Anousha Zarkesh, Alison Telford and Kate Leonard Take Home Best Casting Prizes at AACTA Awards

Awards were on the minds of Australian film and television industry professionals this weekend as the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) held its 2024 AACTA Awards and Industry Awards ceremonies.

Rebel Wilson hosted the AACTA Awards while Harry Connick Jr. hosted the Industry Awards.

Casting Networks partnered with AACTA for the ceremony, sponsoring two award categories. The awards, Best Casting in Film presented by Casting Networks and Best Casting in Television presented by Casting Networks, were won by Anousha Zarkesh for Shayda and Alison Telford and Kate Leonard for Deadloch, respectively.

Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Talk to Me was the event’s big winner, taking home eight trophies across both shows. Other AACTA champions included The Newsreader, Deadloch and The New Boy.

Winners of the AACTA International Awards included Barbie, The Bear, Succession and Oppenheimer. Barbie star Margot Robbie received the AACTA Trailblazer Award for her outstanding career.

Photo by Jono Searle/Getty Images for AFI

AFI Chair Jack Christian said in a statement “As we reflect on the remarkable achievements showcased at the 2024 AACTA Awards, we are reminded of the boundless creativity and dedication within Australia’s screen industry. From captivating performances to ground-breaking productions, the winners have exemplified excellence in storytelling. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all recipients and express our gratitude to our partners for their continued support in celebrating our nation’s rich cinematic and television landscape.”

The AACTA Awards celebrations were part of the inaugural AACTA Festival, a four-day celebration of Australia’s film and television industry. The festival hosted more than 90 events, including panels, meet-and-greets and screenings

“On behalf of Queenslanders, I congratulate all of the incredible talent who have been recognized with AACTA Awards,“ Queensland’s Tourism Minister Michael Healy said in a statement. “Hosting some of the world’s hottest talent on the Gold Coast for these awards shines the spotlight on the incredible film and television content being produced right here in Queensland and shares our beautiful tourism experiences with global fans. The invitation is open to all to come and experience our picture-perfect sets and make your next holiday to Queensland.”

Below is the full list of winners. Congratulations to all!

Best Direction in Film
Talk to Me – Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou

Best Film
Talk to Me – Samantha Jennings, Kristina Ceyton – Causeway Films

Best Lead Actor in Film
Aswan Reid – The New Boy

Best Lead Actress in Film
Sophie Wilde – Talk to Me

Best Supporting Actor in Film
Hugo Weaving – The Rooster

Best Supporting Actress in Film
Deborah Mailman – The New Boy

Best Casting in Film presented by Casting Networks
Shayda – Anousha Zarkesh

Best Cinematography in Film
The New Boy – Warwick Thornton

Best Costume Design in Film
Carmen – Emily Seresin

Best Editing in Film presented by Spectrum Films
Talk to Me – Geoff Lamb

Best Hair and Makeup presented by Hask
Talk to Me – Rebecca Buratto, Paul Katte, Nick Nicolaou

Best Indie Film
Limbo – Ivan Sen (Dir.), David Jowsey, Greer Simpkin, Rachel Higgins – Bunya Productions

Best Original Score in Film
Talk to Me – Cornel Wilczek

Best Production Design in Film
The New Boy – Amy Baker

Best Screenplay in Film
Talk to Me – Danny Philippou, Bill Hinzman

Best Sound in Film
Talk to Me – Emma Bortignon, Pete Smith, Nick Steele

Best Acting in a Comedy Series
Kate Box – Deadloch

Best Children’s Program
Bluey – Joe Brumm, Charlie Aspinwall, Sam Moor, Daley Pearson – Ludo Studio (ABC)

Best Comedy Entertainment Program
Hard Quiz – Chris Walker, Kevin Whyte, Tom Gleeson, John Tabbagh – Thinkative Television and ABC (ABC)

Best Comedy Performer presented by Network Ten
Cal Wilson – The Great Australian Bake Off

Best Drama Series
The Newsreader – Joanna Werner, Michael Lucas – Werner Film Productions (ABC)

Best Factual Entertainment Program
Old People’s Home for Teenagers – Tony De La Pena, Tara McWilliams, Emily Potts – Endemol Shine Australia (ABC)

Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series presented by Binge
Hugo Weaving – Love Me

Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series presented by Binge
Anna Torv – The Newsreader

Best Lifestyle Program
Gardening Australia – Gill Lomas – ABC TV (ABC)

Best Miniseries
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart – Jodi Matterson, Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky, Barbara Gibbs, Sarah Lambert, Glendyn Ivin – Made Up Stories, Amazon Studios, Fifth Season (Amazon Prime Video)

