After winning Best Feature at the 58th AWGIE Awards in Sydney on Thursday night, Buzz continues work on the psychological horror Saccharine, directed by Natalie Erica James.
The Victorian filmmaker makes his solo screenwriting debut with this psychological thriller. The film stars Midori Francis as a lovesick medical student who is threatened by a hungry ghost after participating in a vague weight-loss fad that involves eating human ashes.
Independent Film Company and Shudder purchased the film for North America and the UK ahead of its debut in the Midnight section of the Sundance Film Festival. This latest honor coincided with the film’s European premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival.
In the feature film category, Peter Duncan won his third AWGIE Award in 15 years for “The Correspondent,” an adaptation of Australian journalist Peter Greste’s 2017 memoir “The First Casualty.”
There was a first-time winner of the Television Series Award, with Alan Clarke selected for his role in the “Vigil” episode of Stan’s Original Invisible Boys.
Other television winners include the Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar, which won a Logie and AACTA award with a limited series gong from the writing trio of Samantha Strauss, Angela Betsien and Anya Beiersdorf. Gary Sewell and Fiona Kelly were joint winners in the consecutive categories for Hollyoaks and Home and Away episodes respectively.
Elsewhere, Lorin Clarke won the documentary award for “Fred Dagg and John Clarke,” Sheridan Harbridge and Dean Bryant won the David Williamson Outstanding Screenplay Award for “Australian Theatre,” and Matthew Frank also won for “My Career.” This comes after Netflix premiered the series adaptation of the famous Miles Franklin novel ahead of its release later this year.
The awards, hosted by Alex Lee and Suren Jayman, are held annually by the Writers Guild of Australia to recognize achievement across the fields of feature film, television, documentaries, theatre, interactive and games, audio, stand-up comedy, animation and children’s television.
Feature film – adaptation
Correspondent – Peter Duncan
Feature film – original
Saccharine – Natalie Erica James
short film
Asian male leads – Brendan Wang, Jeremy Teh, Alan Thangaratnam, Vivian
Nguyen
Documentary – public broadcast (including VOD) or exhibition
Not just Fred Dagg, but John Clark – Lorin Clark too.
interactive media and games
Copycat – Samantha Cable
TV – Serial
Hollyoaks: Episode 6522 – Gary Sewell
Home and Away: Episode 8330 – Fiona Kelly
TV – Series
Invisible Boys: Season 1, Episode 7 “The Vigil” – Alan Clarke
TV – Limited Series
Apple Cider Vinegar – Samantha Strauss, Angela Betsian, Anya Beiersdorf
animation
DeadBeat Ends Meet: Season 1, “Invasive (Quest)ions” – Michael Greaney
Children’s TV – “P” classification (preschoolers – under 5 years)
Kangaroo Beach: Season 3, Episode 20 “The Hungry Seagull” – Charlotte Rose Hamlin
Children’s TV – “C” classification (Children – 5 to 14 years old)
The Spooky Files: Season 2, Episode 4 “FOMO Dojo Casa House” – Emma Gordon
Comedy – a situation or story
Colin on Account: Season 2, Episode 5 “Waterfall” – Patrick Bramall
Comedy – sketch or light entertainment
The Weekly: Season 10, “Lysearch” – Nicolette Minster, Aleisha McCormack, Rhys Nicholson
Comedy – Stand-up
Pillow xxxx – Bronwyn Kuss
Audio – Fiction
Central Intelligence Agency: Season 1, Episode 10 – Greg Hadrick
Audio – Nonfiction
This Is Not a Game: Season 1, “Portal to Utopia” and “Joseph Matheny” – Mark Fennell, Emma Weatherill
Stage – Adaptation
The Magic Hour – Vanessa Bates
stage – original
To a sparkling world – Angus Cellini
music theater
My Brilliant Career – Sheridan Harbridge and Dean Bryant, Matthew Frank
community theater
Women of the Riverina – Leanne Clarke and Aunt Cheryl Penrith OAM, Arvis Casanova, Claudia Haynes, Gabrielle Tozer, Haya Alzidin, Imogen Rubi, Jodie Roberts, Marie Clear, Melanie Reeves, Roz Hasan, Sasha McMillan
theater for young audiences
Chi’s Story – Jeremy Nguyen with Hiroki Kobayashi, Hoa Pham
Web Series and Other Non-Broadcast/Non-“Subscription Video on Demand” Television Shorts
Burial – Charlotte George and Miriam Glaser
David Williamson Award for Excellence in Australian Playwriting
My Brilliant Career – Sheridan Harbridge and Dean Bryant, Matthew Frank
