2021 ADG AWARDS FIND NEW HOME AT ACTORS CENTRE AUSTRALIA

The 2021 Australian Director’s Guild (ADG) Awards will unfurl at a Gala Luncheon in Sydney on October 22 at the Actors Centre Australia (ACA) in Leichhardt.

One of the local sector’s most prestigious annual gatherings will also be a virtual event, live streamed nationally and internationally. In 2020, the online-only ceremony scored solid traffic numbers and the ADG and ACA identified an opportunity to expand on that audience with a multi-tiered presentation in 2021.

“I warmly welcome ACA as our new venue partner,” said ADG Executive Director Alaric McAusland (pictured, right). “The 2021 Awards will be an important moment to celebrate all that has been achieved by our members over the past year, a year which has offered incredible challenges and opportunities to Australian screen directors, as well as the achievements of the ADG over its 40-year history.”

McAusland promises that the 2021 Awards will build on last year’s deep industry support and cross-industry engagement, which saw a record number of entries and the most diverse list of nominees in the Awards’ history. “[I want] to extend our sincere thanks to our award sponsors [for] supporting last year’s Covid-impacted event and their continued support for this year,” he said. These include principal partner Australian Screen Directors Authorship Collecting Society (ASDACS), major partner Media Super and  Government supporters Screen NSW and Screen Australia.

Securing the ADG Awards is a further coup for the ACA, which continues to establish itself as one of the Harbour City’s premium event venues. “Actors Centre Australia is thrilled to be partnering with the ADG Awards in 2021,” said ACA Chief Operating Officer Anthony Kierann (pictured, left). “This celebration of the outstanding contribution that screen directors bring to our industry aligns with ACA’s commitment to developing the finest Australian on-screen talent. We warmly welcome ADG members and nominees to the Centre, as together, the arts community steps its way out of the pandemic.”

The ADG Awards recognise excellence in the craft and art of directing, as well as honouring individual contributions by Australian screen directors to the screen industry. The Awards are the only opportunity for Australian directors and their work to be acknowledged by their directing peers. The Awards cover the breadth of screen directing with categories across feature film, documentary, television, subscription video on demand, commercial, short film, animation, online, music video and interactive media.

Submissions to the 2021 ADG Awards will open on 30th June.