Best Narrative Comedy Series
Colin From Accounts – Ian Collie, Rob Gibson, Patrick Brammall, Harriet Dyer – Easy Tiger (Binge, Foxtel)

Best Reality Program
MasterChef Australia – David Forster, Simon Child, Eoin Maher, April Mackay – Endemol Shine Australia (Network Ten)

Best Screenplay in Television
Deadloch Episode 1 – Kate McCartney, Kate McLennan

Best Stand-Up Special
Hannah Gadsby: Something Special – Hannah Gadsby, Kevin Whyte, Kathleen McCarthy, Jenney Shamash, Frank Bruzzese – Guesswork Television Pty Ltd (Netflix)

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Hunter Page-Lochard – The Newsreader

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Heather Mitchell – Love Me

Best Casting in Television presented by Casting Networks
Deadloch – Alison Telford, Kate Leonard

Best Cinematography in Television
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart Episode 1 – Sam Chiplin

Best Costume Design in Television
The Newsreader Episode 4 – Zed Dragojlovich

Best Direction in Drama or Comedy
The Newsreader Episode 4 – Emma Freeman

Best Direction in Nonfiction Television
The Australian Wars Episode 1 – Rachel Perkins, Dylan River, Tov Belling

Best Documentary or Factual Program
The Australian Wars – Darren Dale, Rachel Perkins, Belinda Mravicic – Blackfella Films Pty Ltd (NITV, SBS)

Best Editing in a Documentary
The Australian Wars – Andrea Lang, Mark Atkin, Hilary Balmond

Best Editing in Television
Deadloch Episode 1 – Angie Higgins

Best Entertainment Program
Eurovision Song Contest 2023 – Grand Final – Paul Clarke, Emily Griggs – Blink TV Production Pty Ltd (SBS)

Best Original Score in Television
Deadloch Episode 1 – Amanda Brown

Best Production Design in Television
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart Episode 1 – Melinda Doring

Best Sound in Television
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart Episode 6 – David Lee, Robert Mackenzie, Leah Katz, James Ashton

Best Documentary
John Farnham: Finding The Voice – Poppy Stockell (Dir.), Mikael Borglund, Paul Clarke, Martin Fabinyi, Olivia Hoopmann – Beyond Oz in association with Blink TV Production

Best Cinematography in a Documentary
The Giants – Sherwin Akbarzadeh

Best Original Score in a Documentary
The Dark Emu Story – Caitlin Yeo, Damien Lane

Best Sound in a Documentary
Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story – David Williams

Best Online Drama or Comedy
Latecomers – Liam Heyen, Hannah Ngo, Angus Thompson, Emma Myers, Nina Oyama, Madeleine Gottlieb, Alistair Baldwin – Mad Ones Films & Lazy Susan Films

Best Short Film
Finding Addison – Francisca Braithwaite, Jess Milne, Nick Bolton – Blue Sparrow Entertainment

Best Visual Effects or Animation
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny — Andrew Whitehurst, Kathy Siegel, Alistair Williams, Julian Hutchens, Ian Cope – Rising Sun Pictures

Trailblazer Award
Margot Robbie

Byron Kennedy Award Recipient
Bruna Papandrea

Brian Walsh Award Recipient
Ngali Shaw

Reg Grundy Award Recipient
Rachel Berger (Seriously Funny)

Audience Choice Award for Favourite TV Show
Ginny & Georgia

AACTA Audience Choice Award for Favourite Film
Barbie

AACTA Audience Choice Award for Favourite Actress
Margot Robbie

AACTA Audience Choice Award for Favourite Actor
Adam Sandler

AACTA Audience Choice Award for Favourite Australian Media Personality
Sophie Monk

AACTA Audience Choice Award for Favourite Australian Digital Creator
Kat Clark and family @katclark

AACTA Audience Choice Award for Favourite Australian Sporting Moment
Soccer: Matilda’s World Cup run

International Award for Best Actor in a Series
Jeremy Allen White – The Bear

International Award for Best Actress in a Series
Sarah Snook – Succession

International Award for Best Comedy Series
The Bear

International Award for Best Direction in Film
Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan

International Award for Best Drama Series
Succession

International Award for Best Film
Barbie

International Award for Best Lead Actor in Film
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer

International Award for Best Lead Actress in Film
Margot Robbie – Barbie

International Award for Best Screenplay in Film
Poor Things – Tony McNamara

International Award for Best Supporting Actor in Film
Ryan Gosling – Barbie

International Award for Best Supporting Actress in Film
Vanessa Kirby – Napoleon