1969 Australian Film Institute Awards

1969 Australian Film Institute Awards
1969 Australian Film Institute Awards
Date	2 December 1969
Site	National Library Theatre; Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Hosted by	John Gorton
Highlights
Best Film	Jack and Jill: A Postscript
	← 1968 ; AACTA Awards ; 1970 →;

Last updated April 22, 2022

The 1968 Australian Film Awards (known retroactively as the Australian Film Institute Awards) ceremony, presented by the Australian Film Institute (AFI), honoured the best feature and non-feature films of 1969, and took place on 2 December 1969 at National Library Theatre, in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Australian Prime Minister John Gorton hosted the ceremony. During the ceremony the Australian Film Institute presented two gold, nine silver and bronze prizes, four special awards and certificates for twelve honourable mentions.

Ceremony

The ceremony was held on 2 December 1969, at the National Library Theatre, located in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.^[1] It was hosted by the 19th Prime Minister of Australia, John Gorton.^[1] During the Ceremony Gorton made a speech, praising the Australian Film Institute (AFI) for "[...] conveying the more refined aspects of Australian life and for projecting an image of the nation as something other than 'avant-garde kangaroos or Ned Kelly's'".^[2] One hundred and fifty-four films were submitted for competition and the winning films were judged by a jury composed of film critics, Colin Bennett and Lindsey Browne, and film director David Bairstow.^[1] Of the submitted films, the jury noted that there was a "[...] continuing advance in professional competence across the spectrum of the 154 entries[...]" and that "Grand Prix material remains illusive in the competition - but perhaps not for long. Australian film talent is obviously gathering momentum."^[1]

Winners

During the ceremony the Australian Film Institute handed out two Golden Reel awards, nine silver and bronze prizes and four special awards.^[1] Awards were given to films from eight categories which included documentaries, advertising, teaching, children's, public relations, experimental, travel and general. Recipients of the awards included Gil Brealey and Venture Films for their documentaries Bullocky and The Die-Hard Legend of Lasseter's Lost Golden Reef , which both received the Golden Reel prize.^[1]^[3] Silver prize winning film Jack and Jill: A Postscript was the first feature film to receive an award from the AFI, which went to Phillip Adams and Brian Robinson.^[3]^[4] It is also considered the first feature film to win in the Best Film category of the AACTA Awards.^[5] Special medallions were presented for technical achievements in optical effects, photography, editing and cinematography. Twelve films from the competition received a certificate of honourable mention.^[3]
Winners of the golden reel prize.
Winners of the silver prize.
Winners of the bronze prize.

Prizes

Jack and Jill: A Postscript is considered the first feature film to win an AFI award. JackAndJillAPostscriptPoster.jpg — *Jack and Jill: A Postscript* is considered the first feature film to win an AFI award.

Category	Winners^[1]^[3]
Golden Reel Award	Bullocky – Gil Brealey (Documentary)
Golden Reel Award	The Die-Hard Legend of Lasseter's Lost Golden Reef – Venture Films (Documentary)
Silver Prize	Bar Room Brawl – Fontana Films (Advertising)
	Christian Television Association Day 1-Day 6 – Film House, Weatherhead and Stitt (Advertising)
	The Capricorn Contract – Film Centre (Public Relations)
	Dig A Million, Make A Million – Tom Haydon (Documentary)
	Jack and Jill: A Postscript – Phillip Adams, Brian Robinson (General)
	Lagged - The Story of a Convict – John H Clark (Teaching)
	The Pictures That Moved – The Commonwealth Film Unit (General)
	The Theme of an Abstract – Adrian Heinze (General)
	Paradise in the Sun – John Gray (Travel)
Bronze Prize	After Proust (Experimental)
	And Then There Was Glass (Public Relations)
	Backdrop of a Play (Children's)
	Bull Ant Warrior (Teaching)
	The Hard Word (General)
	The Echidna (Teaching)
	New Technique (Advertising)
	Sculpture Australia 69 (Documentary)
	Walbiri Ritual at Gunadjari (Documentary)

Special awards

Category	Winners^[1]^[3]
Special Award for Optical Effects	* Popcorn
Silver Medallion for photography	* The Card Game
Bronze Medallion	* ... And So it Goes (for cinematography)
	* And Then There Was Glass (for editing)
	* The Hard Word (for cinematography)

Honourable mention

Category	Winners^[3]
Honourable mention	* Asian Assignment
	* Birth of a Monster
	* The Card Game
	* The Company of Officer Cadets
	* International Summer '68
	* Kleenex 200
	* Lenny
	* Living Gold
	* London Hats
	* The Mud Hut
	* New Lipton Jigglers
	* The World About Us-People Out of Time

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Staff (3 December 1969). "Film award for life of bullocky". The Age . Retrieved 18 August 2011.
↑ French, Lisa; Poole, Mark (2009). Shining a Light: 50 Years of the Australian Film Institute. Australian Teachers of Media. p. 34. ISBN 1-876467-20-7.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Staff (3 December 1969). "P.M. Presents Film Awards". Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 18 August 2011.
↑ French, Lisa; Poole, Mark (2009). Shining a Light: 50 Years of the Australian Film Institute. Australian Teachers of Media. p. 110. ISBN 1-876467-20-7.
↑ "AACTA - Past Winners: 1969". Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2011.