing in radio, television, film, theatre and interactive media. Nominees are:
TELEMOVIE – ORIGINAL
Only one nomination and the winner will be announced on the night.
TELEVISION: MINISERIES – ADAPTATION
Barracuda – Blake Ayshford and Belinda Chayko
Jack Irish – Andrew Knight, Matt Cameron and Andrew Anastasios
The Beautiful Lie – Alice Bell
TELEVISION: MINISERIES – ORIGINAL
Cleverman – Michael Miller and Jane Allen with Jon Bell
Glitch – Louise Fox, Kris Mrksa and Giula Sandler
The Code: Season 2 – Shelley Birse
Wanted – Timothy Hobart, John Ridley and Kirsty Fisher
Wolf Creek – Peter Gawler and Felicity Packard
TELEVISION – SERIES
Rake: Season 4, Episode 407 – Andrew Knight
Wentworth: Season 3, ‘Blood and Fire’ – Pete McTighe
Wentworth: Season 4, ‘Plan Bea’ – Michael Lucas
TELEVISION – SERIAL
Home & Away: Episode 6381 – Sarah Walker
Home & Away: Episode 6417 – Gary Sewell
Neighbours: Episode 7202 – Jason Herbison
Neighbours: Episode 7284 – Peter Mattessi
COMEDY – SKETCH OR LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT
Only one nomination and the winner will be announced on the night.
COMEDY – SITUATION OR NARRATIVE
No Activity: ‘The Dolphin’ – Trent O’Donnell
Please Like Me: Season 3, ‘Coq au Vin’ – Josh Thomas
Please Like Me: Season 3, ‘Pancakes with Faces’ – Josh Thomas and Liz Doran
Please Like Me: Season 3, ‘Simple Carbohydrates’ – Josh Thomas, Liz Doran and Thomas Ward
The Future is Expensive: ‘Decking’ – Eddie Perfect
FEATURE FILM – ORIGINAL
Ali’s Wedding – Andrew Knight & Osamah Sami
Boys in the Trees – Nicholas Verso
Tanna – John Collee with Bentley Dean & Martin Butler and the Yakel tribe of Tanna Island
The Weatherman’s Umbrella – Anne Richey
FEATURE FILM – ADAPTATION
Berlin Syndrome – Shaun Grant
Jasper Jones – Shaun Grant & Craig Silvey
The Patriarch – John Collee
SHORT FORM
Bluey – Darlene Johnson
Cold Hearts – Danielle Baynes & Yolanda Ramke
Overtime – Craig Foster & Emma McKenna
Slingshot – David Hansen
RADIO – ORIGINAL
A Thoroughly Wet Mess – Aden Rolfe
Happy Monday – Richie Black
The History of the Single Girl – Noëlle Janaczewska
RADIO – ADAPTATION
Nil by Sea – Katie Pollock
Spirit – Donna Abela
INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Ninja Pizza Girl – Jason Stark with Nicole Stark
Story City: Adelaide – Time Travel Caper – Ben Crisp
The Forgotten City – Nick Pearce
ANIMATION
Beat Bugs: ‘Hey Bulldog’ – Kate Mulvany
Beat Bugs: ‘Ticket to Ride’ – Erica Harrison
Beat Bugs: ‘Yellow Submarine’ – Josh Wakely
The New Adventures of Figaro Pho: ‘Run Figaro Run’ – Bruce Griffiths
DOCUMENTARY – PUBLIC BROADCAST OR EXHIBITION
Baxter and Me – Gillian Leahy
Between a Frock & a Hard Place – Paul Clarke with Alex Barry
Reindeer in my Saami Heart – Janet Merewether
The Silences – Margot Nash
DOCUMENTARY – CORPORATE & TRAINING
Seven Women Nepal – The Birth of a Social Enterprise – Gaby Purchase and Claire Stone
You Talking About Killing Yourself? – Lou Sanz
You Talking Suicide? – Lou Sanz
COMMUNITY AND YOUTH THEATRE
A Kid Like Me – Sally Hardy with Alirio Zavarce
As Told By The Boys Who Fed Me Apples – R. Johns
The Dreaming Hill – Hellie Turner
We That Are Left – Robert Kronk
STAGE
Broken – Mary Anne Butler
Jurassica – Dan Giovannoni
Mortido – Angela Betzien
The Bleeding Tree – Angus Cerini
The Waiting Room – Kylie Trounson
CHILDREN’S THEATRE
Reasons to Stay Inside – Katy Warner
The Red Balloon – Hilary Bell
THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES
No nominees in 2016
MUSIC THEATRE
Only one nomination and the winner will be announced on the night.
CHILDREN’S TELEVISION – P CLASSIFICATION
Bubble Bath Bay: ‘Muddles in the Mist’ – Alexa Moses
Bubble Bath Bay: ‘Trash and Treasure’ – Rachel Spratt
Digby Dragon: ‘Runaway Scottie’ – Tim Bain
Play Along With Sam: ‘The Beach Special’ – Shaun Walsh
CHILDREN’S TELEVISION – C CLASSIFICATION
Ready for This: ‘The Birthday Party’ – Leah Purcell
Ready for This: ‘The Crocodile’ – Josh Mapleston
The Deep: ‘A.I.M.Y’ – Daniel Hall
The Deep: ‘The Devil’s Sea Mystery’ – Tom Taylor
MONTE MILLER AWARD – LONG FORM
Lost in the Dark – Christopher W. Bailey
Mary, Mary – Penelope Chai & Adam Spellicy
The Long, Wide Blow – Mandy McCarthy
The Prince – Beth King
MONTE MILLER AWARD – SHORT FORM
Fingers – Lachlan Marks
It Will Peck You – Katie Found
State: ‘Pilot’ – Jeremy Dicker, Christopher Ellinger & William Ewing
The 49th Annual AWGIE Awards will be announced at Sydney’s Ivy Ballroom on Friday 14 October 2016. For more information, visit: www.awg.com.au for details.
Image: Cleverman – courtesy of ABC TV