The 48th Annual Australian Film Institute Awards ceremony, honouring the best in film and television acting achievements for the year 2006 in the cinema of Australia

Cinema of Australia

Cinema of Australia, more commonly referred to as the Australian film industry, refers to the system of production, distribution, and exhibition of films in Australia. Film production commenced in Australia in 1906 with the production of The Story of the Kelly Gang, the earliest feature film made...

, took place on 6–7 December 2006. During the ceremony, the Australian Film Institute

Australian Film Institute

The Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...

 presented Australian Film Institute Awards

Australian Film Institute Awards

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...

 (commonly referred to as AFI Awards) in 40 categories including feature films, television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

, animation

Animation

Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...

, and documentaries

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

. It was hosted by Geoffrey Rush

Geoffrey Rush

Geoffrey Roy Rush is an Australian actor and film producer. He is one of the few people who has won the "Triple Crown of Acting": an Academy Award, a Tony Award and an Emmy Award. He has won one Academy Award for acting , three British Academy Film Awards , two Golden Globe Awards and four Screen...

.

Winners of major awards

This is a breakdown of winners of major awards categories only. For a complete list of nominees and winners, see

Feature films

Award	Winner	Producer
Best Film Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film This page lists the winners and nominees for the AACTA Award for Best Film since its institution in 1958. The award is presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts , an organisation which promotes the Australian film industry. Since the 1958 Australian Film Awards the...	Ten Canoes Ten Canoes Ten Canoes is a 2006 film. It was directed by Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr and starred Crusoe Kurddal. The title of the film arose from discussions between de Heer and David Gulpilil about a photograph of ten canoeists poling across the Arafura Swamp, taken by anthropologist Donald Thomson in...	Julie Ryan, Rolf de Heer Rolf de Heer Rolf de Heer is a Dutch film director, writer and producer living in Australia. De Heer was born in Heemskerk in The Netherlands but migrated to Sydney when he was eight years old. He attended the Australian Film Television and Radio School in Sydney. His company is called Vertigo Productions and...

Directing

Award	Winner	Film
Best Direction Australian Film Institute Award for Best Direction The Australian Film Institute Award for Best Direction is an award in the annual Australian Film Institute Awards.-Previous winners:*1971 – Homesdale *1972 – Stork...	Ten Canoes Ten Canoes Ten Canoes is a 2006 film. It was directed by Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr and starred Crusoe Kurddal. The title of the film arose from discussions between de Heer and David Gulpilil about a photograph of ten canoeists poling across the Arafura Swamp, taken by anthropologist Donald Thomson in...	Rolf de Heer Rolf de Heer Rolf de Heer is a Dutch film director, writer and producer living in Australia. De Heer was born in Heemskerk in The Netherlands but migrated to Sydney when he was eight years old. He attended the Australian Film Television and Radio School in Sydney. His company is called Vertigo Productions and... , Peter Djigirr

Acting

Award	Winner	Film
Best Actor in a Lead Role Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role The AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role is an award in the annual AACTA Awards, presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts...	Shane Jacobson Shane Jacobson Shane Jacobson is an Australian actor, director, writer, and comedian, best known for his performance as the eponymous character Kenny Smyth in the 2006 film Kenny...	Kenny Kenny (2006 film) Kenny is a 2006 Australian mockumentary film starring Shane Jacobson as Kenny Smyth, a Melbourne plumber who works for corporate bathroom rental company Splashdown....
Best Actress in a Lead Role Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role The Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role is an award presented annually at the Australian Film Institute Awards. The award has been presented annually since 1971.-History:...	Emily Barclay Emily Barclay Emily Barclay is an English-born, New Zealand AFI award winning actress.-Career:Emily Barclay has performed in a wide variety of film and television roles...	Suburban Mayhem Suburban Mayhem Suburban Mayhem is a 2006 Australian film directed by Paul Goldman, written by Alice Bell, produced by Leah Churchill-Brown and Executive Producer Jan Chapman. It features an ensemble cast including Emily Barclay, Michael Dorman, Anthony Hayes, Robert Morgan and Genevieve Lemon...
Best Supporting Actor Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role The Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role is an award in the annual Australian Film Institute Awards. It has been awarded annually since 1974.-Previous winners:*1974: Barry Humphries – The Great McCarthy...	Anthony Hayes Anthony Hayes (actor) Anthony Hayes is an Australian actor, best known for his role as Jack McLeod in the acclaimed Australian series McLeod's Daughters....	Suburban Mayhem Suburban Mayhem Suburban Mayhem is a 2006 Australian film directed by Paul Goldman, written by Alice Bell, produced by Leah Churchill-Brown and Executive Producer Jan Chapman. It features an ensemble cast including Emily Barclay, Michael Dorman, Anthony Hayes, Robert Morgan and Genevieve Lemon...
Best Supporting Actress Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role The Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role is an award in the annual Australian Film Institute Awards. It has been awarded annually since 1976.-Previous winners:*1976: Melissa Jaffer – Caddie...	Susie Porter Susie Porter Susie Porter is a multiple award winning Australian television and film actress.-Television:Susie Porter began her acting career in one episode of House Gang, a short lived television program. She then had small roles in other Australian television programs in the late 1990s, including Big Sky,...	The Caterpillar Wish The Caterpillar Wish The Caterpillar Wish is a 2006 Australian coming-of-age film, directed by Sandra Sciberras and starring and ensemble cast including Victoria Thaine, Susie Porter and Philip Quast. It was filmed in and around Robe, South Australia...

