Press release from 6dc
Over the long weekend, many top names in the Australian film industry gathered to judge the top seven films chosen by the Australian public for the 2011 Jameson IF Awards Sydney. Whilst awards such as Best Film, Best Actress and Best Actor are chosen by the public, the craft judging panels are bought in for the more technical aspects of filmmaking to decide the awards across the craft categories of Best Director, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Sound and Best Production Design.
This year the craft judging panels included Rachel Ward – Director of Beautiful Kate, Luke Doolan – Academy Award Nominee for his short film Miracle Fish, Brian Edmonds – Emmy Nominee for Art Direction for The Starter Wife, Adrian Rostirolla – Editor of Gabriel and IF nominated film Kokoda, and Steven Jones-Evans – production designer for The Hunter and Burning Man.
With only one week to go until the nominees are announced for the 2011 Jameson IF Awards Sydney, Australian films and television industry members have come together to judge the AFTRS Rising Talent IF Award, the NFSA Independent Spirit IF Award, the Out of the Box IF Award and the Docklands Studios Melbourne IF Award for Contribution to TV.
The Jameson IF Awards Sydney celebrates and champions emerging talent in not only film but in television as well. With the assistance of the industry expertise of this year’s judging panels, including Adam Blaiklock, director of last year’s Independent Spirit winning film, Caught Inside, the Jameson IF Awards Sydney are able to continue to support and promote emerging talent that may not have made it on the radar of the public.
The AFTRS Rising Talent IF Award is a great way for up and coming movie makers to showcase their skills to the greater film community and a way to jump start their film career. The judging panel for AFTRS Rising Talent IF Award included Samantha Lang – Director of The Well, L’Idol and head of Directing at AFTRS, Sue Taylor – Producer of The Tree, Three Acts of Murder, Last Train to Freo and The Shark Net, Adrian Wills – Director of Bourke Boy, Boxing for Palm Island, The Story of Bran Nue Dae, episodes of Rush and a nominee for 2010’s Rising Talent Award and John L Simpson – Producer of Men’s Group, Razzle Dazzle and feature film distributor (Titan’s View).
THE NFSA Independent Spirit IF Award acknowledges an individual or a team of no more than three people who have shown creativity and determination in the face of challenging circumstances to complete their film. The judging panel for the NFSA Independent Spirit Award includes Meg Labrum – Senior Curator Film, Documents, Artifacts and Curatorial Connections at the National Film and sound Archive, Ashley Luke – Director, Creative Partnerships, for Screen NSW, Brendan Swift – Editor of IF Magazine, Rebel Penfold Russell – Producer of Unfinished Business and Ladies Please!, and Executive Producer on Frauds, The Adventure of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and Paws, and Adam Blaiklock – Director for the 2010 Winner of Independent Spirit Award, Caught Inside.
Introduced to the awards last year, the Out of the Box IF Award celebrates those with notable talent on television who are likely to make the jump to the big screen in the future. The judging panel for the Out of the Box IF Award includes Aden Young – Actor in Black Robe, Killer Elite, Mao’s Last Dancer, Lucky Country, Beneath Hill 60, The Starter Wife, Broken Highway and Cosi, Anousha Zarkesh – Casting Director for films such as Tomorrow When the War Began, The Reef, The Combination, The Loved Ones, Beautiful Kate, and Accidents Happen, Jane Cameron – agent since 1976 in film, TV and Literary industries for Cameron’s Management & Cameron Creswell Agency, Kim Vecera – Executive Producer for Showtime, and Stephen Corvini – Drama Development Producer for Femantle Media.
The Docklands Studios Melbourne IF Award for Outstanding Contribution to Television acknowledges the television industry professionals whose work has created an environment and platform for the development of creative talent in Australia over at least 10 years. The judging panel includes last year’s winner, the producer Penny Chapman, Joanna Werner – Producer of Dance Academy, Richard Brennan – Producer of Grievous Bodily Harm, Cosi, Spotswood and Starstruck, and former Screen Australia Executive, and Amanda Duthie – Head of Arts and Entertainment for ABC TV.
The nominees will be announced on Tuesday 11th October at The Sun Room located in The Ivy.
The 2011 Jameson IF Awards Sydney, hosted by the multi-talented Eddie Perfect, will be held at the iconic Sydney Luna Park on Wednesday 16th November. The only People’s Choice Awards for Australian film and creative talent, tickets to the 2011 awards are available online here.