Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts - Best Picture 1970 - 2017
Previously the AACTA was known as the AFI. From the awards inception in 1958 documentary and educational films were the only films submitted for awards due to very few feature films being produced in Australia. In 1969, Jack and Jill: A Postscript became the first feature film to receive an award from the Australian Film Institute, with a silver prize in the "Open" category, and is considered a winner in the Best Film category of the current awards.
The following films are best picture winners in year order and are all available for viewing from my collection.
The following films are best picture winners in year order and are all available for viewing from my collection.
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- DirectorPhillip AdamsBrian RobinsonStarsAnthony WardJudy LeechLindsay HowattJack, a working class biker, meets Gillian, a middle-class kindergarten teacher from the other side of the Maribyrnong Creek, and they start to go out together, despite their different interests.
- DirectorBrian HannantOliver HowesPeter WeirStarsMatthew BurtonGrahame BondPeter ColvilleThree stories, each presenting a young Australian at a moment of decision about their future.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsGeoff MaloneGrahame BondKate FitzpatrickGuests arrive at an expensive private guest house on a remote island near Sydney. The guest house and weird activities, like theatre sports and orienteering, are run by a leery eccentric. One of the guests is a loner and the only way to fit in with the crowd is to participate in the questionable events. Some of the games border between comedy and horror - like the murder mystery.
- DirectorTim BurstallStarsBruce SpenceJacki WeaverHelmut BakaitisA gangly, awkward, would-be revolutionary loses his virginity to the vivacious hippie girlfriend of his two flatmates, and becomes hell-bent on sabotaging her wedding to one of them.
- DirectorDavid BakerTim BurstallJohn B. MurrayStarsElke NeidhartBryon WilliamsMark AlbistonExplores adultery and jealous fantasies, the end of innocence, the moral and spiritual conflicts of a priest and a nun in love. The stories define the exploration of women and the cultural upheaval of the early 70s.
- DirectorEsben StormStarsBill HunterRobert McDarraDavid CurtissA middle-aged "metho" drinker joins Alcoholics Anonymous and undergoes a psychiatric examination. As a consequence, he is committed to a hospital for the criminally insane, to be detained indefinitely under the notorious Section 27A of the Queensland Mental Health Act.
- DirectorKen HannamStarsJack ThompsonMax CullenRobert BruningA hard-drinking but hard-working gun shearer leads a group of Outback sheep herders into striking after wealthy landowners attempt to drive them from their territory.
- DirectorFred SchepisiStarsCharles McCallumJohn FrawleyArthur DignamFred Schepisi's first feature is this lushly photographed period drama detailing a young boy's coming-of-age in a strict Catholic seminary in 1950s Australia.
- DirectorHenri SafranIan GoddardStarsGreg RowePeter CumminsDavid GulpililMike is a lonely Australian boy living in a coastal wilderness with his reclusive father. In search of friendship he encounters an Aboriginal native loner and the two form a bond in the care of orphaned pelicans.
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsBill HunterGerard KennedyWendy HughesIn post-war Australia the men and women of Cinetone struggle to produce the weekly news reels for the movie-going public.
- DirectorGillian ArmstrongStarsJudy DavisSam NeillWendy HughesA proud young woman in early 20th century Australia must choose between marriage and independence.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsEdward WoodwardJack ThompsonJohn WatersThree Australian lieutenants are court martialed for executing prisoners as a way of deflecting attention from war crimes committed by their superior officers.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsMel GibsonMark LeeBill KerrTwo Australian sprinters face the brutal realities of war when they are sent to fight in the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey during World War I.
- DirectorPaul CoxStarsWendy HughesNorman KayeJon FinlaysonIn this offbeat comedy, an unlikely romance develops between a flamboyant, middle-aged piano tuner and an extremely timid office worker.
- DirectorCarl SchultzStarsWendy HughesRobyn NevinNicholas GledhillHis mother dead, PS lives in Sydney with working-class Aunt Lila and Uncle George. When he's six or eight, his posh Aunt Vanessa descends from England. Named a co-guardian by PS's feckless, absent father, she asserts her rights and convinces Lila to have PS live with her weekdays. PS is happy at Lila's, playing with children, running about, speaking up. At Vanessa's, there's a regimen of private school, round vowels, piano and riding lessons, and lonely indoor play with fancy toys. He's miserable and when he objects, she sues for complete custody. Will anyone listen to him? And will he take on Vanessa's challenges to find out who he is and to love someone?
- DirectorGil BrealeyStarsAngela Punch McGregorDrew ForsytheLiddy ClarkDue to an ignorant misdiagnosis, a three-year-old disabled girl was institutionalized and subsequently spent her entire childhood in a hospital for the severely retarded. A caring therapist helped her to prove her intellectual capability.Aust title: Annie's Coming Out
- DirectorRay LawrenceStarsBarry OttoLynette CurranHelen JonesAfter a near-death experience, a man wonders if he actually did die and is now in Hell.
- DirectorNadia TassStarsColin FrielsJohn HargreavesLindy DaviesA socially awkward and mechanically gifted man becomes involved in a quirky and unconventional crime.
- DirectorJohn DuiganStarsNoah TaylorLoene CarmenBen MendelsohnIn rural 1960s Australia, a boy watches helplessly as his best friend falls in love with a small-time criminal, setting off a violent chain of events.
- DirectorVincent WardStarsBruce LyonsChris HaywoodHamish GoughMen seeking relief from the Black Death, guided by a boy's vision, dig a tunnel from 14th century England to 20th century New Zealand.
- DirectorFred SchepisiStarsMeryl StreepSam NeillDale ReevesA mother whose child was killed in a dingo attack in the Australian Outback fights to prove her innocence when she is accused of murder.
- DirectorJohn DuiganStarsNoah TaylorThandiwe NewtonNicole KidmanTwo freethinking teenagers - a boy and a girl - confront with authoritarian teachers in their boarding schools. The other students treat this differently.
- DirectorJocelyn MoorhouseStarsHugo WeavingGeneviève PicotRussell CroweThe life of a blind photographer who is looked after by a housekeeper is disrupted by the arrival of an agreeable restaurant worker.
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsPaul MercurioTara MoriceBill HunterA maverick dancer risks his career by performing an unusual routine and sets out to succeed with a new partner.
- DirectorJane CampionStarsHolly HunterHarvey KeitelSam NeillIn the mid-19th century a mute woman is sent to New Zealand along with her young daughter and prized piano for an arranged marriage to a farmer, but is soon lusted after by a farm worker.