Writing

Award	Winner	Film
Best Original Screenplay Australian Film Institute Award for Best Screenplay The Australian Film Institute Award for Best Screenplay is an award in the annual Australian Film Institute Awards. It has been awarded annually since 1976 as a joint category until 1993 when the award was separated into Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay...	Rolf de Heer Rolf de Heer Rolf de Heer is a Dutch film director, writer and producer living in Australia. De Heer was born in Heemskerk in The Netherlands but migrated to Sydney when he was eight years old. He attended the Australian Film Television and Radio School in Sydney. His company is called Vertigo Productions and...	Ten Canoes Ten Canoes Ten Canoes is a 2006 film. It was directed by Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr and starred Crusoe Kurddal. The title of the film arose from discussions between de Heer and David Gulpilil about a photograph of ten canoeists poling across the Arafura Swamp, taken by anthropologist Donald Thomson in...
Best Adapted Screenplay Australian Film Institute Award for Best Screenplay The Australian Film Institute Award for Best Screenplay is an award in the annual Australian Film Institute Awards. It has been awarded annually since 1976 as a joint category until 1993 when the award was separated into Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay...	Luke Davies Luke Davies Luke Davies is an Australian writer of novels, poetry and screenplays, born in Sydney in 1962.Davies' first poetry collection, Four Plots for Magnets, was published in 1982, when he was twenty.... , Neil Armfield Neil Armfield Neil Geoffrey Armfield AO is an Australian director of theatre, film and opera.Born in Sydney, Armfield was the youngest of three boys. The son of a factory worker at the nearby Arnott's biscuit factory he was brought up in the suburb of Concord adjacent to Exile Bay...	Candy Candy Candy, specifically sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added...

Additional awards

Award	Winner	Film
Best International Actor Australian Film Institute International Award for Best Actor The Australian Film Institute International Award for Best Actor is an award in the annual Australian Film Institute Awards It has been awarded annually since 2005.-Previous winners and nominees:* 2005: Russell Crowe - Cinderella Man...	Heath Ledger Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger was an Australian television and film actor. After performing roles in Australian television and film during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career...	Brokeback Mountain Brokeback Mountain Brokeback Mountain is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx with the screenplay written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry...
Best International Actress Australian Film Institute International Award for Best Actress The Australian Film Institute International Award for Best Actress is an award in the annual Australian Film Institute Awards It has been awarded annually since 2005.-Previous winners and nominees:...	Rachel Griffiths Rachel Griffiths Rachel Anne Griffiths is an Australian film and television actress who came to prominence in the 1994 film Muriel's Wedding and her Academy Award nominated performance in the 1997 film Hilary and Jackie....	Six Feet Under
Young Actor Award	Marny Kennedy Marny Kennedy Marny Kennedy is an Australian teen actress, noted for her roles as Taylor Fry in the series Mortified, and Veronica diAngelo in the third season of The Saddle Club. She also stars as Ally Henson in the TV series A gURLs wURLd...	Mortified Mortified Mortified was an Australian children's television series, co-produced by the Australian Children's Television Foundation and Enjoy Entertainment for the Nine Network Australia, Disney Australia and the BBC. The series premiered on 30 June 2006 and ended on 11 April 2007 with two seasons and a total...
Reader's Choice Award	Heath Ledger Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger was an Australian television and film actor. After performing roles in Australian television and film during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career...	Brokeback Mountain Brokeback Mountain Brokeback Mountain is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx with the screenplay written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry...
Australia's Favourite Film Award	The Castle The Castle (film) The Castle is a 1997 Australian comedy film directed by Rob Sitch. It starred Michael Caton, Anne Tenney, Stephen Curry, Sophie Lee, Eric Bana and Charles 'Bud' Tingwell. The screenwriting team comprised Sitch, Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Jane Kennedy of Working Dog Productions.The Castle was...	Working Dog Productions Working Dog Productions Working Dog Productions is a small film and television production company based in Melbourne, Australia. It was originally known as Frontline Television Productions Pty Ltd...

