2008 Australian Film Institute Awards

The 50th Annual Australian Film Institute Awards were presented at a ceremony in Melbourne's Princess Theatre on 5 and 6 December 2008. During the ceremony, the Australian Film Institute presented Australian Film Institute Awards (commonly referred to as AFI Awards) in 40 categories including feature films, television, animation and documentaries. It was hosted by Stephen Curry.

The nominees for Best Documentary, Best Short Fiction Film and Best Short Animation were announced on 7 August, whilst the rest were announced at the Nominations Announcement at the Sydney Theatre Company in Walsh Bay on 29 October.^[1][2] The Black Balloon had the most nominations, with a total of 11 including Best Film.^[3][4][5][6]

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface; with nominees thereafter.^[7][8]

Feature Film

Television

AFI Award for Outstanding Achievement in Television Screen Craft

• Steve Evans. Underbelly. For "Editing"

Non-Feature Film

AFI Award for Outstanding Achievement in Short Film Screen Craft

• Xanthe Highfield. fOUR. For "Production Design"

Additional Awards

AFI International Award for Excellence in Filmmaking

• Peter James ACS ASC. For "Cinematography"

Individual Awards

Multiple nominations

Films

• 11 nominations: The Black Balloon
• 10 nominations: Unfinished Sky
• 7 nominations: The Jammed & The Square

Television

• 8 nominations: Underbelly
• 6 nominations: East West 101
• 3 nominations: Summer Heights High, The Hollowmen & H₂O: Just Add Water
• 2 nominations: The Librarians & Rush

Controversies and comments

AFI website "contenders"

On the website of the Australian Film Institute, it listed 25 expected nominees for the Best Film category.^[9] The 25 contenders were:

References

1. "The Australian Film Institute | Additional Awards". www.afi.org.au. 9 December 2008. Archived from the original on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
2. "The 2008 AFI Awards nominees". IF Magazine. 29 October 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
3. Field, Katherine (29 October 2008). "The Black Balloon wins 11 AFI nominations". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
4. George, Sandy (29 October 2008). "Black Balloon, Unfinished Sky lead Aussie awards pack | News | Screen". www.screendaily.com. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
5. Williams, Fiona (29 October 2008). "Black Balloon leads AFI Awards noms". SBS What's On. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
6. "Black Balloon, Unfinished Sky lead AFI noms". ABC News. 29 October 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
7. "Black Balloon takes top honour at AFIs". The Age. 7 December 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
8. "Black Balloon sweeps six AFIs". IF Magazine. 8 December 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
9. "The Australian Film Institute | Feature Film Contenders". www.afi.org.au. 25 October 2008. Archived from the original on 25 October 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2023.