The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of The Story of the Kelly Gang, arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received international recognition. Many actors and filmmakers with international reputations started their careers in Australian films, and many of these have established lucrative careers in larger film-producing centres such as the United States.
Geoffrey Roy Rush is an Australian actor. He is known for his eccentric leading man roles on stage and screen. He is among 24 people who have won the Triple Crown of Acting, having received an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Tony Award. He also received three British Academy Film Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. Rush is the founding president of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts and was named the 2012 Australian of the Year.
Somersault is a 2004 Australian romantic drama film written and directed by Cate Shortland in her feature directorial debut. It was released on 16 September 2004 and screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. It also swept the field at the 2004 Australian Film Institute Awards, winning every single feature film award.
Abbie Cornish is an Australian actress. Cornish is best known for her film roles as Heidi in Somersault (2004), Fanny Brawne in Bright Star (2009), Sweet Pea in Sucker Punch (2011), Lindy in Limitless (2011), Clara Murphy in RoboCop (2014), as Sarah in Geostorm (2017) and for her work with writer/director Martin McDonagh in Seven Psychopaths (2012) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017). For the latter, Cornish won her first Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the cast. In 2018, she portrayed Cathy Mueller in the first season of Amazon Video series Jack Ryan opposite John Krasinski, a role she reprised in the fourth and final season in 2023. She also played Dixy in the film The Virtuoso (2021) alongside Anthony Hopkins.
Leonie Elva "Noni" Hazlehurst, is an Australian actress, director, writer, presenter and broadcaster who has appeared on television and radio, in dramas, mini-series and made for television films, as well also on stage and in feature films since the early 1970s. Hazlehurst has been honoured with numerous awards including Australian Film Institute Awards, ARIA Awards and Logies, including being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016.
Little Fish is a 2005 Australian film directed by Rowan Woods and written by Jacquelin Perske. Starring Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, and Sam Neill, the film is about a heroin addict who is desperately trying to escape her past to achieve her goals. It was developed and produced by Vincent Sheehan and Liz Watts of Porchlight Films, with Cate Blanchett and her husband Andrew Upton's production company Dirty Films receiving an Associate Producer credit.
Luke Davies is an Australian writer of poetry, novels and screenplays. His best known works are Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction and the screenplay for the film Lion, which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Davies also co-wrote the screenplay for the film News of the World.
Nathaniel Dean is an Australian actor and voiceover artist. His most recent performances include Sergeant Hallett in Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant, as well as colonial Australian settler William Thornhill in The Secret River for the Sydney Theatre Company.
Paul Blackwell was an Australian stage actor and occasional film actor.
Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction (1997) is a novel by Luke Davies.
The 15th Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards, 2006, honoured the best in film for 2006.
Heath Andrew Ledger was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career further. His work consisted of twenty films, including 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), The Patriot (2000), A Knight's Tale (2001), Monster's Ball (2001), Casanova (2005), Lords of Dogtown (2005), Brokeback Mountain (2005), Candy (2006), I'm Not There (2007), The Dark Knight (2008), and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009), the latter two being posthumous releases. He also produced and directed music videos and aspired to be a film director.
Fran is a 1985 Australian film directed by Glenda Hambly, with Noni Hazlehurst in the title role. Fran is a mother who abandons her children in favour of a romantic life after her husband leaves her. It was filmed in Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Monkey Grip is a 1982 Australian drama film directed by Ken Cameron. It is based on the novel, also titled Monkey Grip (1977), by Helen Garner. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. The film was produced by Patricia Lovell and stars Noni Hazelhurst and Colin Friels, and featured an original soundtrack by Australian rock band the Divinyls.
Bethany Sarah Whitmore is an Australian actress, who started her professional acting career starring as Jaden Kagan in the US TV mini-series The Starter Wife. Bethany is also known for her lead voice role of 8-year-old Mary Daisy Dinkle in Adam Elliot's Mary and Max (2009), Jane Moochmore in PJ Hogan's Mental (2012), Greta Driscoll in Girl Asleep (2015), Melissa in The Family Law (2016–19) and Blanche Gifford in the TV series remake of Picnic at Hanging Rock (2017). Bethany was also a finalist for the 10th anniversary Heath Ledger Scholarship in 2018.
Rebecca Massey is an Australian film, television and theatre actress. She has been nominated and won numerous awards for her performances including the prestigious Helpmann Award for both Steve Martin's The Underpants (Belvoir) and Steven Sewell's It Just Stopped (Belvoir). Her talent caught the eye of Director Rob Carlton who cast her as Lucy Canon in the award-winning TV series Chandon Pictures (ABC), after which she went on to star in another award-winning TV series playing Beverly in Utopia (ABC).
An Australian Government Film is an Australian film that has been funded by the Australian government at either a state or federal level. This type of film is distinct from an Australian independent film which has had no up-front government investment.
Lily Sullivan is an Australian actress. She played Coral in the 2012 film Mental, and Miranda in the 2018 television series Picnic at Hanging Rock. She plays leading roles in two 2023 feature films, Australian sci-fi thriller Monolith, and American horror film Evil Dead Rise.