Series

Award	Winner	Producer
Best Children's Series	Mortified Mortified Mortified was an Australian children's television series, co-produced by the Australian Children's Television Foundation and Enjoy Entertainment for the Nine Network Australia, Disney Australia and the BBC. The series premiered on 30 June 2006 and ended on 11 April 2007 with two seasons and a total...	Phillip Bowman, Bernadette O'Mahony
Best Comedy Series	The Chaser's War on Everything The Chaser's War on Everything The Chaser's War on Everything is an Australian television satirical comedy series broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television station ABC1. It has won an AFI Award. The cast perform sketches mocking social and political issues, and often feature comedic publicity stunts...	Mark Fitzgerald, Julian Morrow Julian Morrow Julian Francis Xavier Morrow is an Australian comedian and television producer from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is best known for being a member of the satirical team The Chaser... , Andy Nehl
Best Drama Series	Love My Way Love My Way Love My Way was a Logie Award winning and critically acclaimed Australian television drama series. It won the AFI award for Best Television Drama Series for each of its three seasons ....	John Edwards John Edwards (producer) John Edwards is a television drama producer.His series credits include Rush , Love My Way , The Secret Life of Us , Police Rescue , The Surgeon , Fireflies , Big Sky and Stringer .His mini-series include Marking Time , On The Beach , Do... , Claudia Karvan Claudia Karvan Claudia Karvan is an Australian actress popular for her roles in the television series The Secret Life of Us and Love My Way. She is also a producer and writer on Love My Way. She currently stars in the drama series Spirited... , Jacquelin Perske
Best Telefeature, Mini Series or Short Run Series Australian Film Institute Award for Best Telefeature, Mini Series or Short Run Series The Australian Film Institute Award for Best Telefeature, Mini Series or Short Run Series is an award that has been handed out to producers annually since 1986 by the Australian Film Institute...	RAN RAN Remote Area Nurse (TV series) RAN is an Australian television program , filmed entirely on Masig Island in the tropical Torres Strait north of the Cape York Peninsula, the northern-most part of Australia , and the border with Papua New Guinea.This is an important series to Torres Strait Islanders, but also to the...	Penny Chapman Penny Chapman Penny Chapman is an Australian television producer. Her work includes Brides of Christ and RAN Remote Area Nurse. and the award winning My Place -References:...

Directing

Award	Winner	Series
Best Direction in Television	Jessica Hobbs	Answered by Fire Answered by Fire Answered by Fire is a two-part mini-series based on the 1999 East Timor conflicts that led to East Timor's independence. The mini-series was based on "Dancing with the Devil, A personal Account of Policing the East Timor Vote for Independence", which was written by David Savage, an Australian...

Acting

Award	Winner	Series
Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama	David Wenham David Wenham David Wenham is an Australian actor who has appeared in movies, television series and theatre productions. He is known in Hollywood for his roles as Faramir in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Carl in Van Helsing and Dilios in 300 and Neil Fletcher in Australia...	Answered by Fire Answered by Fire Answered by Fire is a two-part mini-series based on the 1999 East Timor conflicts that led to East Timor's independence. The mini-series was based on "Dancing with the Devil, A personal Account of Policing the East Timor Vote for Independence", which was written by David Savage, an Australian...
Best Actress in a Television Drama	Susie Porter Susie Porter Susie Porter is a multiple award winning Australian television and film actress.-Television:Susie Porter began her acting career in one episode of House Gang, a short lived television program. She then had small roles in other Australian television programs in the late 1990s, including Big Sky,...	RAN RAN Remote Area Nurse (TV series) RAN is an Australian television program , filmed entirely on Masig Island in the tropical Torres Strait north of the Cape York Peninsula, the northern-most part of Australia , and the border with Papua New Guinea.This is an important series to Torres Strait Islanders, but also to the...
Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama	Marcus Graham Marcus Graham Marcus Graham is an Australian television and stage actor who has also starred in several films, including Mulholland Drive and Josh Jarman. He was known as a teenage heartthrob in the early 90s while starring in the Australian TV soap E Street as the character "Wheels"...	Blue Heelers Blue Heelers Blue Heelers is an Australian police drama series which depicted the lives of police officers stationed at the fictional Mount Thomas police station in a small town in Victoria.- Overview :...
Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama	Saskia Burmeister Saskia Burmeister Saskia Burmeister is anAustralian actress. She is most known for her roles in Hating Alison Ashley and Sea Patrol....	Blue Heelers Blue Heelers Blue Heelers is an Australian police drama series which depicted the lives of police officers stationed at the fictional Mount Thomas police station in a small town in Victoria.- Overview :...

Writing

Award	Winner	Series
Best Screenplay on Television	Sue Smith	RAN RAN Remote Area Nurse (TV series) RAN is an Australian television program , filmed entirely on Masig Island in the tropical Torres Strait north of the Cape York Peninsula, the northern-most part of Australia , and the border with Papua New Guinea.This is an important series to Torres Strait Islanders, but also to the...