AACTA Awards announce COVID-safe Ceremony

The AACTA Awards will be held in late November but across two sittings at The Star Event Centre, to allow for a COVID safe presentation.

The Australian Academy of Cinema Arts has announced first details of its annual awards, amid a year of COVID upheaval.

This year’s industry luncheon, at which Craft awards in Film & Television are announced, will be presented online.

ScreenFest, a free online festival, will run the entire week, connecting industry and fans with the best content and creators from home and abroad.

This year’s awards will reflect that in 2020 Australians locked down at home have turned to television, film, streaming and video platforms, and reinforce the incredible work of Australian artists, creatives and productions. 2020 also marks 10 years since the inaugural AACTA Awards and will look back at screen achievements  across the decade.

AACTA Audience Choice Awards will also be introduced with more details later this week.

AACTA CEO Damian Trewhella, said “2020 has been an incredibly challenging year for our creative screen industry. As the world ground to a halt with COVID-19 so too did many sections of our thriving community. But one thing has really stood out: screen content has played a crucial role in connecting and entertaining our nation when we have needed it most. This year has also placed unprecedented demands and pressures on our industry, and while it hasn’t been easy, our people have powered through with the immense resilience and creative solutions that Australians are renowned and admired for, both at home and abroad.”

“We are excited to bounce forward and find a way to celebrate all the amazing work of the last year on screen and behind the scenes and look forward to creating a slightly different Awards show this year that will also pay tribute to all we have achieved locally and internationally across the last decade.”

Foxtel Executive Director of Television, Brian Walsh, said: “As the major sponsor and presenting partner of AACTA, Foxtel is proud to shine the spotlight on Australian content during what has been a very difficult year for all our colleagues in Australian film and television. The opportunity to come together in a new-look format for 2020 speaks to the creativity and ingenuity of our industry. Now, more than ever, it’s vitally important that we showcase the outstanding work of our creative community. We look forward to celebrating the best in Australian story-telling and celebrating ten years of the AACTA Awards.”

Key Dates:

5 October:
Nominees announced for Best Short Film and Best Online Drama or Comedy

1 November:
Nominees announced for Best Television Program Award categories for Entertainment, Reality, Lifestyle, Drama Series, Comedy, Factual Entertainment, Children’s, Miniseries or Telefeature, Documentary or Factual; Best Online Entertainment; Film and Documentary categories; Acting nominees.

11 November:
Nominees announced across all TV Craft, Documentary Craft, Casting and VFX.

27 November
2020 AACTA Awards presented by Foxtel Industry Luncheon. These Awards will be delivered online.
ScreenFest begins: New Online Screen Festival
This exciting new online festival will be available to all, spanning all forms of screen entertainment from social media and short films to insider chats with award-winning cast and crew of some of the world’s biggest television and film productions, and will be held from Friday 27 November – Wednesday 2 December alongside the Awards events.

Monday 30 November
2020 AACTA Awards Ceremony presented by Foxtel

Wednesday 2 December
Highlights from the AACTA Awards Ceremony broadcast on Seven

TV Tonight is a partner of the 2020 AACTA Awards.