Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts

Film and television organizationTemplate:SHORTDESC:Film and television organization

The **Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts** (**AACTA**) is a professional organisation of film and television practitioners in Australia. The Academy's aim is "to identify, award, promote, and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements in film and television".

It was established in August 2011 with the backing of the Australian Film Institute (AFI) to act as its industry engagement arm and to administer the AACTA Awards (formerly the Australian Film Institute Awards, also known as the AFI Awards) which rewards achievements in Australian feature film, television, documentary and short films.

The Academy is composed of 15 Chapters, each of which represents different screen artists including actors, directors, producers and writers, and it is overseen by the Academy's president and the Honorary Council. Australian actor Geoffrey Rush is the inaugural President and hosted the inaugural AACTA Awards in January 2012.

## Background

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), is a not for profit, membership based, organisation whose aim is "to identify, award, promote and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements in film and television." The Academy is a subsidiary of the Australian Film Institute (AFI), a non-profit organisation which was established in 1958 to develop an active film culture in Australia and to foster engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. The AFI was also responsible for administering the Australian Film Institute Awards (more commonly known as the AFI Awards), which until 2011 rewarded Australian practitioners in feature film, television, documentary and short film screen crafts. The Academy receives funding by the AFI, and Australian state and federal governments.

In June 2011, the AFI proposed the establishment of an "Australian Academy". The objectives for the proposed academy was to raise the profile of Australian film and television in Australia and abroad, and to change the way it rewards talent by mimicking the methods used in foreign film organisations, such as Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). The voting system would change through the establishment of an "Honorary Council", which will govern fifteen chapters composed of professionals from industry guilds and organisations including actors, directors, producers and screenwriters. It was also stated that the Academy would not replace the AFI and past winners of the AFI Awards would "[...] constitute the founding heritage of an 'Australian Academy.'" When the announcement of the proposal was made, the AFI began the consultation phase where members of the public and screen industry gave their feedback on the proposed changes throughout June, 2011. Of the announcement Damian Trewhella, CEO of the AFI said, "We thought a better way to engage with the industry would be to try and improve our professional membership structure[...] It's quite a big improvement on the way the AFI does things."

By 20 July, weeks after the consultation period ended, the AFI announced that it would go ahead with the proposed changes and the Australian Academy. When asked about the timing of the announcement Trewhella stated that, "Based on the overwhelming industry support we have received, we are now confident that we are moving in the right direction, and therefore that we can move briskly to establish the initial phase of the Academy." On 18 August 2011, the AFI announced, in a special event at the Sydney Opera House, that the academy would be called the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) and the inaugural awards ceremony would be renamed the AACTA Awards, but serve as a continuum to the annual AFI Awards. During the event it was also made known that the president of the inaugural awards would be Geoffrey Rush. On the night a new gold statuette was revealed, created by Australian sculptor Ron Gomboc, which depicts "a human silhouette based on the shape of the Southern Cross constellation."

## Structure

The Academy, which has between 1,500 and 2,000 members, comprises fifteen Chapters, with each representing a different area of speciality in feature film, television, documentary and short film. It is overseen by the Academy's president and the Honorary Council. The role of the Honorary Council is to determine policies and strategies for the way the Academy rewards practitioners. The Chapters are as follows:

* Animation
* Cinematographers
* Composers
* Costume Designers
* Editors
* Executives
* Hair and Make-up Artists
* Media and Public Relations
* Production Designers
* Screenwriters
* Sound
* Visual and Special Effects

## President, Patron, Ambassador

* Geoffrey Rush (2011-2017)
* Dr. George Miller - patron
* Cate Blanchett - ambassador

## Honorary Councillors

* Jan Chapman, 2011–present
* Jonathan Chissick, 2011–present
* Abbie Cornish, 2011–present
* Rolf de Heer, 2011–present
* Elizabeth Drake, 2011–present
* Adam Elliot, 2011–present
* Antony I. Ginnane
* Ian Gracie, 2011–present
* David Hirschfelder, 2011–present
* Jessica Hobbs, 2011–present
* Cappi Ireland, 2011–present
* Peter James ACS ASC, 2011–present
* Claudia Karvan, 2011–present
* Aphrodite Kondos, 2011–present
* Deborah Mailman, 2011–present
* Tony Murtagh, 2011–present
* Antony Partos, 2011–present
* Jan Sardi, 2011–present
* Fred Schepisi, 2011–present
* Emile Sherman, 2011–present
* Jack Thompson, 2011–present

## Events

### Festival of film

The Festival of Film, which is held in conjunction with the Australian Film Institute, showcases the films in competition for the AACTA Awards, with the inaugural festival held in Sydney and Melbourne from October to November in 2011. The festival marks the beginning of the Australian film awards season, and members of the Academy can commence voting for films in all categories, while members of the Institute vote for the Best Short Animation, Best Short Fiction Film and Members' Choice Award only.

