The Australian Cinematographers Society was founded by a group of cinecamera people in Sydney in 1958, and the society now has a membership of over 1,700 Australia wide. Each state not only has it’s own branch, but a glitzy awards night, the winners from which go forward to a National Award ceremony next year. Irresistible was there to check out the hottest behind the camera talent in New South Wales.
At the dinner, NSW members Erika Addis and Meg White were awarded accreditation of the society and therefore the ability to adopt the post nominal letters ACS.
Soon after, life membership was awarded to John Lanser for his legal contributions to the society, and a Special Award was given to David Wakeley ACS for 65 years of membership and service.
The winners of the 2025 Awards are:
Student Cinematography
Gold Jake Frazer/ The Native Police
Silver Jonathon Le Grice/ Watch Me Burn
Bronze Gus De Vylder/ Ayana
John Bowring ACS TV Station Breaks & Promos
Silver Drew English/ACO 2026 tour promo
Bronze Liam Brennan/ 2025 Australian Swim Trials
Syd Wood ACS Local / National News
Gold Joel Stillone/ Ten News Plus – Bowel Cancer
Gold Joel Stillone/ Ten News Plus – Undertaker
Bronze Kevin Hudson ACS/ SBS Worldwide – Baba Lil
Music Videos
Gold Tom Black/ Dreamin by Dom Dolla
Bronze Tom Black/ Up In My Head by Ashwarya
Neil Davis International News
Gold Timothy Myers ACS/ 7 News – America Decides
Gold Daniel Loh / SBS – Border Migrants
Current Affairs
Gold Sissy Reyes/ 4 Corners / ABC – No Return
Gold Sissy Reyes/ 4 Corners / ABC – The Agent Inside
Gold Tom Hancock / Australian Story – Betrayal : The story of Hannah Grundy
Silver John Varga ACS / Indonesia Dirty Nickel Trade
Silver Joel Stillone / Foreign Correspondent – Copper Crime Wave
Bronze Timothy Myers ACS / 7 News – Walking Dead
Art, Innovation and Specialised Cinematography
Gold Jonathon Le Grice/ Death’s Peak
Silver Jon Shaw ACS/ Shark Kingdom IMAX 3D
Silver Mia Schirmer & Anna McGirr/ If / When
Bronze Caspar Mazzotti & Nick Robinson/ The Kimberley – Frilled Neck Lizard Hatching S1E1
Entertainment, Magazine and & Reality TV
Gold William Hayles/ DR Karl’s How Things Work – Ginger Beer
Gold Dave May ACS/ Love on The Spectrum (US)
Gold Roger Price/ Cheese – A Taste of Place
Silver Josh Flavell ACS/ Creative Types – Patricia Piccinini
Silver Aaron Smith ACS/ Creative Types – George Miller
Bronze Peter Mullins/ Gardening Australia Junior – Ep. 6
Corporate – Branding, Education & Events
Gold Jackson England/ Aman – Aman Residences Tokyo
Silver Josh Flavell ACS/ Scout Motors X Chris Hunt
Silver Daniel Loh/ Jeremy Wyatt
Bronze Courtney Jones/ Seascape by Patterson Associates
Branded Content and Advertising
Gold Tom Black/ 24 Hours of Wonderful – Marriott
Silver Tom Black/ Signature Stories – Marriott
Silver Nolan Verheij/ Hope in Health
Bronze Ian Tyley / ADT – Protect What You’ve Built
Commercials – Budget under $200K
Gold Jackson England/ AMAN – Amankora
Gold Jackson England/ Park Hyatt – Maldives Hadhaa
Gold Jackson England/ Suján Jawai
Silver Jackson England/ Suján Saher Bagh
Silver Zachary Hardaker/ With You at Every Turn
Bronze Borce Damcevski ACS/ Hendricks Gin
Commercials – Budget over $200K
Gold Don Buppapirak ACS/ Singapore Airlines – Expand your Comfort Zone
Gold Jani Häkli/ Go Mongolia
Silver Kieran Fowler NZCS ACS/ Stake
Silver Simon Ozolins ACS/ Vodafone Double Coverage
Bronze Jani Häkli/ Income Insurance – Sara
Documentaries
Gold Matt De Sousa/ Tokito: The 540 Day Journey of a Culinary Maverick
Gold Dimitri Zaunders/ The Golden Spurtle
Silver Dom West ACS/ Trade Secret
Silver Tom Bannigan ACS/ Yurlu Country
Bronze T. Oxford/ Bringing His Spirit Home
2nd Unit Cinematography
Gold Matt Windon/ Alien: Earth S1 E2 – Mr October
Bronze Josh Flavell ACS/ Heartbreak High S2 E4
Ron Taylor AM ACS & Valerie Taylor AM Wildlife & Nature
Gold Jack Riley & Nick Robinson/ The Kimberley S1 E1
Gold Dom West ACS/ Native
Gold Dean Cropp/ Goddess
Silver Abraham Joffe ACS/ Our Oceans – Elephant Seal Pup
Silver Woody Spark/ Meadows in the Blue
Bronze Ash Gibb/ Sea Otter 3D – Herring Spawning
17. Serial TV & Comedy Series
Gold Dave Cameron NZCS ACS/ Madam S1 E1
Gold Kate Cornish/ Optics S1 E1
Bronze Brendan Shaw ACS/ Bump S5 E3
16. Short Films
Gold T. Oxford/ Fracture
Silver Devamanikandan Kannaya Somu/ Interview with a Hero
Silver Darwin Schulze/ Bluebird
Bronze Nolan Verheij/ Strange Attractor
Drama Series – Budget under $1M
Gold Brendan Barnes SASC ACS/ Go S1 E6
Silver Drew English / Plum S1 E1
Drama Series – Budget $1M and Over
Gold Jules O’Loughlin ACS ASC/ The Old Man S2 E5
Gold Nicola Daley ACS BSC/ The Handmaids tale S6 E8 – Exodus
Gold Toby Oliver ACS/ Apple Cider Vinegar S1 E5 – Casseroles
Silver Henry Pierce ACS/ Call The Midwife Christmas Special Pt.1
Silver Dan Freene ACS / The Survivors S1 E6
Bronze Carolyn Constantine ACS/ Ten Pound Poms S2 E4
Feature Films – Budget under $5M – Cinema
Gold Meg White ACS/ Life Could be a Dream
Gold Brendan Barnes SASC ACS/ Hunting Jessica Brok
Silver Aemon Barzanji/ Bunny
Bronze Casimir Dickson ACS/ It Will Find You
Ross Wood Snr. ACS Judges Award for 2025 Best Entry
Art, Innovation & Specialised Cinematography Gold Winner
Jonathon Le Grice/ Death’s Peak
Feature Films – Budget $5M and Over – Cinema
Gold Garry Phillips ACS/ Kid Snow
Gold Andrew Commis ACS/ Inside
Gold Stephen Windon ACS ASC/ The Electric State
Silver Peter James ACS ASC/ The Travellers
Silver Peter McCaffrey/ Forgive Us All
Bronze Toby Oliver ACS / M3GAN 2.0
