2006 Australian Film Institute Awards

The 48th Annual Australian Film Institute Awards ceremony, honouring the best in Australian cinema and television of 2006, took place on 6 and 7 December 2006 at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre and was broadcast on the Nine Network. The main awards presenter lineup included Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Eric Bana, Daniel Radcliffe, Sam Neill and Baz Luhrmann.

The nominations were announced in October 2006 at the Sydney Theater by Richard Roxburgh, Justine Clarke and AFI president, James Hewison. Suburban Mayhem received twelve nominations, closely followed by jindabyne with nine. A new award for Best Visual Effects was introduced in this year.

During the awards ceremony, which was hosted by Geoffrey Rush, the Australian Film Institute presented Australian Film Institute Awards (commonly referred to as AFI Awards) in 40 categories including feature films, television, animation, and documentaries. Ten Canoes, the first ever movie entirely filmed in Australian Aboriginal languages, won the most awards, taking six from its seven nominations and the Byron Kennedy Award for its director Rolf de Heer.

Winners and nominees

Feature Film

Best Film	Best Direction
Ten Canoes – Julie Ryan, Rolf de Heer Candy – Margaret Fink, Emile Sherman Jindabyne – Catherine Jarman Kenny – Clayton Jacobson, Rohan Timlock	Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirr – Ten Canoes Ray Lawrence – Jinabyne Clayton Jacobson – Kenny Paul Goldman – Suburban Mayhem
Best Original Screenplay	Best Adapted Screenplay
Rolf de Heer – Ten Canoes Alice Bell – Suburban Mayhem Shane Jacobson, Clayton Jacobson – Kenny Murali K. Thalluri – 2:37	Luke Davies, Neil Armfield – Candy Beatrix Christian – Jindabyne Reg Cribb – Last Train to Freo Ana Kokkinos, Andrew Bovell – The Book of Revelation
Best Lead Actor	Best Lead Actress
Shane Jacobson – Kenny Gabriel Byrne – Jindabyne Heath Ledger – Candy Steve Le Marquand – Last Train to Freo	Emily Barclay – Suburban Mayhem Abbie Cornish – Candy Laura Linney – Jindabyne Teresa Palmer – 2:37
Best Supporting Actor	Best Supporting Actress
Anthony Hayes – Suburban Mayhem Tom Budge – Last Train to Freo Ronald Jacobson – Kenny Geoffrey Rush – Candy	Susie Porter – The Caterpillar Wish Deborra-Lee Furness – Jindabyne Noni Hazlehurst – Candy Genevieve Lemon – Suburban Mayhem
Best Cinematography	Best Editing
Ian Jones ACS – Ten Canoes Will Gibson – Macbeth Robert Humphreys ACS – Suburban Mayhem David Williamson – Jindabyne	Tania Nehme – Ten Canoes Dany Cooper ASE – Candy Stephen Evans – Suburban Mayhem Clayton Jacobson, Sean Lander – Kenny
Best Original Music Score	Best Sound
Mick Harvey – Suburban Mayhem John Clifford White – Macbeth Paul Kelly, Dan Luscombe – Jindabyne Cezary Skubiszewski – The Book of Revelation	James Currie, Tom Heuzenroeder, Michael Bakaloff, Rory McGregor – Ten Canoes Liam Egan, Phil Judd, Steven Jackson-Vaughan – Suburban Mayhem Frank Lipson, John Wilkinson – Macbeth Andrew Plain, Peter Grace, Nada Mikas, Peter Miller, Linda Murdoch, Robert Sullivan – Jindabyne
Best Production Design	Best Costume Design
David McKay – Macbeth Robert Cousins – Candy Beverley Freeman – Ten Canoes Nell Hanson – Suburban Mayhem	Jane Johnston – Macbeth Anna Borghesi – The Book of Revelation Melinda Doring – Suburban Mayhem Phill Eagles – Kokoda

