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South Australia’s screen industry scoops top prizes at the 2026 AACTA Awards
08 February 2026
The South Australian screen industry was the star of the show at the 2026 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards, with SA screen creatives and South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) supported films scooping an impressive 16 awards including Best Film.
SA made and SAFC supported horror Bring Her Back dominated the film categories with 10 awards overall including Best Film and Best Direction for SA’s Danny and Michael Philippou, and Best Lead Actress for star Sally Hawkins, as well as Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Original Score, Best Casting, Best Sound for a team including SA’s Nick Steele, Hamish Keen and Pete Smith, and Best Hair and Makeup for a team including SA’s Rebecca Buratto and Karen Gower.
SA made and SAFC supported animated comedy Lesbian Space Princess won Best Indie Film for SA co-writers and directors Emma Hough Hobbs, Leela Varghese and SA producer Tom Phillips of We Made A Thing Studios, as well as Best Original Song for Here I Go, with Varghese, Gemma Chua-Tran and SA’s Michael Darren named in the honour. The trio also performed a medley of songs from the film at the event.
Lesbian Space Princess is the second film to be made through the Film Lab: New Voices program, a ground-breaking initiative supporting the development and production of low-budget feature films by first-time South Australian feature filmmakers. Funded by the SAFC with financial assistance from Screen Australia and Adelaide Film Festival (AFF), Film Lab: New Voices is currently open for a fourth-round intake, with applications open now for the development of bold, authentic and original feature film projects from first-time SA filmmakers.
Leela Varghese also received the award for Best Short Film for I’m The Most Racist Person I Know, produced by SA’s Suriyna Sivashanker through The Mercury’s SAFC-supported Quicksilver Production Fund.
In the TV categories, the AACTA for Best Acting in a Comedy went to Miranda Tapsell for Top End Bub, a series she co-created, wrote and executive produced with SA writer and producer Josh Tyler. The SA made and SAFC supported series is currently streaming on Prime Video and is set to premiere on ABC TV and iview on 7 March.
The AACTA Award for Best Visual Effects or Animation was awarded to Tron: Ares, with a VFX team including SA’s Kacy McDonald.
SA born and raised actor Sarah Snook was also honoured with the AACTA Trailblazer Award, highlighting the achievements, abilities and successes of an Australian screen practitioner who inspires others with their portfolio of work, while Adelaide Studios based Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton of Causeway Films received the Byron Kennedy Award, celebrating outstanding creative enterprise within the film and television industries.
The Longford Lyell Award went to legendary director Bruce Beresford, whose early work on iconic SAFC productions such as Breaker Morant (1980) was instrumental in shaping South Australia’s screen industry, and that of the nation as a whole.
South Australia shone in the nominations for the AACTAs this year, with 33 nominations across various categories for SA made and SAFC supported films including Kelly Schilling’s With or Without You and Shalom Almond’s Songs Inside. SA editor Sean Lahiff was also nominated for his work on horror Together.
South Australian films and creatives were also honoured as part of the AACTAs Festival, with a special panel discussion and screening event celebrating the 30th anniversary of iconic SA made and SAFC supported film Shine, featuring SA director Scott Hicks, musician David Helfgott and actor Geoffrey Rush, and a special In Conversation event with multi AACTA Award winning SA filmmaking brothers Danny and Michael Philippou.
View all the 2026 AACTA winners and nominees at aacta.org/aacta-awards/winners-and-nominees