Gold Coast to host AACTA Awards for next three years
Filmmaker Baz Luhrmann and designer Catherine Martin will lead celebrations as Queensland hosts the AACTA Awards and Festival, expected to deliver a $4.85m boost to the state’s economy.
The Gold Coast will host the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards and Festival for the next three years, in a move that Queensland Minister for Education and Arts John-Paul Langbroek said would deliver an estimated $4.85 million boost to the state’s economy.
“There’s a real wave of creativity coming out of Australia, that’s for sure,” film veteran Baz Luhrmann told the Australian, touching down for the AACTA’s official program announcement on Wednesday.
The Elvis director, alongside costume designer Catherine Martin have been named official ambassadors for the festival, joining AACTA President Russell Crowe, Vice President Nicole Kidman, ambassador Cate Blanchett and patron George Miller. “Nothing comes close to being acknowledged by your own home,” Luhrmann said.
Harking back to his early days growing up in Herons Creek, a tiny rural settlement in mid-northern NSW, Lurhmann said it was time to “give back” to the Australian film community, drawing on his early mentorships with director Peter Weir.
“He took time to sit down with me and talk about what goes into using a camera – that generation of filmmakers I looked up to always supported Aussie filmmakers generationally.”
Luhrmann and Martin’s relationship with the academy stretches back more than 35 years, to Strictly Ballroom’s sweep of the AFI Awards (the precursor to today’s AACTAs).
Next year’s festival, to be staged at HOTA, Home of the Arts, will run for five days in February and is expected to attract more than 15,000 visitors. It marks the continuation of the Gold Coast’s partnership with AACTA, which relocated from Sydney in 2024.
The AACTA Festival will feature more than 100 events and 300 speakers, spanning premieres, masterclasses, screenings and the AACTA Screen Careers Expo, which will link emerging talent with major studios such as Netflix, Paramount+, HBO Max and Foxtel.
“My advice for the younger generation – any generation – is don’t wait for permission [to make a film],” Luhrmann said.
“When I was younger, it was hard to get your hands on a camera. But every single person has a camera in their pocket and we see filmmaking happening from every unexpected quarter. Don’t wait for permission to be told you can.”
Program highlights include the Australian premiere of EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, filmed on the Gold Coast; the world premiere of Two Years Later starring Brenton Thwaites and Phoebe Tonkin; and a 30th-anniversary celebration of Shine, hosted by Margaret Pomeranz with director Scott Hicks and pianist David Helfgott.
Queensland Education and Arts Minister John-Paul Langbroek described the festival as a “global spotlight” for the state’s creative industries, jokingly comparing HOTA to “the Beverly Hills Hilton”.
Founded in 1958 as the Australian Film Institute Awards, the event was rebranded in 2011. Queensland Environment and Tourism Minister Andrew Powell said that retaining the AACTA Awards on the Gold Coast through to 2028 was a coup for the state.
“The AACTA Awards and accompanying festival are pivotal in elevating Queensland’s standing within the screen industry while amplifying its global profile,” Mr Powell said.
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