AACTA Award for Best Film

From 1969 to 2010, the category was presented by the Australian Film Institute (AFI), the Academy's parent organisation, at the annual Australian Film Institute Awards (known as the AFI Awards).^[1] When the AFI launched the Academy in 2011, it changed the annual ceremony to the AACTA Awards, with the current award being a continuum of the AFI Award for Best Film.^[1] From 2016 until 2020 it was named after its sponsor, and named "AACTA Award for Best Film Presented by Foxtel".^[2]

From 1969 to 1975, the award was presented as a gold, silver, bronze or grand prix prize, or in some years, a cash prize.^[3][4]

The first winner, Jack and Jill: A Postscript, was nominated in the "general" category of the 1969 awards, and received a silver prize.^[5][6] Because non-feature films dominated the Australian film industry at that time, the film was submitted in the general category.^[5][6] Despite this, it is considered the first winner by the Academy. From the 1976 Australian Film Awards, the award became competitive, and has been given as such since then.^[7]

To be eligible, the film must be Australian; consist of a dramatised story of at least 70 minutes duration; and be publicly exhibited in a commercial cinema for a minimum of seven consecutive days, in at least two capital cities (one of which is Sydney or Melbourne).^[8] The producer of the film is considered the nominee, and is presented the award upon winning.^[9]

The AACTA Award for Best film is presented by AACTA, a non-profit organisation whose aim is to "identify, award, promote, and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements in film and television".^[10] The award is presented at the annual AACTA Awards, which hand out accolades for achievements in feature film, television, documentaries and short films.^[11]

In the following table, the years listed correspond to the year of film release; the ceremonies are usually held the same year.^[A] Films in bold and in dark blue background have received a gold, silver, bronze or grand prix prize, or a cash prize; those in bold and in yellow background have won a regular competitive award. Films that are neither highlighted nor in bold are the nominees. When sorted chronologically, the table always lists the winning film first and then the other nominees.^[12][13]

• Shining a Light: 50 Years of the Australian Film Institute. Australian Teachers of Media. 2009. ISBN 978-1-876467-20-3.