AACTA Awards 2022: Best Documentary nominees

Nominees have been announced early in the AACTA Awards Best Documentary category.

They include recent ABC docos Ithaka and River.

A date for the 2022 awards is yet to be announced.

Ablaze
Opera singer Tiriki Onus finds a 70-year-old silent film believed to be made by his grandfather, Aboriginal leader and filmmaker Bill Onus. As Tiriki travels across the continent and pieces together clues to the film’s origins, he discovers more about Bill, his fight for Aboriginal rights and the price he paid for speaking out.
Director: Tiriki Onus, Alec Morgan
Writer: Tirki Onus, Alec Morgan
Producer: Tom Zubrycki

Clean
An insight into the world of trauma cleaning through the journey of larger-than-life business owner Sandra Pankhurst and the workers at Melbourne’s Specialised Trauma Cleaning Services. As the film states, Pankhurst has “lived numerous lives as a childhood abuse, suburban parent, drag queen, sex worker, funeral director, business owner, motivational speaker”.
Director: Lachlan McLeod
Producer: David Elliot-Jones, Charlotte Wheaton

Everybody’s Oma
Filmmaker Jason van Genderen is obsessed with making home videos about his family, and their Dutch matriarch, Oma. He and his wife Megan embrace caring for Oma’s dementia in increasingly whimsical ways, accidentally turning her into an online celebrity. Their unassuming home videos, shot during the pandemic, attract over 100,000,000 views globally. Everybody’s Oma follows in the NSW Central Coast family’s footsteps as they navigate Oma’s failing health under the spotlight of an enthusiastic audience of well-meaning strangers.
Director: Jason van Genderen
Producers: Jason van Genderen, Roslyn Walker, Olivia Olley

Franklin
Featuring never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with key players such as Bob Brown and Uncle Jim Everett, the eight-year-long ‘Franklin campaign’ is revealed as the most significant environmental protest in Australia’s history; an inspiring example of the power of non-violent direct action to bring about lasting change.
Director: Kasimir Burgess
Writer: Kasimir Burgess, Claire Smith, Natasha Pincus
Producer: Chris Kamen

Ithaka
Filmed over two years across the UK, Europe, and the US, an exploration of 76-year-old retired builder John Shipton’s tireless campaign to save his son, Julian Assange. Assange remains a remand prisoner at UK’s maximum security Belmarsh Prison as he appeals an extradition order to the US where he could face 175 years in prison for his role in the release of classified US diplomatic files.
Director: Ben Lawrence
Producer: Adrian Devant, Gabriel Shipton

River
A cinematic and musical odyssey that explores the remarkable relationship between humans and rivers. Throughout history, rivers have shaped our landscapes and our journeys; flowed through our cultures and dreams. River reunites the award-winning creative team behind Mountain, including composer Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, cinematographer Renan OZturk and narrator Willem Dafoe.
Director: Jennifer Peedom, Joseph Nizeti
Writer: Jennifer Peedom, Joseph Nizeti
Producer: Jo-Anne McGowan, Jennifer Peedom, John Smithson

Entries in the Television categories close on September 5.