Organisers of the AFI(Australian Film Institute) Awards have revealed a major revamp on the heels ofthe recent announcement that the event is being hosted by Russell Crowe.
The awards have been splitinto a craft and non-feature awards event on Friday November 25 at theWaterfront City Pavilion and a cocktail party and sit-down dinner for the keycreative awards at Melbourne's Central City Studios.
The dinner presentation andthe highlights from the red carpet will be screened on Nine, the country'shighest-rating television network. It has been some time since a commercialbroadcaster has been involved and the public will be able to participate byvoting via SMS on which film or television actor should win the newlyintroduced popular choice award.
Producer of the awards,promoter Paul Dainty, describes these developments as "rebuilding andrepositioning" the AFIs to be the industry's premier awards. This acknowledgesthat the Inside Film Awards have challenged their supremacy in recent yearsdespite their 47-year history.
The AFI Award will again bea key part of a series of film and television-related events in
"With the most excitingrange of features for many years - from gritty genre films to strong personalstatements and with some immensely recognisable cast names - the 2005 AFIAwards promises to be a great event capping a comeback year," said AFI chairDenny Lawrence.
The frontrunners among the17 films entered include Little Fish, Look Both Ways, OysterFarmer, The Magician, The Proposition, Three Dollarsand Wolf Creek.
The AFI has secured L'OrealParis, which also has an involvement in the Cannes Film Festival, as the namingrights sponsor. The major sponsor of the Inside Films Awards, which are beingheld on November 23, has the car brand Lexus attached. Feature film nominationsfor both awards are being announced this week.
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