Equity Ensemble Awards 2021: winners

Mystery Road, Hungry Ghosts and Retrograde have taken out top gongs in the Equity Ensemble Awards 2021.

The actors who starred in these programs were voted the most outstanding Australian small screen ensembles in their respective categories by the MEAA Equity National Performers’ Committee (NPC).

Equity president Jason Klarwein says: “There’s never been a more important time to celebrate Australian stories and the talented MEAA members who bring them to life. As our industry begins to recover from the last 12 months we must stand together and campaign for more quality local productions like our finalists and winners across every platform”.

Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble In A Drama Series
Mystery Road S2 (Bunya Productions)
Aaron Pedersen, Jada Alberts, Tasma Walton, Callan Mulvey, Rob Collins Gary Sweet, Ursula Yovich, Tasia Zalar, Sofia Helin, Ngaire Pigram, Stan Yarramunua, Mark Mitchinson, Rhimi Johnson, Keith Robinson, Kirk Page.
“Mystery Road is a perfect example of an ensemble piece of television. It successfully had a variety of characters who all performed with nuance but collectively tell a uniting story.”

Finalists:
The Heights S2
Wentworth S8
Mystery Road S2

Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble In A Mini-Series/Telemovie
Hungry Ghosts (Matchbox Pictures)
Catherine Van Davies, Jillian Nguyen, Ferdinand Hoang, Suzie Wrong, Gabrielle Chan, Bryan Brown, Clare Bowen, Ryan Corr, Gareth Yuen, Lap Phan, Justine Clarke, Oakley Kwon and Susie Porter.
“With a cast including more than 30 Asian Australian actors and 325 Asian Australian extras, Hungry Ghosts was a first for Australian television. The cast worked cohesively in this high-concept, genre-bending and ambitious series. They convincingly straddled horror tropes as well as themes of generational trauma, family bonds and the blowback from suppressing the history and identity that makes you who you are.”

Finalists:
A Sunburnt Christmas
Stateless
Hungry Ghosts

Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble In A Comedy Series
Retrograde (Unless Pictures & Orange Entertainment)
Pallavi Sharda, Ilai Swindells, Esther Hannaford, Maria Angelico, Nicholas Boshier, Max Brown.
“Through their zoom the characters negotiate their friendships, unemployment, dating and being in lockdown. In fact, this whole series was shot and edited entirely in lockdown. The actors worked well together as an ensemble even though they were not in the same location. The humour was light and within keeping of the characters truths and relationships. This ambitious project hit all the marks.”

Finalists:
Retrograde
Black Comedy S4
Rosehaven S4

An awards ceremony will be held to honour both 2020 and 2021 winners in June in Sydney.