AustLit logo

AustLit

Best Screenplay - Original or Adapted
Subcategory of Film Critics Circle of Australia
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Latest Winners / Recipients

Year: 2023

winner form y separately published work icon Shayda Noora Niasari , ( dir. Noora Niasari ) Australia : Dirty Films , 2023 25529369 2023 single work film/TV

'A young Iranian mother finds refuge in a women’s shelter where her search for freedom brings her face to face with the violence from which she has fled.'

Source: Screen Australia.

Year: 2022

winner form y separately published work icon The Stranger Tom Wright , ( dir. Tom Wright ) South Australia : Anonymous Content See Saw Films , 2022 24377188 2022 single work film/TV thriller

'A friendship forms between two strangers. For Henry Teague (Sean Harris), worn down by a lifetime of physical labour, this is a dream come true. His new friend Mark (Joel Edgerton) becomes his saviour and ally. However, neither is who they appear to be, each carry secrets that threaten to ruin them – and in the background, one of the nation’s largest police operations is closing in.'

Source: See Saw Films.

Year: 2021

winner form y separately published work icon High Ground Chris Anastassiades , ( dir. Stephen Johnson ) Australia : Higher Ground Pictures , 2019 9759748 2019 single work film/TV

'1931, Northern Australia. The destinies of Travis, a white bounty hunter, and Baywara, an Indigenous man trying to save what remains of his family, intersect. Twelve years after a tragedy that scarred them both, a manhunt pits them against each other.'

Source: Berlinale program.

Year: 2019

winner form y separately published work icon The King David Michôd , Joel Edgerton , ( dir. David Michôd ) United Kingdom (UK) Hungary Australia : Netflix Plan B Entertainment Porchlight Films Blue Tongue Films Pioneer Stilking Films Yoki , 2019 18084286 2019 single work film/TV

'Wayward Prince Hal must turn from carouser to warrior king as he faces hostilities from inside and outside the castle walls in the battle for England.'

Source: Netflix.

Year: 2018

winner form y separately published work icon Breath Gerard Lee , Tim Winton , Simon Baker , ( dir. Simon Baker ) Australia : See Pictures Gran Via Productions Breath Productions , 2016 8569342 2016 single work film/TV

'Based on Tim Winton’s award-winning novel set in mid-70s coastal Australia. Two teenage boys, hungry for discovery, form an unlikely bond with a reclusive surfer and his mysterious wife. The boys are driven to take risks that will have a profound and lasting impact on their lives.'

Source: Screen Australia.

X