Airdate: AACTA International Awards

Arena will broadcast the 3rd Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts International Awards, which are presented as a separate event from the AACTA Awards, exclusively as a one-hour special on Sunday, January 12 at 7.30pm.

The winners will be announced at an invite-only event in Los Angeles on Friday, January 10th, 2014.

The AACTA International Awards are held annually in Los Angeles and recognise film excellence regardless of geography. The Awards are determined by the AACTA International Chapter, which is comprised of over 80 of Australia’s most recognised filmmakers and executives who vote across seven categories: Best Film, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Lead Actor, Best Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.

This year’s AACTA International Awards Best Actress nominees include awards season favourite Cate Blanchett, for her much lauded performance as Jasmine in Blue Jasmine. In the Best Supporting Actor category, Geoffrey Rush has been nominated for his performance as Hans Hubermann in The Book Thief, as has Joel Edgerton for his modern portrayal of Tom Buchanan in Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby. Other Australian nominees include Baz Luhrmann for Best Direction (The Great Gatsby) and Sue Smith for Best Screenplay (Saving Mr. Banks).

Following the AACTA International Awards, Arena will broadcast the 3rd AACTA Awards on Saturday, February 1 at 7.30pm, as well as an exclusive Access All Areas special after awards show at 9.30pm, featuring interviews with the winners.

The two-hour special covers Australia’s most exciting and glamorous screen awards ceremony, held on Thursday 30th January in Sydney at The Star Event Centre.

The AACTA Awards sees leading actors, directors and producers come together to honour the work of colleagues and celebrate Australia’s most prestigious screen accolades.

Foxtel’s local production, Wentworth, which premiered on SoHo, has received two nominations in its first season including Best Television Drama Series and Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama – Kris McQuade – Episode 10: Checkmate.

Foxtel’s Studio channel also received a Best Direction in a Television Light Entertainment or Reality Series nomination for Studio at the Memo. And Top of the Lake, screening on Foxtel’s UKTV, scored an impressive ten nominations including Best Telefeature or Mini Series, Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama – Peter Mullan and Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama – Robyn Nevin.

The complete list of AACTA nominations and other news and information is available at www.aacta.org