Lion leads the AACTA Awards, gobbling up 12 nominations

The critically acclaimed international hit Lion leads this year’s upcoming AACTA Awards. Directed by Garth Davis and starring Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman and David Wenham, the film is in the running for 12 AACTA Awards at the 2017 ceremony, which will be held in December.

These nominations continue a great run for the Australian film. It follows the true story of Saroo Brierly, who used Google Maps to track down his biological parents in India. Lion has already received huge attention overseas, including six Academy Award nominations earlier this year.

Lion will be contending for Best Film at Australia’s leading film and TV awards. The other nominees in this category are Hounds of Love, Jasper Jones, Ali’s Wedding and Berlin Syndrome.

Other films leading the tally are the horror-thriller Hounds of Love (up for nine awards) and the drama-thriller Berlin Syndrome (up for eight awards).

Damian Trewhella, AACTA CEO, said: “This year’s nominees showcase the Australian screen industry’s ability to create quality productions that tell universal stories with an Australian voice. From performers and practitioners working in new mediums, to new filmmaking talent working with some of our most acclaimed filmmakers, it’s great to see our industry coming together to produce some of the strongest and most diverse screen content we’ve ever seen.”

Some of the winners will be announced during the ‘Industry Luncheon’ on December 4, and the others during the main ceremony on December 6.

For a full list of nominees, visit the AACTAs website.