Sara West's 'Mutt' Leads The Winners At The 20th South Australian Screen Awards

South Australian Screen Awards 2018 Mutt

On Friday 20th of April the South Australian screen industry came together at the 20th annual South Australian Screen Awards, to celebrate the achievements and accomplishments of its peers. Adelaide Film Festival’s Mat Kesting hosted the sold out Gala event.

2018’s big winner is Sara West’s critically acclaimed short film Mutt which picked up four awards: Best Directing (Sara West), Best Male Performance (Oscar Redding), Best Female Performance (Jordan Cowan), and Best Cinematography, which went to Maxx Corkindale, who won the same award last year for his work on Smashed. Mutt’s producer Jodie Kirkbride picked up the gong for Emerging Producer, while actor/producer Jordan Cowan took home the Carclew Young Filmmaker Award.

Adding to the night was the inaugural presentation of the Mercury Award, dedicated to celebrating one individual’s outstanding achievement and contribution to the South Australian film industry. The Flinders University sponsored award, which includes a $3000 cash prize, was presented to esteemed Cinematographer Ernie Clark ACS.

Clark started his film career in Melbourne as a 17-year-old, working in the Camera Department in 1971. In 1986 Ernie shot a miniseries for the South Australian Film Corporation, and Adelaide has been his home ever since. Some of the notable Film and TV projects Clark has worked on include The Water Diviner, Wolf Creek 2, Deadline Gallipoli and Red Dog. In 2006 ,Clark was inducted in to the Australian Cinematography’s Society (ACS) and has been the President of the SA branch of the ACS since 2008.

The Media Resource Centre and Mercury Cinema’s Director, Gail Kovatseff, says that it’s a true privilege to honour Ernie publicly at the awards.

“The addition of the Mercury Award to the SASAs is something that we have wanted for many years and it’s great to be able to acknowledge such a hardworking and vital member of the South Australian Film industry in Ernie, who in addition to his illustrious career, is an invaluable mentor to the next generation of South Australian filmmakers,” said Ms, Gail Kovatseff.

“The 2018 awards have highlighted and showcased just a fraction of the exciting established and emerging talent that the South Australian film industry has to offer. Every year the competition grows and we are continuously seeing new faces entering the industry as it expands in line with the dominance of the screen in the global cultural landscape. Of course, this growth means greater competition in the awards and the level of work being presented is amongst the best in the country.”

Receiving both Best Film and Best Documentary was Mira Soulio’s documentary Robert McFarlane: The Still Point, which follows the life of prolific Australian documentary photographer and photojournalist Robert McFarlane.

Other winners on the night included Lucy Campbell and Peter Ninos’ web series, The Big Nothing which won Best Drama, a very competitive category. Best Music Composition was awarded to Cezary Konarski for his work on the highly anticipated zombie apocalypse horror film, Zoe by Director Nick Crowhurst.

Another film that has been highly talked about is Small Town P.D, written, co-directed, and co-produced by Indianna Bell, co-directed by Josiah Allen and co-produced by Paul Forza, which, like The Big Nothing, was funded through the MRC’s 2017 PIP funding initiative. Small Town P.D picked up the gong for Best Sound Design (Josiah Allen & Indianna Bell).

For more information and details: www.mrc.org.au

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SCREEN AWARDS

The Media Resource Centre announces the 2018 winners.

BEST FILM