The inaugural Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards honored Michel Hazavanicius's film with three awards.
Replacing the Australian Film Institute Awards, the brand new Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA), whose president is the actor Geoffrey Rush, announced their first international awards on Friday, January 27, 2012, in Los Angeles.
Jean Dujardin was voted Best Actor, beating out stars such as George Clooney (The Descendants) and Brad Pitt (Moneyball). The Artist was also elected Best Film, honoring its producer Thomas Langmann, while Michel Hazavanicius waltzed off with the award for Best Director. The only category in which The Artist was not the big winner was for Best Screenplay, which was jointly awarded to The Ides of March (George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon) and Margin Call (J.C. Chandor). Meryl Streep picked up Best Actress honors for The Iron Lady.
The official ceremony of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards will take place January 31, 2012, in Sydney.
