January 31, 2012 
The winners of the inaugural Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards were announced at the Sydney Opera House this evening, at a ceremony hosted by AACTA president (and Australian of the Year!) Geoffrey Rush.
Unsurprisingly, box office sensation Red Dog nabbed the top prize, though Snowtown put in a good showing and took home four major statuettes.
The Slap dominated the television categories, and walked away from the event with five AACTAs.
In an effort to align itself with the United States’ Academy Awards and the United Kingdom’s BAFTAs, the Australian Film Institute ditched the AFI awards in favour of the new AACTAs. Without further ado, here are the very first AACTA winners.
Best Film
Winner: Red Dog
The Eye of the Storm
The Hunter
Mad Bastards
Oranges and Sunshine
Snowtown
Best Direction
Winner: Justin Kurzel – Snowtown
Fred Schepisi – The Eye of the Storm
Daniel Nettheim – The Hunter
Kriv Stenders – Red Dog
Best Lead Actor
Winner: Daniel Henshall – Snowtown
Willem Dafoe – The Hunter
Goeffrey Rush – The Eye of the Storm
David Wenham – Oranges and Sunshine
Best Lead Actress
Winner: Judy Davis – The Eye of the Storm
Frances O’Connor – The Hunter
Charlotte Rampling – The Eye of the Storm
Emily Watson – Oranges and Sunshine
Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Hugo Weaving – Oranges and Sunshine
John Gaden – The Eye of the Storm
Sam Neill – The Hunter
Robert Rabiah – Face to Face
Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Louise Harris – Snowtown
Morgana Davis – The Hunter
Helen Morse – The Eye of the Storm
Alexandra Schepisi – The Eye of the Storm
Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Leon Ford – Griff the Invisible
Sean Byrne – The Loved Ones
Brendan Fletcher, Dean Daley-Jones, Greg Tait, John Watson – Mad Bastards
Patrick Hughes – Red Hill
Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: Shaun Grant – Snowtown
Judy Morris – The Eye of the Storm
Alice Addison – The Hunter
Daniel Taplitz – Red Dog
The full list of winners can be found at the official AACTA website.
Quickflix 
Can’t believe The Hunter was overlooked for an award. I have not seen Snowtown but The Hunter was way ahead of all the rest as a film, for lead actor Dafoe, and the direction was refreshing. There should be an award for kids too becuase the girl in The Hunter was very good.