On a rainy day on the famously ‘sunny’ Gold Coast, the Home of the Arts was transformed into a hub of glitz and glamour, for the 2024 AACTA Awards.
Hosted by Australia’s very own Rebel Wilson, the awards promised to be a night to celebrate the creatives in the Australian film, television, and content industry.
We headed to the Red Carpet to chat to the star-studded line up!
Keep up with the latest in local news and entertainment here.
This year’s Red Carpet was filled with big names, such as Harry Connick Jr, Simon Baker, Ron Howard, and Cate Blanchett. There is no doubt though, that the biggest buzz was surrounding Margot Robbie, and we were thrilled to say hello to the Queenslander (dressed in a stunning, sparkling dress) on the Red Carpet. Back from Barbieland, Margot picked up the AACTA International Award for Best Lead Actress in Film, and accepted the 2024 AACTA Trailblazer Award, for her significant impact and influence.
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The awards mean different things to everyone. For Tim Draxl, “it’s a wonderful moment to celebrate what we work our asses off to do”, and for producer Jodi Matterson, “I think it’s really important that as an industry we come together and reflect on the work that we’ve done in the last 12 months, and it’s just really fun to kind of share this with your peers, and potentially win an award”. Jodi in fact went on to win the AACTA award for Best Miniseries, for The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart.
It was Exotic Stories star Joel Lago’s first Red Carpet experience, which is “all very new and exciting to me”, while seasoned veteran RocKwiz’s Brian Nankervis said he was “delighted to be here” at the awards night. Melanie Bracewell said, about her and Cheap Seats co-star Tim, “we are feeling like we have accidentally been sent the invitation, and it’s pretty crazy”.
Isis Avis Loren took first place in the most recent season of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under, and made up the top two with Ballarat’s own Gabriella Labucci. In talking about being part of the awards, she noted that “it is wonderful to see queer stories be acknowledged, and hopefully rewarded”. Hannah Conda, the first Aussie to be part of a global season of Drag Race, shared about the red carpet, “I just love being in this space. It’s kind of disruptive, and it’s fun”.
Charlotte Stent (known for her work in Bluey, and Sweet River) and Chaydon Jay (known for Elvis), are this year’s delightful youth ambassadors. Charlotte said, “our job is to inspire and encourage the youth”, and the pair also ran an acting class for children as part of the awards festival. Chaydon shared that “I think I’m just really excited to see the success of Australian productions, and see the growth”. When asked why she thinks Bluey (which took home Best Children’s Program) is so popular, Charlotte said “I think it’s so honest. It’s a traditional, Aussie family… and I think everyone loves the down-to-earthness about it”.
Sex historian, content creator, author, and AACTA nominee Esmé Louise James, said that being at the awards “feels like a dream… this feels like the biggest of dreams…I’m just excited to go into this room and, there are so many incredible personalities. Nights like this make you realise how much incredible talent there is in Australia”.
This year the Byron Kennedy Award went to Bruna Papandrea, who said “it’s a great honour receiving this award…and coming from my peers it means a lot”. Deborah Mailman won her fourth AACTA award, this year for Best Supporting Actress. “I do have a project coming up, I’m not allowed to talk about it until they announce it, but after that I’m hoping to just have a little bit of time with my family”, she shared with us.
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The ever-humble Brooke Satchwell, when asked what is next for her, said “I’m working on emptying my storage unit, like everybody else. I just finished a huge play at the end of last year, and that took more of me than any job to date. So, I’ve just come off the other side of that, done the family Christmas, trying to do this bloody storage unit, and come up to the Goldy to see my pals and celebrate Black Snow”. We also asked kitchen guru Poh what is left on her career bucket list, and she shared, “I have always dreamt of going on Survivor, but I think I’d tank!”.
With laughs, sequins, conversation, and celebs aplenty, this year’s Red Carpet was a wonderful start to the awards night ahead.
A full list of winners can be found here, and a director’s cut (including all awards from the ceremony) of the 2024 AACTA Awards can be found on BINGE, Foxtel On-Demand, and AACTA TV.
