Nominees for 2022 Australian Directors’ Guild Awards Revealed

Australian Director's Guild Awards Nash Edgerton
Courtesy of Australian Director's Guild

The nominees for the 2022 Australian Directors’ Guild Awards have been announced.

Event organisers said it’s a breakthrough year at the Awards, with women dominating the major feature film categories for the first time ever.

Five out of the seven directors nominated for Best Direction in a Feature Film (Budget $1 Million or Over) are women, and four of the six nominees in the Best Direction in a Debut Feature Film category are also women.

In addition, Sian Davies has received three nominations for her work across drama, comedy and children’s programs. She has been nominated for 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”.

Stef Smith has also received three nominations in three different categories. She is in the running for Best Direction of Commercial Content for “Baroque in Bloom” – Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Best Direction in an Online Series Episode for “It’s Fine, I’m Fine“, and for Best Direction in an Interactive or Immersive Project for “Moving Portrait Series”.

At this year’s event, the ADG will also announce the recipient of the ‘JC’ John Clabburn Award.

The Award came into being last year to posthumously honour first AS Clabburn who passed away earlier that year. It will now be used to recognise significant contributions in support of Australian directors and the craft of directing, and go to a first AD or any screen practitioner who the ADG members feel has consistently embodied Clabburn’s spirit of collaboration and passionate support for the craft of directing.

Alaric McAusland, executive director of the ADG, 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 and 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 2022 Australian Directors’ Guild Awards will be held on Dec. 8 at 3:00 p.m. at the Actors Centre Australia in Sydney. Tickets are available here.

The full list of nominees is below.

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
   
Best Direction in an Interactive or Immersive Project
Ben Joseph Andrews Gondwana
Michela Ledwidge A Clever Label
Stef Smith A Moving Portrait Series
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 Student Film
Becki Bouchier Snapshot
David Robinson-Smith Mud Crab
Domini Marshall Go with Grace
Emma Jackson Walk Run Strive
Grace Tan Lucky Peach
James Menelaus Rush Tadpoles
Lilli Corrias-Smith Before We’re Gone
Ruby Challenger MumLife
Best Direction in a Short Film
Brietta Hague Baltasar
George-Alex Nagle Mate
John Sheedy Tarneit
Jordan Giusti Reptile
Madeleine Gottlieb You and Me, Before and After
Nash Edgerton Shark
Toby Morris Ishmael
William Duan Tuī Ná
Best Direction in a Music Video
Aimee-Lee Xu Hsien Curran Pinkish Blu – Old Blue
Riley Blakeway Thom Pringle – INVINCIBL3
Taylor Ferguson Boy & Bear – State of Flight
W.A.M. Bleakley Didirri – Begin Again
W.A.M. Bleakley Confidence Man – Feels Like A Different Thing
Best Direction in a Feature Film (Budget under $1M)
Aaron Wilson Little Tornadoes
Craig Boreham Lonesome
Genna Chanelle Hayes AKONI
Martin Wilson Pieces
Best Direction in a Mobile-First Online Series Episode
Hannah McElhinney TransAthletica Episode 9 – Performance Testing
Imogen McCluskey Love Bug Season 2, Episode 11
Kyle Portbury Hunted
Thomas Pollard AFLW x AAMI Episode 4 Best Clanger Ever
Best Direction in a Debut Feature Film
Danny Cohen Anonymous Club
Del Kathryn Barton Blaze
JJ Winlove June Again
Leah Purcell The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johson
Philippa Bateman Wash My Soul In The River’s Flow
Renée Webster How to Please a Woman
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 Short Subject
Emma Jackson Walk Run Strive
Kathryn Millard The Bystander Story
Lauren Rose Beck Prepping Australia Series 1, Episode 1 – The End of Days
Madeleine Mytkowski Betty and Bushy
Naomi Ball Who I Am
Olivia Martin-McGuire Freedom Swimmer
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 a Commercial Advertisement
Tom Noakes Mattress FIRM – Spiral in the Diner
Hailey Bartholomew Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital Foundation – Incredible Gift
Michael Spiccia Hyundai Tucson – Tomorrow Wants Its Car Back
Shannon Murphy Tena – #LastLonelyMenopause
Tim Bullock Gulf Western Oil – Lone Rider
Tom Campbell Boys Do Cry – Gotcha4Life
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?
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

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