Asia-Pacific News
Australians get behind Samson & Delilah's Oscar push
Dec 13, 2009, 3:44 GMT
Sydney - An industry award for nano-budget Samson & Delilah increased its chances of snaring the gong for best foreign film at next year's Academy Awards, local newspapers said Sunday.
As well as best film, the Australian Film Institute (AFI) on Saturday awarded the gritty Warwick Thornton-directed story of star-crossed lovers in an Aboriginal community the prizes for best original screenplay and best direction.
The teenagers Thornton recruited from a remote Aboriginal community, Marissa Gibson and Rowan McNamara, shared the AFI young actor award.
The Sunday newspapers said the awards showed Samson & Delilah deserved its place as Australia's entry for a Best Foreign Film Oscar.
Baz Luhrmann's epic Australia, which cost 150 million US dollars to make compared with 1 million US dollars for Samson & Delilah, featured in the AFI awards only for highest grossing local film.
Samson & Delilah won Best Feature Film at last month's Asia Pacific Screen Awards and topped its class in Cannes earlier in the year.
COMMENT
blog comments powered by DisqusLatest Headlines in Asia-Pacific
- 1. Chinese dissidents hail late democracy activist Fang Lizhi
- 2. China "worried" over planned North Korea rocket launch
- 3. Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi meets Karen rebels
- 4. Chinese schoolboy sells kidney to buy iPad, iPhone
- 5. Myanmar president invites Karen rebels to form party
Older Talkback
