Winners Announced for the 8th AACTA International Awards

Alfonso Cuarón, Nicole Kidman, Mahershala Ali, Rami Malek and Olivia Colman among winners

AACTA announced the winners of the 8th AACTA International Awards at a star-studded Ceremony held at the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles on Friday 4 January 2019. 

Alfonso Cuarón’s ROMA added another two Awards to its growing list of accolades, winning the AACTA International Awards for Best Film and Best Direction. Cuarón, who won the same two awards in 2014 for GRAVITY, now holds the record for the most AACTA International Award wins by an individual (a record previously held by Alejandro G. Iñárritu with three).

Also taking home two awards was period comedy-drama THE FAVOURITE, with Olivia Colman winning Best Lead Actress and writers Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara winning Best Screenplay.

Nicole Kidman continued her exceptional year, winning her second AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actress for gay-conversion therapy drama BOY ERASED. Kidman also received the AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role at the domestic AACTA Awards in Sydney last month.

The remaining two performance awards went to first-time AACTA Award winners Rami Malek, who won Best Lead Actor for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, and Mahershala Ali, who won Best Supporting Actor for his performance as jazz pianist and composer Don Shirley in GREEN BOOK.

Nicole Kidman, Rami Malek, Glenn Close, Alfonso Cuarón, Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, and Olivia Colman were among the nominees and VIP guests in attendance at the exclusive Ceremony.

Joining host Renee Bargh on stage to present awards were some of Australia’s leading film and television talent, including Alan Dale, Mallory Jansen, Danielle Macdonald, Phillip Noyce, Peter Spierig, Emma Booth, and Hannah Gadsby. Gadsby was retrospectively presented with the AACTA Award for Best Performance in a Television Comedy, which she won at the domestic AACTA Awards presented by Foxtel in Sydney last month for her critically acclaimed stand-up special NANETTE.

“This year’s winners are a truly international group, spanning continents, cultures and decades,” said AFI | AACTA CEO Damian Trewhella. “The AACTA International Awards continue to add a uniquely Australian voice to the international awards circuit, and I congratulate all of this evening’s winners – with special congratulations to our Australian winners Nicole Kidman and Tony McNamara – and wish them every success throughout the upcoming awards season.”

Highlights from the 8th AACTA International Awards will be aired in Australia exclusively on Foxtel Arts, Foxtel’s high definition dedicated arts channel, on Wednesday 9 January at 7:30pm AEDT as part of SCREEN, followed by encores the following day on Foxtel Arts.