Australian Directors Guild Awards 2022: nominees

The Australian Director’s Guild has today announced the nominees for the 2022 ADG Awards.

It’s a breakthrough year at the Awards for women directors in Australia.

Receiving three nominations is Sian Davies, recognised for her work in Best Direction in a TV or SVOD Drama Series Episode for The Twelve Best Direction in a TV or SVOD Comedy Series Episode for Spreadsheet and Best Direction in a Children’s TV or SVOD Drama Series Episode for Surviving Summer.

Arnie Custo was twice nominated for his work on two episodes of Home and Away. Joining Arnie Custo and Sian Davies as nominees in the Best Direction in a TV or SVOD Drama Series Episode category are Emma Freeman for The Newsreader , Daina Reid for Shining Girls, Fadia Abboud for Five Bedrooms Series 2, Kevin Carlin for Wentworth Series 8 and Wayne Blair for Total Control Season 2.

For the first time ever, women dominate the major feature film categories with five out of the seven directors nominated for Best Direction in a Feature Film (Budget $1M or over) being women and four of the six nominees in the Best Direction in a Debut Feature Film category also being women.

Three directors of the series Fires received nominations in the Best Direction in a TV or SVOD Mini-Series Episode category. They are Ana Kokkinos, Kim Mordaunt and Michael Rymer. Corrie Chen rounds out the nominations in this category for her work on New Gold Mountain.

Also to be announced at the ADG Awards ceremony will be the recipient of the ‘JC’ John Clabburn Award. At its 2021 Annual Awards, the ADG honoured 1st AD ‘JC’ John Clabburn who passed away under tragic circumstances earlier that year with his award presented posthumously to his family during last year’s ceremony. The ADG continues to recognise significant contributions in support of Australian directors and the craft of directing with the ADG Board bestowing the ‘JC’ John Clabburn annually. It is awarded to 1st AD’s or any screen practitioner in the Director’s Department that ADG Members feel have consistently embodied JC’s spirit of collaboration and passionate support for the craft of directing over their careers.

ADG Executive Director Alaric McAusland said: ’We’ve had record numbers of entries across numerous categories this year, this demonstrates increasing industry engagement in our awards as well as acknowledgement of their prestige and their importance in recognising a director’s craft. Because of this, we’ve taken the decision this year to extend our nominee lists across our TV & SVOD Drama Series, Student and Short film categories. The significantly increased numbers and quality across our short film categories this year is particularly thrilling to see and a strong indication of the terrific emerging storytelling talent we have here in Australia’

The Awards will be held on December 8 from 3pm at the Actors Centre Australia in Sydney.

TV and related categories:

Best Direction in a TV or SVOD Mini-Series Episode

Ana Kokkinos
Fires Episode 2 – Everything’s Gone

Corrie Chen
New Gold Mountain Episode 2 – Righteousness

Kim Mordaunt
Fires Episode 3 – Stay or Leave

Michael Rymer
Fires Episode 6 – A Summer Lost

Best Direction in a TV or SVOD Drama Series Episode

Emma Freeman
The Newsreader Episode 1 Three, Two, One…

Arnie Custo
Home And Away Episode 7621

Arnie Custo
Home And Away Episode 7745

Daina Reid
Shining Girls Series 1, Episode 3 – Overnight

Fadia Abboud
Five Bedrooms Series 2, Episode 6 – Twenty-Seven Weeks

Kevin Carlin
Wentworth Series 8, Episode 20 – Legacy

Sian Davies
The Twelve, Episode 8

Wayne Blair
Total Control Season 2, Episode 4

Best Direction in a TV or SVOD Documentary Series Episode or Documentary One-Off

Chris Thorburn
The Family Court Murders Episode 3 – Outwitted

Dena Curtis
Back To Nature Episode 8 – Red Earth Heart

Ella Wright
Stage Changers

Nick Robinson
Puff: Wonders of the Reef

Rhian Skirving & John Harvey
Off Country

Best Direction in a TV or SVOD Comedy Series Episode

Darren Ashton
Spreadsheet Episode 2 – Whose Dick is This?

Jeffrey Walker
Young Rock Season 2 – Let the People Decide

Matthew Moore
The Great Season 2, Episode 6 – A Simple Jape

Shaun Wilson
Frayed Series 2, Episode 2

Sian Davies
Spreadsheet Episode 5 – Banjos and Dirty Duck

Best Direction in a Feature Film (Budget $1M or over)

Cate Shortland
Black Widow

Christine Luby
The Curious Case of Dolphin Bay

Claire McCarthy
The Colour Room

Justin Kurzel
Nitram

Leah Purcell
The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson

Sophie Hyde
Good Luck To You, Leo Grande

Thomas M Wright
The Stranger

Best Direction in a Documentary Feature

Alec Morgan and Tiriki Onus
Ablaze

Ben Lawrence
Ithaka

Daniella Ortega
Carbon – The Unauthorised Biography

Jennifer Peedom & Joseph Nizeti
River

John Hughes & Tom Zubrycki
Senses of Cinema

Penelope McDonald
Audrey Napanangka

Rogue Rubin
Lion Spy

Tosca Looby
Strong Female Lead

Best Direction in Animation

Sarah Harper
Monkie Kid – Season 3

Ian Brown
Alien TV – Season 2

Tom Noakes, Will Goodfellow & Greg Sharp.
Fight Dirty – Salvatore Ganacci

Best Direction in an Online Series Episode

Liam Fitzgibbon
Hot Department: Dark Web Episode 4 – Sad Women

Aaron McCann
Hug the Sun Episode 4 – The Dark World

Laura Clelland & Gabriel Willie
Long Black

Monica Zanetti
Iggy & Ace Episode 4

Sam Rogers
Discontent Series 1, Episode 1 – Sandra Part 1

Stef Smith
It’s Fine, I’m Fine – Series 1, Episode 1 – Have You Had A Cry Today?

Best Direction in Commercial Content

James Chappell
The Voice – 2022 Promo

Jasmin Tarasin
Bianca Spender- Online Brand Film

Matisse Ruby
Tabula Rasa

Matisse Ruby
Beethoven and Bridgetower

Stef Smith
Baroque In Bloom – Australian Brandenburg Orchestra

Tak Nakano
The Rookies 2021 Episode 5 – The Art of Suffering

The Esben Storm Award for Best Direction in a Children’s TV or SVOD Drama Series Episode

Sian Davies
Surviving Summer Episode 7 – For Laynah

Erin White
The PM’s Daughter Series 1, Episode 9 – A Date with Destiny

Isaac Elliott
MaveriX Season 1, Episode 5

Isaac Elliott
MaveriX Season 1, Episode 3

Julie Kalceff
First Day Season 2, Episode 1

Julietta Boscolo
The PM’s Daughter Series 1, Episode 2 – It’s Complicated

Richard Jeffery
Bluey Season 3, Episode 26 – Fairytale