# 1983 Australian Film Institute Awards

The 25th Australian Film Institute Awards (generally known as the AFI Awards) were held at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on 24 September 1983. Presented by the Australian Film Institute (AFI), the awards celebrated the best in Australian feature film, documentary and short film productions of 1983.
Twenty feature films were entered. Careful, He Might Hear You received eight awards including Best Film. Phar Lap received three awards. Film technician Bill Gooley received the Raymond Longford Award for lifetime achievement.

## Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

### Feature film

| Best Film | Best Achievement in Direction |
| Careful, He Might Hear You – Jill Robb Man of Flowers – Jane Ballantyne Phar Lap – John Sexton The Year of Living Dangerously – Jim McElroy | Carl Schultz – Careful, He Might Hear You Paul Cox – Man of Flowers Simon Wincer – Phar Lap Peter Weir – The Year of Living Dangerously |
| Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role |
| Norman Kaye – Man of Flowers Nicholas Gledhill – Careful, He Might Hear You Martin Vaughan – Phar Lap Mel Gibson – The Year of Living Dangerously | Wendy Hughes – Careful, He Might Hear You Kris McQuade – Buddies Lorna Lesley – The Settlement Genevieve Picot – Undercover |
| Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role | Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role |
| John Hargreaves – Careful, He Might Hear You Simon Chilvers – Buddies John Meillon – The Wild Duck Martin Vaughan – The Winds of Jarrah | Linda Hunt – The Year of Living Dangerously Robyn Nevin – Careful, He Might Hear You Pat Evison – The Clinic Sandy Gore – Undercover |
| Best Original Screenplay | Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Source |
| John Dingwall – Buddies Paul Cox, Bob Ellis – Man of Flowers David Williamson – Phar Lap Greg Millin – The Clinic | Michael Jenkins – Careful, He Might Hear You Richard Cassidy – Now and Forever Tutte Lemkow, Dido Merwin, Henri Safran, Peter Smalley – The Wild Duck Christopher Koch, Peter Weir, David Williamson – The Year of Living Dangerously |
| Best Achievement in Cinematography | Best Achievement in Editing |
| John Seale – Careful, He Might Hear You Yuri Sokol – Man of Flowers Russell Boyd – The Year of Living Dangerously Dean Semler – Undercover | Tony Paterson – Phar Lap Richard Francis-Bruce – Careful, He Might Hear You William Anderson – The Year of Living Dangerously Tim Wellburn – Undercover |
| Best Achievement in Sound | Best Original Music Score |
| Peter Burgess, Peter Fenton, Phil Heywood, Ron Purvis, Terry Rodman, Gary Wilkins – Phar Lap Peter Barker, Julian Ellingworth, Marc van Buuren – Buddies Syd Butterworth, Julian Ellingworth, Roger Savage, Andrew Steuart – Careful, He Might Hear You Jeanine Chialvo, Peter Fenton, Lee Smith, Andrew Steuart – The Year of Living Dangerously | Bruce Rowland – Phar Lap Chris Neal – Buddies Ray Cook – Careful, He Might Hear You Maurice Jarre – The Year of Living Dangerously |
| Best Achievement in Production Design | Best Achievement in Costume Design |
| John Stoddart – Careful, He Might Hear You Darrell Lass – The Wild Duck Wendy Weir, Herbert Pinter – The Year of Living Dangerously Herbert Pinter – Undercover | Bruce Finlayson – Careful, He Might Hear You Anna Senior – Phar Lap Terry Ryan – The Year of Living Dangerously Kristian Fredrikson – Undercover |

### Non-feature film

| Best Documentary Film | Best Sponsored Documentary |
| First Contact – Robin Anderson, Bob Connolly (producer) Birdmen Of Kilimanjaro – Anne Folland (producer) Double Concerto – Angela Catterns (producer) Peppimenarti – Ron Iddon (producer) | Street Kids – Kent Chadwick (producer) Ageing In The New Age – Suzanne Baker (producer) Homefront – Australian Film and Television School (production company), Julie Money (director) Tandberg On Page One – Ivan Gaal (producer) |
| Best Short Fiction Film | Best Animated Film |
| A Town Like This – John Prescott (producer) Genius In Lying – Swinburne Film and Television School (production company), Anne Harding (director) On Guard – Digby Duncan (producer) PEEL – Australian Film and Television School (production company), Jane Campion (director) | Dance Of Death – Dennis Tupicoff (producer) Foxbat And The Demon – John Skibinski (producer) |
| Best Experimental Film | Best Achievement in Direction |
| Serious Undertakings – Erika Addis (producer) The Lion in the Doorway – Christina Ferguson (producer) This Woman Is Not A Car – Margaret Dodd, Saran Bennett (producer) Traces – Paul Winkler (producer) | Esben Storm – With Prejudice Helen Grace – Serious Undertakings Anne Harding – Genius In Lying Hugh Piper – Double Concerto |
| Best Screenplay | Best Achievement in Cinematography |
| Wendy Thompson – Marbles Joan Bean, Richard Dennison – A Voice in the Wilderness Helen Grace – Serious Undertakings David Muir – The Rough and the Smooth | Paul Elliott – The Lion in the Doorway Brian Probyn – 18 Foot People Michael Dillon, Paul Tait – Birdmen Of Kilimanjaro Andrew Lesnie – Stations |
| Best Achievement in Editing | Best Achievement in Sound |
| Suresh Ayyar – Double Concerto Martyn Down, Stewart Young – First Contact Jane Campion – PEEL Roger Scholes – The Sealer | Max Hensser – Birdmen Of Kilimanjaro David Hughes – A Zoo in the Trees Pat Fiske – On Guard Peter Hammond – The Lion in the Doorway |

### Additional awards

* Jury Prize
* Peter Weir, Linda Hunt – The Year of Living Dangerously
* Raymond Longford Award
* Bill Gooley