That's a Wrap on AACTA Festival!

THAT’S A WRAP ON THE 2025 AACTA AWARDS AND FESTIVAL! 

With over 100 events, 22,000 registrations, and more than 300 on-stage participants, the festival was a dynamic celebration of film, TV, documentary, and online content. Five extraordinary days of star-studded ceremonies, must-see events, networking opportunities, education and unparalleled industry connections - bringing Australia's screen community together like never before.

For images and highlights from the 2025 AACTA Festival and Awards, click here.  

AACTA Awards Ceremonies

Australia’s best screen talent flocked to the Gold Coast for the 2025 AACTA Awards presented by Foxtel Group and hosted by AACTA President Russell Crowe. The night featured performances by Australian music legend Paul Kelly, who performed his iconic song How to Make Gravy as well as British music icon Robbie Williams, who took to the AACTA stage to perform his chart-topping hit, Angels. 

The star-studded ceremony also featured an impressive lineup of presenters, including Henry Cavill, Kitty Flanagan, Dr. George Miller, Sam Pang, Kate Mulvany, Guy Pearce, Anne Edmonds, Aisha Dee, Alycia Debnam-Carey, David Wenham, Asher Keddie, Teresa Palmer, Stephen Curry, Ed Kavalee,  Aaron Chen, Lisa McCune, Tom Gleeson, Shane Jacobson, Catherine Martin, Guy Montgomery, Mel Tracina, Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate, Tim McDonald, Richard Wilkins, Leah Purcell, Sophie Monk and Catherine Laga'aia. Guests enjoyed a night of celebrations thanks to Vogue Australia and Rabanne with entertainment including Client Liaison, DJ Richie Penny, Karaoke and more.

The 2025 AACTA Awards Industry Gala was a night to remember, hosted by Stephen Curry, the evening honoured the exceptional talent and craftsmanship of the industry, with 31 awards presented across film, television, documentary, short film, and digital production categories, followed by the official After Party presented by Screen Queensland. 

Alison Hurbert-Burns, Commissioner and Executive Director, Content at Foxtel Group said: “The 2025 AACTA Awards and Festival were an incredible showcase of Australian storytelling across every genre. The calibre of content, practitioners and artists who were acknowledged shows the strength and vitality of our creative industry. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners for your accomplishments and contribution to Australian film and television this year.”

AACTA Festival: Stories. Music. Ideas. Careers. 

AACTA Festival brought the screen industry to life with five incredible days of panels, workshops, screenings, engaging keynotes, thought-provoking talks, exclusive industry events and AACTA’s Screen Career Expo. Embracing hundreds of performers, a packed schedule of events and thousands of attendees, the festival was an unmissable celebration of film, television, and digital content.

Attendees experienced an unparalleled lineup of events designed to inspire, educate, and connect creatives at all stages of their careers including masterclasses with Oscar-winning filmmakers, Actor on Actor conversations, exclusive screenings, panels with industry leaders, sessions with creators in the digital space, behind-the-scenes previews of upcoming films, movie deconstructions with the most talented craftspeople, meet-the-creator sessions with some of the industry's most influential voices as well as Karaoke and Drag Bingo, .

Highlights Included:

Creative Showcases
Some of the world’s best creatives joined AACTA Festival to discuss and showcase their latest work, including Dr George Miller in conversation with the Philippou Brothers, Oscar winners Greig Fraser and Adam Elliot,Michael Gracey, Leigh Whannell, John Collee, Coralie Fargeat, John Polson, along with many other directors, writers, producers, composers, editors, designers and actors. In a world-first exclusive the Working Dog team came together to discuss the secrets to producing award-winning comedy for over 30 years.

Industry Conference
AACTA Festival featured over 40 sessions targeted specifically to industry professionals over a dedicated Industry Day. Topics included showrunning and financing, location seminars, writers rooms, new content showcases and much more. Participants included See Saw, Made up Stories, Causeway, BAFTA, Screen Australia, Ausfilm, AFFF, the state screen agencies, SPA, MEAA, ADG, AWG and the other screen guilds, Supanova, Foxtel, BINGE, Paramount, Netflix, Disney, Amazon, Stan, Roadshow, Sony, Universal Pictures, Transmission, Umbrella and Madman.

Premieres, Anniversaries and Sneak Peeks
The red carpet lit up for the festival closing night film, the world-premiere of Spit starring David Wenham. The Festival also hosted the Australian premiere of Looney Tunes: The Day The Earth Blew Up, and an anniversary screening of Sunday too Far Away (50th anniversary) with Jack Thompson, and The Dish (25th anniversary). AACTA Festival featured exclusive sneak peeks of Liane Moriarty’s The Last Anniversary, Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar, Anaconda, Fing and Zombie Plane to name a few.

Horror
Genre master Leigh Whannell headlined the super popular horror strand. The Saw, Insidious and Wolf Man creator unpacked his journey from indie filmmaker to Hollywood heavyweight. The horror strand also included Fear on Film Producing Horror, Fear on Film Crafting Horror, Monsters Down Under, Scream Queens–Women in Horror, Behind the Scenes of Beast of War, Meet the Creators of Late Night with the Devil, and Creating Fear: The Making of Sight Unseen.

Deconstructions
AACTA Festival produced a range of world-class movie deconstructions, where several productions were unpacked on screen, scene by scene by the filmmakers, including Oscar-winner Greig Fraser who deconstructed his work on Dune: Part One & Two, The Mandalorian and Star Wars: Rogue One. BAFTA nominee Paul Butterworth showcased his work on Prometheus and the Marvel franchise, and Thomas Horton took apart his VFX work on House of the Dragon.

