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A24’s horror movie Talk to Me may not have been recognized by the Academy Awards here in the United States this year, but the box office hit just scored big over in Australia.

The most prestigious awards ceremony for the Australian film and television industry is the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, and Talk to Me – directed by Australian brothers Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou – just took home eight awards over the weekend… including the single biggest prize of the night: Best Picture!

In addition to Best Picture, Talk to Me also won the following awards:

Best Direction in Film – Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou Best Lead Actress in Film – Sophie Wilde Best Editing in Film – Geoff Lamb Best Hair and Makeup – Rebecca Buratto, Paul Katte, Nick Nicolaou Best Original Score in Film – Cornel Wilczek Best Screenplay in Film – Danny Philippou, Bill Hinzman Best Sound in Film – Emma Bortignon,...

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) handed out its 2024 awards on Saturday, and Talk to Me won big, including for best film and best director, while Margot Robbie was honored with the Trailblazer Award.

Barbie, Oppenheimer and The Bear were among the Hollywood honorees, with big Australian winners including the likes of The Newsreader, Deadloch and The New Boy.

“Talk to Me is the biggest winner of the night, adding a further three awards to its collection and taking its total wins to eight, following the Aacta Industry Awards earlier in the week,” the Australian Academy noted. The honors include the one for best direction in film for sibling-YouTubers-turned-directors Danny and Michael Philippou.

Among acting talent earning trophies, rising star Sophie Wilde won the best lead actress in film award for her performance in Talk to Me, while Aswan Reid got the best lead actor in film...

“Talk to Me” was the runaway winner at this year’s main awards from the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts.

The native production, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival last year and was acquired by A24 for North American distribution, scored three of the evening’s top prizes, including wins for best film, best lead actress for Sophie Wilde and best direction for the filmmaking duo of brothers, Danny Philippou and Michael Philoppou.

Other winners from this year’s edition include “The New Boy” stars Aswan Reid and Deborah Mailman in lead actor and supporting actress, respectively, and Hugo Weaving in supporting actor for “The Rooster.”

The Aacta Awards were held Saturday evening at the Home of the Arts, Gold Coast in Queensland. Rebel Wilson served as host, while Australian star Margot Robbie was honored with the group’s trailblazer award.

See the full list of winners below.

Talk to Me was named Best Film at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, which were handed out today on the Gold Coast. The teen horror pic also won Best Director for Danny and Michael Philippou and Best Lead Actress for Sophie Wilde.

Talk to Me took eight total statuettes, including five from the Aacta Industry Awards earlier in the week. The Newsreader and Deadloch also won five AACTAs each, including the Industry nods.

The group also revealed its winners in TV, online and other categories. See the full list from both Aacta Awards ceremonies below.

Aswan Reid took Best Lead Actor in a Film for The New Boy, and his co-star Deborah Mailman won the Supporting Actress prize. Hugo Weaving scooped Best Supporting Actor for The Rooster and added a Best Lead Actor in a Drama trophy for Love Me.

On the TV side, The Newsreader took Best Drama Series,...

The Australian drama premiered at Cannes and stars Cate Blanchett.

Warwick Thornton’s The New Boy leads the nominations for the 2024 Aacta (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) Awards with 12 nods, closely followed by horror Talk To Me with 11 nominations.

The New Boy is up for best film, actress for Cate Blanchett and actor for newcomer Aswan Reid while Australian Indigenous filmmaker Thornton is nominated for best director, screenplay and cinematography.

The film is set in 1940s Australia and stars Blanchett (who also serves as a producer) as a nun who takes in a nine-year-old Aboriginal orphan boy. It...

Andy Canny scooped Best Editing in a Feature Drama for The Invisible Man at the 2020 Ellie Awards yesterday, backing up his recent Aacta win.

Geoff Lamb took home Best Editing in Drama for The Commons, and Deborah Peart Best Editing in Comedy for Upright.

The annual awards, presented by Australian Screen Editors (Ase), were held online this year due to Covid, hosted by comedian Steph Tisdell.

In addition to the celebrations, the event also saw Ase president Fiona Strain announce after five years at the helm that she will be handing the reins to vice-president Danielle Boesenberg from February.

“She has been a calm, intelligent presence in the executive committee and will bring thoughtfulness and a commitment to diversity as we serve a very wide a range of members from students through assistants and others who have been in the industry over 40 years,” Strain told If.