Television

Template:Award category Love My Way: Series 2 – John Edwards, Claudia Karvan, Jacquelin Perske (Foxtel) All Saints: Series 9 – MaryAnne Carroll (Seven Network) Blue Heelers: Series 13 – Gus Howard, David Clarke (Seven Network) McLeod's Daughters: Series 6 – Karl Zwicky, Posie Graeme-Evans (Nine Network)	Template:Award category RAN – Penny Chapman (SBS) Answered by Fire – Roger Le Mesurier, Andrew Walker (ABC) The Silence – Jan Chapman (ABC) The Surgeon – John Edwards, Judi McCrossin (Network Ten)
Template:Award category The Chaser's War on Everything – Mark Fitzgerald, Julian Morrow, Andy Nehl (ABC) Comedy Inc. The Late Shift: Series 4 – David McDonald (Nine Network) Supernova – David Maher, David Taylor, Beryl Vertue, Sue Vertue (Foxtel)	Template:Award category Enough Rope with Andrew Denton: Series 4 – Anita Jacoby, Andrew Denton (ABC) RocKwiz: Series 2 – Brian Nankervis, Ken Connor, Peter Bain-Hogg, Joe Connor (SBS) Spicks and Specks: Series 2 – Bruce Kane, Anthony Watt (ABC) The Glass House: Season 6 – Ted Robinson (ABC)
Template:Award category Mortified – Phillip Bowman, Bernadette O'Mahony (Nine Network) Blue Water High: Series 2 – Noel Price, Dennis Kiely (ABC) Deadly – Suzanne Ryan (Nine Network) The Upside Down Show – Michael Bourchier (Nickelodeon)	Template:Award category Answered by Fire – Jessica Hobbs (ABC) Comedy Inc. The Late Shift: Series 4, Episode 7 – David McDonald (Nine Network) Love My Way: Series 2, Episode 11 "Five Minutes of Fame" – Shirley Barrett (Foxtel) Mortified: Episode 1 "Taylor's DNA" – Pino Amenta (Nine Network)
Template:Award category David Wenham – Answered by Fire (ABC) Dan Wyllie – Love My Way: Series 2 (Foxtel) Charles Passi – RAN (SBS) Richard Roxburgh – The Silence (ABC)	Template:Award category Susie Porter – RAN (SBS) Asher Keddie – Love My Way: Series 2 (Foxtel) Claudia Karvan – Love My Way: Series 2 (Foxtel) Justine Clarke – The Surgeon (Network Ten)
Template:Award category Marcus Graham – Blue Heelers: Series 13 (Seven Network) John Waters – All Saints: Series 9 (Seven Network) Aaron Fa'aoso – RAN (SBS) Luke Carroll – RAN (SBS)	Template:Award category Saskia Burmeister – Blue Heelers: Series 13 (Seven Network) Margaret Harvey – RAN (SBS) Merwez Whaleboat – RAN (SBS) Emily Barclay – The Silence (ABC)
Template:Award category Andrew Hansen – The Chaser's War on Everything (ABC) Genevieve Morris – Comedy Inc. The Late Shift: Series 4 (Nine Network) Paul McCarthy – Comedy Inc. The Late Shift: Series 4 (Nine Network) Kris McQuade – Supernova (Foxtel)	Template:Award category RAN: Episode 5 "Blue Hawaii" – Sue Smith (SBS) Love My Way: Series 2, Episode 11 "Five Minutes of Fame" – Jacquelin Perske (Foxtel) Mortified: Episode 1 "Taylor's DNA" – Angela Webber (Nine Network) The Chaser's War on Everything: Series 1, Episode 9 – (ABC)
Template:Award category The Forest (for Cinematography) – Joseph H. Pickering Comedy Inc. The Late Shift: Series 4 (for Cinematography) – Rob Meyer RAN (for Cinematography) – Ian Jones ACS RocKwiz (for Sound) – Tim Millikan, Michael Letho and Stephen Witherow

Non-Feature Film

Best Documentary	Best Direction in a Documentary
Hunt Angels – Sue Maslin Raul The Terrible – Carlos Alperin Vietnam Nurses – Beth Frey, Lizzette Atkins Welcome 2 My Deaf World – Sally Ingleton	Raul The Terrible – David Bradbury Hunt Angels – Alec Morgan Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst – Gillian Armstrong Vietnam Nurses – Polly Watkins
Best Cinematography in a Documentary	Best Editing in a Documentary
Hunt Angels – Jackie Farkas He's Coming South – Steve Williams Penicillin: The Magic Bullet – James Grant Transit – Anthony Davison	Raul The Terrible – Stewart Young ASE The Archive Project – Uri Mizrahi The Black Road – Lawrie Silvestrin Vietnam Nurses – Tony Stevens
Best Sound in a Documentary	Best Short Fiction Film
Vietnam Nurses – Livia Ruzic, Mark Tarpey, Keith Thomas, John Willsteed Rampage – Nick Meyers The Archive Project – Martin Friedel, Andrew Plain, Keith Thomas, Emma Bortignon Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst – Annie Breslin, Gethin Creagh, Paul Finlay, Paul Grabowsky	Stranded – Stuart McDonald Small Boxes – Rene Hernandez The 9:13 – Matthew Phipps The Desert – Glendyn Ivin
Best Short Animation	Best Screenplay in a Short Film
Gargoyle – Michael Cusack Carnivore Reflux – Eddie White, James Calvert The Astronomer – Kate McCartney The Safe House – Lee Whitmore	Stranded – Kathleen O'Brien A Natural Talent – Louise Fox Paper and Sand – Matt Rubinstein, Ian Kennedy Williams The Safe House – Lee Whitmore
AFI Award for Outstanding Achievement in Short Film Screen Craft
Stranded (for Acting) – Emma Lung A Natural Talent (for Acting) – Skye Wansey End of Town (for Cinematography) – Adam Arkapaw Gargoyle (for Production Design) – JoAnne Bouzianis-Sellick, Greg Sweeney

Additional Awards

International Award for Excellence in Filmmaking	News Limited Readers' Choice Award
Memoirs of a Geisha (Cinematography) – Dion Beebe ACS The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Cinematography) – Donald McAlpine ACS The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Production Design) – Roger Ford The World's Fastest Indian (Producing / Direction / Screenplay) – Roger Donaldson	Heath Ledger
Best Young Actor	Best Visual Effects
Marny Kennedy – Mortified Frank Sweet – 2:37 Christian Byers – Opal Dream Mia Wasikowska – Suburban Mayhem	Hunt Angels – Rose Draper, Mike Seymour Kokoda – Phil Stuart-Jones Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst – Simon Rippingale, Tim Richter, Nina Gibbs Wicked Science: Series 2, Episode 1 "The Flies" – Barry Lanfranchi, James Maclachlan, Vanessa Magyar
International Award for Best Actor	International Award for Best Actress
Heath Ledger – Brokeback Mountain Eric Bana – Munich Hugo Weaving – V for Vendetta Anthony LaPaglia – Winter Solstice	Rachel Griffiths – Six Feet Under Toni Collette – In Her Shoes Naomi Watts – King Kong Radha Mitchell – Silent Hill

Individual Awards

Award	Winner
Byron Kennedy Award	Rolf de Heer
Raymond Longford Award	Ian Jones (Writer / Producer / Director)

Multiple nominations

The following films received multiple nominations.

• 12 nominations: Suburban Mayhem
• 9 nominations: Jindabyne
• 7 nominations: Ten Canoes and Candy
• 6 nominations: Kenny
• 5 nominations: Macbeth