Storytelling / Writers
The Festival featured over 20 sessions focused on writing, featuring best-selling authors Trent Dalton, Holly Ringland and Benjamin Stevenson, alongside acclaimed screenwriters John Collee and Andrew Knight. Session included Inside the Writers Room, Queensland Authors Studio, First Nations: The Power of Story, Queensland Crime Writers in Focus, Meet the Nominees–Writers, Script to Screen, and others.

Talent Incubators
AACTA Talent Incubator sessions were held with Festival headline guests including director Michael Gracey, DOP Greig Fraser, writers Leigh Whannell, John Collee and Andrew Knight and producers Paul Currie and Andrew Mason.

Music Exploration & Showcases
Music's pivotal role in storytelling was highlighted in many ways including through live performances, scenes and stories from Meg Washington and Paul Kelly in How To Make Gravy Live in Concert. The Music of Heartbreak High showcased how the series has become a global launchpad for Australian music. The intersection of music and storytelling was explored in The Music of Storytelling featuring Scott Hicks, Elliott Wheeler, Evan McHugh and Meg Washington, and the Philippou’s on stage discussion with the drill band ONEFOUR, showed the vital role music plays in the horror genre. Acclaimed choreographer Kate Wormald presented a masterclass on the important role choreography plays in musicals. 

Youth & Emerging
AACTA Festival 2025 placed a strong emphasis on nurturing young talent and emerging creators, offering a vast range of activities designed to give those new to the industry a leg up. Sessions included How to Make Money on TikTok & Youtube, Networking 101, Navigating the Screen Industry as an Actor, Careers in Broadcast, The Business of Show Business and Breaking into the Screen Industry, to name a few.

“I’m thrilled to have seen the AACTA Festival return to HOTA in 2025,” said Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate. 

“This year’s program stepped up once again with fantastic workshops, panel discussions and creative seminars, as well as the shining AACTA Awards and Industry Gala bringing the best of Australian screen talent to our city.

“I applaud industry leaders for being so generous with their time, sharing not only expertise but real-world knowledge and advice.”

AACTA Screen Careers Expo

With the nation’s screen industry converging on the AACTA Festival, the AACTA Screen Careers Expo is the largest of its kind in Australia, bringing together over 30 businesses, institutions and organisations dedicated to nurturing the growth of the industry. It provided an invaluable opportunity for students and career changers to network and gain insights into the screen industry, with friendly professionals, industry leaders, guild representatives and AACTA Award winners on hand providing invaluable guidance and advice. From film and TV, through to games and the online space, the Screen Careers Expo also featured interactive workshops, masterclasses, panels and cutting-edge tech showcases that offered hands-on experiences for aspiring professionals.

We welcomed John-Paul Langbroek MP, Queensland Minister for Education and the Arts who dropped by to have a chat with exhibitors, attendees and some of our special guests including Dr George Miller, Stunts legend Guy Norris and Screen Queensland CEO Jacqui Feeney.

Panels throughout the day included Shane and Clayton Jacobson’s End to End Masterclass on Filmmaking and Distribution, Julie Eckersely and Felicity McVay’s deep dive into Creative Entrepreneurship and Future Skills, the Fairbairn Brothers sharing their journey and secrets as multi-platform storytellers, AFTRS presented Breaking into the Screen Industry, Minderoo’s cheat sheet for Impact Producing, a masterclass on building a brand with Millie Ford, and so much more.

Exhibitors included Queensland’s top tertiary institutions such as Bond University, Griffith University, TAFE Queensland and QUT alongside WAAPA, NIDA and SAE, as well as the nation’s premiere organisations in upskilling and training. Local post production houses such as Cutting Edge and Spectrum Films were on hand, as well as a myriad of businesses covering logistics, accounting and finance, travel and hospitality, outside broadcast and support organisations such as Screen Queensland and the Gold Coast Film Commission. The Games and Tech space featured Queensland’s leading developers including Gameloft and Halfbrick, along with a showcase of the latest equipment from Sony and Panavision. From above the line to below the line, and every support role in between, the Screen Careers Expo presented in partnership with Essential Screen Skills proved once more to be the all-in-one event for everything you need to know about working in the Australian screen industry.

AACTA Development

The AACTA Awards saw the culmination of various AACTA Development initiatives including the Brian Walsh Award for Emerging Talent where AACTA Vice President Nicole Kidman offered a prize of $50,000 to Kartanya Maynard; the AACTA Reg Grundy Award, which went to the team behind Unspoiled (Jamie Durie, Neville Poelina and Melanie Hogan); AACTA Young Stars gave 50 incredibly talented young actors an opportunity to work with world class casting directors and a chance to receive ongoing mentorship and International opportunities and support; and the announcement of the 2026 Regional Landscapes in partnership with Screenworks at the live read for Over Her Dead Body.

“What an incredible five days with over 100 events that connected, celebrated and showcased the immense talent and creativity that defines Australia's screen industry,” Experience Gold Coast CEO John Warn said.

“It is an honour to have the Gold Coast as the backdrop for this iconic event, which also highlights the significance of HOTA, Home of the Arts, as a dynamic cultural hub—where filmmakers, artists, performers, and audiences unite to inspire and continue to shape our creative landscape.”