The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) has named Bruna Papandrea as the recipient of the AACTA Byron Kennedy Award for 2024.
Established in 1984, the Byron Kennedy Award is named after Dr. George Miller‘s filmmaking partner and Mad Max co-creator Byron Kennedy. The award includes a cash prize of $10,000 and is determined by an appointed jury.
Papandrea will be presented with the Award by Simon Baker at the 2024 AACTA Awards ceremony, recognizing her contributions to the screen industry.
The AACTA Awards – presented by Foxtel Group – will be hosted by Rebel Wilson and held on Saturday 10 February at HOTA on the Gold Coast.
Bruna Papandrea is the founder and CEO of Made Up Stories, an award-winning producer behind shows such as Wolf Like Me, Amazon Prime’s The Lost Flowers Of Alice Hart, Apple TV+’s Roar, and Binge’s Strife. She won an Emmy and Golden Globe for her work on HBO’s Big Little Lies.
In film, Papandrea’s and Made Up Stories contributions include Netflix’s Luckiest Girl Alive, and notable Australian movies such as AACTA-winning film The Nightingale, Little Monsters, Penguin Bloom, and The Dry.
Bruna Papandrea said “It is truly an honour to be recognised by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time – George Miller and his brilliant partner Doug Mitchell – and the legacy of the incomparable Byron Kennedy. I have long been a fan of their bold, innovative work and their commitment as filmmakers to produce that work in Australia and take it to the world.
“They really inspired me to create Made Up Stories and find my own way of continuing this country’s tradition of telling provocative, courageous and entertaining stories. Thank you to Kennedy Miller Mitchell and AACTA for celebrating our industry and for this great honour.”
The 2024 AACTA Awards Ceremony will be broadcast on Channel 10 at 7pm AEDT, Saturday 10 February. A director’s cut including all awards from the ceremony will be available at 7:30pm on Sunday 11 February on BINGE and Foxtel On-Demand.