Inside Film (IF) Awards nominations announced



Leading the way, The Black Balloon received 10 nominations.


3 nominations, including best actress for Maeve Dermody (left), for Black Water


Both William McInnes and Mona Hendrickx received nominations for their roles in Unfinished Sky


Popular festival fare, Men’s Group received 4 nominations


Unexpected success, Son of a Lion was nominated for best film


Critically acclaimed, The Square struggled at the box-office and the IF Awards nominations


Every night there are 22,000 homeless Australian teenagers – The Oasis is competing for best documentary

The Berlin Film Festival success, The Black Balloon, emerged from the Inside Film (IF) Awards nominations announcement in Sydney as the film to beat. It is already the most successful film of the year at the Australian home box-office and received a total of 10 nominations, including the 'Big Five' – best film, actor, actress, director and script.

Unfinished Sky, which opened the AICE Australian Film Festival 2008 in Jerusalem, received eight nominations, but, surprisingly, not best film. In addition to The Black Balloon, that particular category was filled by Men's Group – a film that is slowly being released around the country following successes at the various Australian film festivals – and the Pakistan/Australia co-production, Son of a Lion.

The Awards night will take place on 13 November on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

The IF Awards are frequently promoted as 'the people's choice' (with voting through the internet) and it is not unusual to see the 'critical darlings' overlooked at the IF site but which then do well as the AFI Awards. Films such as The Square (one IF nomination), documentary Not Quite Hollywood and even Unfinished Sky would expect to gain more nominations and likely awards through the AFI.

Best Film:
The Black Balloon
Men’s Group
Son of a Lion
Best Actor:
Grant DodwellMen's Group
William McInnesUnfinished Sky
Rhys WakefieldThe Black Balloon
Best Actress:
Maeve DermodyBlack Water
Monic HendrickxUnfinished Sky
Gemma WardThe Black Balloon
Best Director:
Elissa DownThe Black Balloon
Peter DuncanUnfinished Sky
David Nerlich and Andrew TrauckiBlack Water
Best Script:
Elissa Down & Jimmy The ExploderThe Black Balloon
Peter DuncanUnfinished Sky
Michael Joy & John L SimpsonMen's Group
Best Cinematography:
Denson BakerThe Black Balloon
Robert HumphreysUnfinished Sky
Jules O’LoughlinSeptember
Best Music:
Amanda BrownSon of a Lion
Haydn WalkerMen's Group
Michael YezerskiThe Black Balloon
Best Sound:
Sam PettyThe Square
Paul PirolaThe Black Balloon
Andrew Plain, Annie Breslin, Will WardUnfinished Sky
Best Production Design:
Laurie FaenUnfinished Sky
Sam HobbsSeptember
Nicholas McCallumThe Black Balloon
Best Editing:
Suresh AyyarUnfinished Sky
Rodrigo BalartBlack Water
Veronica JenetThe Black Balloon
Best Documentary:
The Burning Season
The Oasis
Playing In The Shadows