# Australian Film Critics Association

The Australian Film Critics Association (AFCA), formerly Melbourne Film Critics' Forum, is an Australian professional association for film critics, reviewers and journalists who work in the media, based in Melbourne. It is a member of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI).

## History

Formed in 1996, AFCA began as the Melbourne Film Critics' Forum, expanding to a national organisation in 2004. In the same year, AFCA became an Australian representative of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), which comprises the national organisations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world. FIPRESCI has members in more than 50 countries worldwide. AFCA helped to establish the first FIPRESCI jury at the Adelaide Film Festival.
AFCA's members, several of whom contribute to internationally recognised media outlets, are professional film critics, film reviewers and film journalists, from all media forums, who provide informed discussion, analysis and comment on Australian and world cinema. Here are some of them (past and present):
* Adam Ross, Lachlan Marks, Alan James, Laura Bennett, Alex Thomas, Lawrence Barber, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Lee Zachariah, Lisa Thatcher, Ashley Beks, Luke Buckmaster, Marcella Papandrea, Bede Jermyn, Madeleine Swain, Mark Lavercombe, Cameron Williams, Matthew Toomey, Carol Van Opstal, Nicholas Brodie, Peter Krausz, Richard Alaba, David O'Connell, Andrew F Peirce, Nadine Whitney, Cerise Howard, Jamie Tran, Stephen A Russell, Travis Johnson, David Heslin, Jake Wilson, Karl Quinn, Glenn Dunks, Greg King, Lindsay Wilkins, Zak Hepburn, Emma Westwood, Thomas Caldwell, Josh Nelson, Lesley Chow, Sarah Ward, Jonathan Spiroff, Dave Griffiths
The body supports both mainstream and independent cinema and highlights significant or challenging films.

## Film awards

On 22 January 2008, AFCA announced the results of its inaugural Film Awards for 2007. The awards span four categories comprising Best Australian Film, Best Overseas Film, Best Documentary and Best Unreleased Film (in Australia at the time of the awards). The winning and commended films granted AFCA film awards are:
| Year | | Best Australian | Best Overseas | Best Documentary | Best Unreleased |
| 2007 | Winner: | Noise | No Country for Old Men (US) | Forbidden Lie$ (Australia) | The Band's Visit (Israel) |
| 2007 | Commended: | The Home Song Stories | The Lives of Others (Germany) | Deep Water (UK) | - |
| 2007 | Commended: | Romulus, My Father | 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Romania) | Sicko (US) | - |
| 2008 | Winner: | The Black Balloon | There Will Be Blood (US) | Man on Wire (UK) | In the City of Sylvia (Spain) |
| 2008 | Commended: | The Square | The Dark Knight (US) | Not Quite Hollywood (Australia) | Romance of Astree and Celadon (France/Italy/Spain) |
| 2009 | Winner: | Balibo | Let the Right One In (Sweden) | Of Time and the City (UK) | Un Lac (France) |
| 2009 | Commended: | Mary & Max, Samson and Delilah | Moon (UK), Wrestler (US), Up (US) | Encounters at the End of the World (Germany), Capitalism: A Love Story (US) | Love Exposure (Japan) |
| 2010 | Winner: | Animal Kingdom | The Social Network (US) | Exit Through the Gift Shop (UK) | Air Doll (Japan) |
| 2010 | Commended: | Beneath Hill 60, The Waiting City, Bran Nue Dae | Toy Story 3 (US), The Hurt Locker (US), Inception (US/UK) | Food, Inc. (US), La Danse (France/US), Gasland (US) | Tetro (US/Argentina/Spain/Italy), Film Socialisme (Switzerland/France), Berlin 36 (Germany) |
In 2011 acting awards were introduced and the Best Unreleased Film category was discontinued.
| Year | Best Film | Best International Film (English Language) | Best International Film (Foreign Language) | Best Documentary |
| 2011 | Snowtown | The Tree of Life (US) | Incendies (Canada) | Senna (UK) |
| 2012 | The Sapphires | Hugo (France/UK/US) | A Separation (Iran) | Searching for Sugar Man (Sweden/UK/Finland) |
| 2013 | Mystery Road | Django Unchained (US) | Amour (France/Germany/Austria) | Stories We Tell (Canada) |
| 2014 | The Babadook | The Grand Budapest Hotel (US/Germany) | Two Days, One Night (Belgium/France/Italy) | Jodorowsky's Dune (US/France) |
| 2015 | Mad Max: Fury Road | Birdman (US) | Phoenix (Germany) | Amy (UK) |
| 2016 | Girl Asleep | Arrival (US) | Mustang (France/Germany/Turkey) | Sherpa (Australia) |
| 2017 | Hounds of Love | Moonlight (US) | Toni Erdmann (Germany/Austria) | I Am Not Your Negro (France/US/Switzerland/Belgium) |
| 2018 | Sweet Country | You Were Never Really Here (UK/US/France) | Roma (Mexico) | Gurrumul (Australia) |
Best Film (2019-2023):
| Year | Film |
| 2019 | Sweet Country |
| 2021 | Nitram |
| 2022 | The Stranger |
| 2023 | Of an Age |

## Writing awards

In conjunction with its 2009 film awards, AFCA announced the results of its inaugural writing awards. The categories and winners are:
| Year | Ivan Hutchinson Award for Writing on Australian Film | Award for Writing on Non-Australian Film | Award for a Review of an individual Australian Film | Award for a Review of an individual Non-Australian Film |
| 2009 | Loving Samson and Delilah, Therese Davis | Fake Politics for the Real America, Martyn Pedler | Disgrace, Alice Tynan | 2012, Stephen Rowley |
| 2010 | Some of the Finest Films, Thomas Caldwell | A Feast of Love – Eros, Agape and The Food Film, Bernard Hemingway | The Loved Ones, Anders Wotzke | I'm Still Here, Luke Buckmaster |
| 2011 | Who’s Afraid of the Working Class? We Are, Rebecca Harkins-Cross | Islands and Ghosts: Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer, Jake Wilson | Griff the Invisible, Alice Tynan | Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Josh Nelson |
| 2012 | God in all things: Amiel Courtin-Wilson's Hail, Josh Nelson | The Shape of Rage: David Cronenberg's Dangerous Methods, Rebecca Harkins Cross | All the Way Through Evening, Michael Scott | The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Laurence Barber |
| 2013 | Launching The Rocket: Beyond the Typical Australian Film, Glenn Dunks | Through the Mind: Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master, Scott MacLeod | The Great Gatsby, Simon Miraudo | To the Wonder, Simon Di Berardino |
| 2014 | Anger and Banality in Ghosts… of the Civil Dead, Thomas Caldwell | Time Enough at Last: The Long History of the Long Film, Jake Moody | The Babadook, Alexandra Donald | Boyhood, Kristen S. He |
| 2015 | The Shadow of the Rock, Rebecca Harkins-Cross | – | Mad Max: Fury Road, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas | Bridge of Spies, Luke Goodsell |
| 2016 | South of Ealing: recasting a British studio's antipodean escapade, Adrian Danks | – | Joe Cinque's Consolation, Lauren Carroll Harris | No Home Movie, Ivan Cercina |
| 2017 | Dog Day, Every Day: Gillian Leahy’s Baxter and Me and the Essay Film, Adrian Martin | – | Ellipsis, Luke Buckmaster | Risk, Glenn Dunks |
| 2018 | The art of metamorphosis: Julian Rosefeldt's 'Manifesto, Gabrielle O'Brien | – | West of Sunshine, Andrew Peirce | Disobedience, Glen Falkenstein |