Actor Richard Roxburgh's debut film as a director, Romulus, My Father, leads the nominees for the Dec 6 Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards.

Romulus, The Home Song Stories, Lucky Miles and Noise have been nominated for best film. Roxburgh has been nominated best director, alongside Tony Ayres for the Home Song Stories, Matthew Saville for Noise and Cherie Nowland for Clubland.

The 16 nominations for Romulus also included best screenplay for Nick Drake, best actress for Franka Potente, and best actor for both Eric Bana and his co-star, 11-year-old Kodi Smit-McPhee.

Smit-McPhee has just been cast as the young version of Hugh Jackman's character Logan in the X-Men spin-off Wolverine, which is understood to be shooting in Sydney from December. He is also in the running for a young actor award that carries a $20,000 cash prize.

Bana and Jackman were also nominated for, respectively, Lucky Miles and The Prestige, in a category for actors in offshore films.

FEATURE FILM NOMINEES

Best Film
The Home Song Stories - Liz Watts & Michael McMahon
Lucky Miles - Jo Dyer & Lesley Dyer
Noise - Trevor Blainey
Romulus, My Father - Robert Connolly & John Maynard

Best Direction
Clubland - Cherie Nowlan
The Home Song Stories - Tony Ayres
Noise - Matthew Saville
Romulus, My Father - Richard Roxburgh

Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted)
Clubland - Keith Thompson
The Home Song Stories - Tony Ayres
Lucky Miles - Helen Barnes & Michael James Rowland
Noise - Matthew Saville
Romulus, My Father - Nick Drake

Best Cinematography
Clubland - Mark Wareham ACS
The Home Song Stories - Nigel Bluck
Noise - Laszlo Baranyai ACS
Romulus, My Father - Geoffrey Simpson ACS

Best Editing
Clubland - Scott Gray
The Home Song Stories - Denise Haratzis ASE
Noise - Geoff Hitchins
Romulus, My Father - Suresh Ayyar ASE

Best Sound
Clubland - Andrew Neil, Ian McLoughlin CAS, Liam Egan & Stephen Jackson-Vaughan
The Home Song Stories - Craig Carter, James Harvey, Andrew Neil & John Wilkinson
Noise - Emma Bortignon, Doron Kipen & Philippe Decrausaz
Romulus, My Father - Sam Petty, Gary Wilkins CAS & Phil Heywood

Best Original Music Score
The Home Song Stories - Antony Partos
Noise - Bryony Marks
Razzle Dazzle - Roger Mason & Green Dragon
Romulus, My Father - Basil Hogios

Best Production Design
Clubland - Nell Hanson
The Home Song Stories - Melinda Doring
Noise - Paddy Reardon
Romulus, My Father - Robert Cousins

Best Costume Design
Clubland - Emily Seresin
The Home Song Stories - Cappi Ireland
Razzle Dazzle - Ariane Weiss
Romulus, My Father - Jodie Fried

Best Lead Actor
Qi Yuwu - The Home Song Stories
Brendan Cowell - Noise
Eric Bana - Romulus, My Father
Kodi Smit-McPhee - Romulus, My Father

Best Lead Actress
Brenda Blethyn - Clubland
Joan Chen - The Home Song Stories
Kerry Armstrong - Razzle Dazzle
Franka Potente - Romulus, My Father

Best Supporting Actor
Frankie J. Holden - Clubland
Richard Wilson - Clubland
Marton Csokas - Romulus, My Father
Russell Dykstra - Romulus, My Father

Best Supporting Actress
Sibylla Budd - The Bet
Emma Booth - Clubland
Irene Chen - The Home Song Stories
Esme Melville - Romulus, My Father

SPECIAL AWARD NOMINEES

International Award for Best Actor
Eric Bana - Lucky You
Julian McMahon - Nip/Tuck
Hugh Jackman - The Prestige
Dominic Purcell - Prison Break

International Award for Best Actress
Rachel Griffiths - Brothers & Sisters
Rose Byrne - Damages
Jacinda Barrett - The Last Kiss
Toni Collette - Little Miss Sunshine

Young Actor Award
Irene Chen - The Home Song Stories
Joel Lok - The Home Song Stories
Corey McKernan - Lockie Leonard
Kodi Smit-McPhee - Romulus, My Father

AFI Visual Effects Award
Air Australia: Canvas & Sticks - David Rutherford, Reigy Skwarko, Paul Siciliano & Delon Govender
Crocodile Dreaming - Kirsty Millar & Chad Malbon
Rogue - Andrew Hellen, Dave Morley & Jason Bath
Spider - Mike Seymour

Topics