In her speech at the event,...

The digital version of Maury the Miserable Vampire has flown in all the way from his castle. The eBook is available exclusively on the Maury the Miserable Vampire website. Also in today's Horror Highlights: a look at the short films Wandering Soul and Vault of the Macabre Presents the Dinner Party.

Maury the Miserable Vampire eBook Release Details: "'Maury the Miserable Vampire”, the funny and inspirational children’s book that is creating a whole new generation of little monster maniacs across the globe, is available for the first time ever as a digital eBook! Sold exclusively through the book’s website www.maurythemiserablevampire.com, you can now buy it online and then instantly read it to your little ghouls and goblins. Or, better yet, watch them read it themselves!

At half the price of the physical book and at zero shipping cost, the digital version is ready-to-go on any device...

'Dance Academy' star Xenia Goodwin shooting in New York (courtesy Werner Film Holdings).

Screenwriter Samantha Strauss makes her feature debut this month with Dance Academy, based on the show she created with producer Joanna Werner in 2010..

Earlier feature scripts went nowhere, the writer tells If. "I.d written a film before that had a young female protagonist and that was incredibly difficult to get up. We were told at the time that it.s not a market for Australia."

But the support of StudioCanal and the show's German partner Zdf made a Dance Academy feature possible, and Strauss is thrilled with the result.

"Everything I.ve ever worked on, you just hate everything you.ve ever written and every moment is awful and you can.t imagine what it looks like," she said..

"This is the first experience where. no I shouldn.t say that (laughs). But when we saw the rough cut,...

Xenia Goodwin.

StudioCanal has dated Dance Academy: The Movie.

The film, directed by Jeffrey Walker and starring Xenia Goodwin, Keiynan Lonsdale, Jordan Rodrigues, Dena Kaplan, Thomas Lacey, Alicia Banit and Tara Morice, will hit Australian cinemas on March 23, 2017.

International sales are being handled by Zdf Enterprises Germany.

The show was created by writer Samantha Strauss (Mary: The Making of a Princess) with producer Joanna Werner (Secret City, Ready For This).

The film.s Ep's are Louise Smith (The Square, The Rage in Placid Lake), Bernadette O.Mahony (Worst Year of My Life Again, Mortified), Vicki O.Neil, Arne Lohmann and Nicole Keebe.

Dop Martin McGrath Acs (Muriel.s Wedding), who shot all 65 episodes of the show.s three seasons, is lensing the feature..

Also on board is production designer Chris Kennedy (The Water Diviner, The Proposition, Cosi), costume designer Tess Schofield (The Water Diviner, The Sapphires, Bootmen), hair and...

Xenia Goodwin on the set of Dance Academy: The Movie.

Dance Academy: The Movie has begun shooting in Sydney, almost six years to the day since the premiere of Dance Academy season one in 2010.

The series began with country girl Tara Webster (Xenia Goodwin) travelling to Sydney to audition for a place at the National Academy of Dance, the top ballet school in Australia..

Returning alongside Goodwin in the feature film is Dena Kaplan, Alicia Banit, Thomas Lacey (Winners and Losers), Jordan Rodrigues (The Fosters), Keiynan Lonsdale (Insurgent) and Strictly Ballroom's Tara Morice.

The show was created by writer Samantha Strauss (Mary: The Making of a Princess) with producer Joanna Werner (Secret City, Ready For This).

The film.s Ep's are Louise Smith (The Square, The Rage in Placid Lake), Bernadette O.Mahony (Worst Year of My Life Again, Mortified), Vicki O.Neil, Arne Lohmann and Nicole Keebe,...

Australian director, Michael Rowe's new film Early Winter will have its world premiere today at the Venice Film Festival.

The film.s Australian producer Trish Lake is in Venice with Rowe and the two lead actors, Suzanne Clément (winner of the Un Certain Regard . Best Actress award at Cannes in 2012 for her role in Xavier Dolan.s Laurence Anyways) and Canadian actor Paul Doucet.

Lake said to be in Venice with such an international co-production between Canada and Australia at Venice Days was very exciting..

"There is already strong word of mouth on the film - a real buzz about it in the festival," she said..

"There were more than a hundred 100 media representatives who attended the first day.s press screening and, from what I understand, that is something of a record number for the first day of a Venice Days press screening.

.The fact that we have an Australian writer-director,...