### Awards

The AACTA Awards replaced the previous Australian Film Institute Awards, but serve as a continuum to past ceremonies. The awards were first instituted by the Australian Film Institute in 1958 (as the Australian Film Awards) as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival, until 1972. Before 1969, awards were presented as a prize to non-feature films due to a lack of feature films produced in Australia. By 1976 competitive film awards were established and in 1987, awards for television was introduced. The awards were usually held at the end of each year in Melbourne but, prior to the announcement of the Academy, the AFI announced that it would move the awards to January 2012 at the Sydney Opera House, in order to align them with the international film awards season. The awards are held over two events: the AACTA Awards Luncheon, a black tie event where accolades are handed out for non-feature and short films, film production, non-drama related television programs and the Raymond Longford Award, and the AACTA Awards Ceremony which hands out the awards in all other categories at a larger venue and is broadcast on television. Additionally, awards for achievements in foreign film were presented once at the AACTA International Awards in Los Angeles in 2012.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 AACTA - The Academy. Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA).
2. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Staff (19 August 2011). "Rush named president of Australian Oscars". Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Retrieved 15 December 2011.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 AACTA - The Awards, Overview. Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA).
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Australian Film Institute - About AFI. Australian Film Institute (AFI).
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Adam Fulton (19 August 2011). "AFI is recast with new academy taking a bow". *The Sydney Morning Herald*. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
6. ↑ The Australian Film Institute - Sponsors and Partners. Australian Film Institute (AFI).
7. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Paul Kalina (29 June 2011). "AFI looks to Academy Awards in reinvention". *The Sydney Morning Herald*. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Proposed AFI Developments. Australian Film Institute (AFI).
9. ↑ Building the Australian Film and Television brand. Australian Film Institute (AFI).
10. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Staff (1 June 2011). "AFI awards to move to January". *Sky News Australia*. Australian News Channel Pty Ltd. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
11. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
12. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Michael Bodey (20 July 2011). "AFI moves ahead with plans to establish academy". *The Australian*. News Limited (News Corporation). Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
13. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Paul Chai (20 July 2011). "Aussies to open 'Australian Academy'". *Variety*. Reed Elsevier. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
14. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Karl Quinn (19 August 2011). "AFI gong gone in hustle for global muscle". *The Age*. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
15. ↑ The Story of the Statuette. Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA).
16. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Christy Grosz (27 January 2012). "Australian Academy lauds 'Artist'". *Variety*. Reed Elsevier. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
17. ↑ AACTA - Honorary Council. Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts.
18. ↑ AACTA - Our People
19. ↑ Siemienowicz, Rochelle (9 August 2012). Last Dance – an interview with producer Antony I. Ginnane. Australian Film Institute (AFI) Blog.
20. ↑ McCrae-Moore, Lia (16 August 2012). AACTA Member Spotlight: Nikki Gooley – Hair & Make-Up Artist. Australian Film Institute (AFI) Blog.
21. ↑ Siemienowicz, Rochelle (21 December 2011). Focus on the Television Nominees: Part 2 – Direction and Screenplay. Australian Film Institute (AFI) Blog.
22. ↑ AFI/AACTA Festival of Films announced. Encore Magazine (21 September 2011).
23. ↑ Staff (21 September 2011). New Festival of Film sees exciting start to Australian screen awards season. Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA).
24. ↑ Festival of Film Starts Exciting Awards Season. Australian Film Institute (AFI) (29 September 2011).
25. ↑ French, Lisa; Poole, Mark (2009). *Shining a Light: 50 Years of the Australian Film Institute*. Australian Teachers of Media. p. 29. ISBN 1-876467-20-7.
26. ↑ French, Lisa; Poole, Mark (2009). *Shining a Light: 50 Years of the Australian Film Institute*. Australian Teachers of Media. p. 108. ISBN 1-876467-20-7.
27. ↑ French, Lisa; Poole, Mark (2009). *Shining a Light: 50 Years of the Australian Film Institute*. Australian Teachers of Media. pp. 142–182. ISBN 1-876467-20-7.
28. ↑ French, Lisa; Poole, Mark (2009). *Shining a Light: 50 Years of the Australian Film Institute*. Australian Teachers of Media. p. 113. ISBN 1-876467-20-7.
29. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Staff (19 August 2011). "Geoffrey Rush at the helm for Aussie Oscars". *The Australian*. News Limited (News Corporation). Retrieved 15 December 2011.
30. ↑ AACTA - The Awards - Dates. Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA).Template:Dead link
31. ↑ Daly, Brooke (15 January 2012). Australian Academy Launches New International Awards in Los Angeles. Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA).
32. ↑ AACTA - Awards Presented. Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA).