2025 AACTA Industry Awards: ‘Better Man,’ Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ Dominate

Boy Swallows Universe wins big for Australian television

Boy Swallows Universe, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and Better Man emerge as the standout winners at the Winners for the 2025 AACTA Awards Industry Gala, Australia’s version of the Academy Awards, presented by Foxtel Group. 

The 2025 AACTA Industry Awards Gala kicked off a five day Festival of the Australian screen industry. Held at HOTA, Home of the Arts, on the Gold Coast, the Awards celebrated an extraordinary year of Australian screen content. 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.

In the film categories, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Better Man emerged as the standout productions of the evening, each taking home five wins. These highly anticipated films demonstrated their broad appeal and craftsmanship, with both productions securing multiple accolades across various categories. 

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga secured wins for Best Cinematography in Film, Best Costume Design in Film, Best Hair and Makeup, and Best Sound in Film. The film also won Best Production Design showcasing the creativity and epic scale behind this blockbuster. It will compete for five more awards at Friday’s ceremony, including Best Supporting Actor for Chris Hemsworth and Best Lead Actress for Anya Taylor-Joy.

Better Man also claimed five wins from its ten nominations, taking home Best Casting in Film, Best Editing in Film presented by Spectrum Films, Best Original Score in Film, and Best Visual Effects or Animation for its groundbreaking CGI work.

For the complete list of the 2025 AACTA International Awards nominations, where Better Man, The Brutalist and Shōgun lead, go here.

Boy Swallows Universe dominated the television categories, winning six awards from its eleven nominations, including Best Casting in Television presented by Casting Networks, Best Editing in Television, Best Direction in Drama or Comedy, Best Cinematography in Television, Best Sound in Television, and Best Production Design in Television. 

AACTA CEO, Damian Trewhella said  “The 2025 AACTA Awards have once again showcased the incredible talent and creativity that define Australia’s screen industry. This year’s winners show the innovation, passion, and storytelling that continue to captivate audiences both locally and internationally. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners – your work elevates Australian cinema and television to new heights.”

Alison Hurbert-Burns, Commissioner and Executive Director, Entertainment Content, Foxtel Group, said: “Congratulations to all the winners, nominees and everyone recognized at the 2025 AACTA Industry Gala. It’s been another incredible year of Australian film and television and Foxtel Group is proud to be a part of this vibrant creative community.”

The 2025 AACTA Industry Awards Gala launches a five-day festival of the national screen industry. On the night, 31 awards were presented, saluting the best in film, TV, documentary, short film, and digital production.

There’s more to come with the 2025 AACTA Awards Ceremony this Friday, February 7, broadcast on Channel Ten from 7.30pm AEDT.

An extended broadcast of the AACTA Awards will be available from 7:30pm on Saturday, February 8 on BINGE and main presenting partner Foxtel.

The winners for the 2025 AACTA Awards Industry Gala presented by Foxtel Group are:

FILM

In film, 3 productions won across 9 Awards

• AACTA Award for Best Casting in Film presented by Casting Networks: Better Man – Alison Telford, Kate Leonard, Kate Dowd
• AACTA Award for Best Cinematography in Film: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Simon Duggan
• AACTA Award for Best Costume Design in Film: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Jenny Beavan
• AACTA Award for Best Editing in Film presented by Spectrum Films: Better Man – Martin Connor, Lee Smith, Spencer Susser, Jeff Groth, Patrick Correll
• AACTA Award for Best Indie Film: Birdeater – Jack Clark (Dir.), Jim Weir (Dir.), Ulysses Oliver, Stephanie Troost – Breathless Films and Fax Machine
• AACTA Award for Best Original Score in Film: Better Man – Batu Sener
• AACTA Award for Best Production Design in Film: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Colin Gibson, Katie Sharrock
• AACTA Award for Best Screenplay in Film: Better Man – Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole, Michael Gracey
• AACTA Award for Best Sound in Film: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Robert Mackenzie, Ben Osmo, James Ashton, Yulia Akerholt, Jessica Meier, Tom Holkenborg

TELEVISION

In television, 8 productions won across 13 Awards

• AACTA Award for Best Comedy Performer: Tom Gleeson – Hard Quiz
• AACTA Award for Best Lifestyle Program: Grand Designs Australia – Brooke Bayvel, Michael Collett – Fremantle Australia (ABC)
• AACTA Award for Best Casting in Television presented by Casting Networks: Boy Swallows Universe – Nikki Barrett
• AACTA Award for Best Cinematography in Television: Boy Swallows Universe – Episode 4 – Shelley Farthing-Dawe
• AACTA Award for Best Costume Design in Television: Ladies in Black – Episode 2 – Marion Boyce
• AACTA Award for Best Direction in Drama or Comedy: Boy Swallows Universe – Episode 1 – Bharat Nalluri
• AACTA Award for Best Direction in Nonfiction Television: Muster Dogs – Episode 3 – Sally Browning, Monica O’Brien
• AACTA Award for Best Documentary or Factual Program: Miriam Margolyes Impossibly Australian – Jo Siddiqui, Helen Barrow, Paulo Vivan, Laurie Critchley, Julie HannaJo Siddiqui  – Southern Pictures Pty Ltd (ABC)
• AACTA Award for Best Editing in Television: Boy Swallows Universe – Episode 4 – Mark Perry
• AACTA Award for Best Entertainment Program: Spicks and Specks – Rowdie Walden, Michiko Smith, Anthony Watt – ABC (ABC)
• AACTA Award for Best Original Score in Television: Bluey – Episode 2 – Joff Bush, Daniel O’Brien, Jazz Darcy, Joseph Twist
• AACTA Award for Best Production Design in Television: Boy Swallows Universe – Episode 4 – Michelle McGahey
• AACTA Award for Best Sound in Television: Boy Swallows Universe – Episode 4 – Sam Hayward, Scott Mulready, Danielle Wiessner, Nigel Christensen

DOCUMENTARY

• AACTA Award for Best Cinematography in a Documentary: The Musical Mind: A Portrait In Process – Geoffrey Hall, Emerson Hoskin
• Best Editing in a Documentary – Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line – Gretchen Peterson
• AACTA Award for Best Original Score in a Documentary: Mozart’s Sister – Jessica Wells
• AACTA Award for Best Sound in a Documentary: Mozart’s Sister – Damian Jory

ONLINE

• AACTA Award for Best Online Drama or Comedy- Buried – Fran Derham, Charlotte George, Miriam Glaser – Frantales Productions

SHORT FILM

• AACTA Award for Best Short Film: Gorgo – Katie Amos, Veniamin Gialouris (Dir.), Katie Amos,  Danielle Stamoulos – Australian Film, Television and Radio School

OTHER

• AACTA Award for Best Visual Effects or Animation: Better Man – Luke Millar, Andy Taylor, Craig Young, Tim Walker – Wētā Better Man Productions Pty Ltd
• AACTA Award for Best Soundtrack: Heartbreak High – Jemma Burns
• AACTA Award for Best Hair and Makeup presented by HASK: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Lesley Vanderwalt, Larry Van Duynhoven, Matteo Silvi, Luca Vannella

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

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