Lynette Wallworth announced as this year's Byron Kennedy Award recipient

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) today announced acclaimed artist and director Lynette Wallworth as the recipient of the Byron Kennedy Award at the 6th AACTA Awards presented by Foxtel.

First awarded in 1984, the Byron Kennedy Award celebrates outstanding creative enterprise within the screen industry and is given to an individual or organisation whose work embodies the qualities of innovation, vision and the relentless pursuit of excellence.

The Award, which honours Dr George Miller’s original filmmaking partner and MAD MAX co-creator Byron Kennedy, includes a cash prize of $10,000 and is a discretionary Award determined by an appointed jury.

Lynette Wallworth is an acclaimed filmmaker known for her innovative use of virtual reality and the mixing of technology with art to bring audiences into her works and provoke profound, emotional responses. Lynette’s career spans the globe, moving across continents and uniting international audiences through story.

“Lynette Wallworth is a pioneer in the screen industry not just in Australia, but around the world,” said  AFI | AACTA CEO Damian Trewhella. “She continues to push the boundaries of screen, using emerging technologies and visionary artistic media to engage audiences around the world in new, innovative experiences.”

Her documentary, TENDER, received five AACTA nominations and won the AACTA Award for Best Documentary Television Program at the 4th AACTA Awards. Her most recent work, COLLISIONS, is a virtual reality film that explores the collision of science and spirit with Aboriginal elder Nyarri Nyarri Morgan. COLLISIONS was developed as part of the inaugural Sundance Institute New Frontier | Jaunt VR Residency Program and takes audiences on a journey to the land of the Martu tribe in the remote desert of Western Australia.

Lynette’s immersive installations and films have been shown locally and internationally, including the World Economic Forum, Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts, The Smithsonian, Sydney Film Festival, Adelaide Film Festival and London Film Festival.

Lynette joins a long list of diverse Byron Kennedy recipients including: Palme d’Or winning writer and director Jane Campion; multiple Oscar, BAFTA, AFI and AACTA Award winners Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin; cutting edge technology and computer graphic imaging experts Animal Logic; multidisciplinary filmmaker Ivan Sen; and, most recently, cinematographer Adam Arkapaw.

The honour is a dream-come-true for Lynette Wallworth, who said:

“The names of some of the previous winners of the Byron Kennedy Award count amongst my heroes, and I am humbled and amazed to be considered amongst them.

“Despite a wonderful life as an international artist forging new pathways, there is nothing more meaningful to me than being acknowledged here at home.

“I am so grateful to the jury for thinking my work was worthy of this honour, and I am thrilled to associated, in any way, with the artistry of a fearless visionary – George Miller.”

The Byron Kennedy Award will be presented to Lynette Wallworth at the 6th AACTA Awards presented by Foxtel on Wednesday 7 December 2016 at The Star Event Centre in Sydney.

Tickets to the Ceremony are on sale now from $99 and available from www.aacta.org.