Hit comedy Kenny took home four Inside Film Awards, including best film and best script, while Ten Canoes and Suburban Mayhem took home three each.

Ten Canoes, the first Australian feature to be made entirely in the indigenous language, earned Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr best director, and Crusoe Kurddal best actor, while Suburban Mayhem's key award was for young Sydney-based New Zealander Emily Barclay.

Most of the IF Awards are voted for by the general public, predominantly using the internet. This is the eighth time they have been held but the first time they have been outside Sydney. Enticed north by the Queensland Government, they took place on the Gold Coast, on the night of the last day of the annual conference of the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA).

The producer of The Piano and Lantana, Jan Chapman, won the living legend award, Tropfest won the festival of the year award, and the prize for best unproduced script went to Julius Avery for End of Town. The SPAA Award for producer of the year was also announced during the IF Awards and it went to April Films, which produced and financed Jindabyne.

But the night belonged to Kenny, not just because it won best film for producers Clayton Jacobson and Rohan Timlock but also because it won the award for the most ticket sales this year. It was made for less than $1m and, in its 14th week in cinemas, has sold $7m worth of tickets.

Jacobson also directed Kenny and wrote the script with his brother Shane Jacobson, who played the title role. The documentary-style film, distributed by Madman, is about an ordinary man who works for a company that provides toilets for events.

The AFI Awards, Australia's longest running awards, are being presented in Melbourne next month.

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