The Casting Guild of Australia celebrated its 8th annual CGA Awards on Friday evening at a ceremony at Holding Redlich Melbourne hosted by Julia Morris and Nazeem Hussain.
Leading the 2022 CGA Awards was Anousha Zarkesh, who took home a record-breaking four Awards at the Ceremony; her work on Preppers earned her the award for ‘Best Casting in a TV Comedy’, along with ‘Best Casting in a Tele-Movie/Miniseries’ for Bali 2002, ‘Achievement in Casting’ for The Australian Wars and, for a consecutive year, ‘Best Casting in a Feature Film’ with We Are Still Here.
Amanda Mitchell scooped the award for ‘Best Casting in a TV Drama’ for her work on Heartbreak High, with Tom McSweeny and David Newman taking out ‘Best Casting in a Short Film’ for The Moths Will Eat Them Up.
First-time nominees Lisa Campbell and Mathew Waters walked away with the gongs for ‘Best Casting in a Theatre Production’ and ‘Best Casting in a TVC’ respectively. The former for her work on the Tony Award winning, Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Waters for his work on SBS – We All Speak.
Nick Hamon and Amy Mete secured the top prize in ‘Best Casting in a TVC – Community’ for the R U OK? campaign.
The CGA also officially crowned Australia’s top emerging talent of 2022, highlighting ten extraordinary actors with the potential to break out on the world stage.
This year’s CGA Rising Stars include Christopher Bunton (Nude Tuesday, Wolf Like Me Series 2), Hattie Hook (Ten Pound Poms, Savage River), James Majoos (Heartbreak High), Mabel Li (Safe Home, New Gold Mountain), Maggie (Max) McKenna (Jagged Little Pill), Michelle Lim Davidson (After the Verdict, The Newsreader), Sana’a Shaik (Summer Love, Class of ‘07), Shaka Cook (Kid Snow, Hamilton), Steph Tisdell (Total Control, Class of ‘07) and Tuuli Narkle (Bad Behaviour, Mystery Road: Origin).
The CGA Awards is the only casting awards ceremony in the southern hemisphere that celebrates and recognises casting across all mediums including film, television, advertising, theatre and online content. The annual Awards Ceremony seeks to acknowledge and support the role casting directors play in bringing together great casting opportunities both on a national and international stage.
The full list of 2022 CGA Award winners include:
Best Casting in A Feature Film
We Are Still Here – Anousha Zarkesh
Best Casting in a TV Drama
Heartbreak High – Amanda Mitchell
Best Casting in a TV Comedy
Preppers – Anousha Zarkesh
Best Casting in a Telemovie/Miniseries
Bali 2002 – Anousha Zarkesh
Best Casting in a Short Film
The Moths Will Eat Them Up – Tom McSweeney and David Newman
Best Casting in a Theatre Production
Moulin Rouge! The Musical – Lisa Campbell
Best Casting in a TVC
SBS – We All Speak – Mathew Waters
Best Casting in a TVC – Community
R U OK? – Nick Hamon and Amy Mete
Achievement in Casting
The Australian Wars – Anousha Zarkesh