Queensland production Unfinished Sky took home the Best Director award for Peter Duncan and Best Actress for Dutch leading lady Monic Hendrickx. Hendrickx reprised first performed the same role for the Dutch original, and was heavily awarded for her efforts (Best Actress at the Buenos Aires International Film Festival in 1999 and the Netherlands Film Festival for De Poolse Bruid in 1998). Unfinished Sky was also awarded for Best Production Design and the Best Editing.

Actor Hugo Weaving won a ‘Living Legend’ award, and Elissa Down’s The Black Balloon was awarded for its performance at the Australian box office.

Benjamin Gilmour and Carolyn Johnson won the Independent Spirit award for Son of a Lion, which also picked up the Best Music Award for Amanda Brown.

Other awards on the night went to; the first of the Tropfest feature fund slate September, which snapped up the award for Best Cinematography for Jules O’Loughlin; Cathy Henkel, Jeff Canin and Trish Lake picked up the award for Best Documentary for their socio-environmental documentary The Burning Season; up-and-coming filmmaker Erin White and producer Zyra McAuliffe picked up the award for Best Short Film, fOUR; Brisbane duo Joshua Beahan and Ruwan de Silva received the Best Animation award for their quirky short The Covenant of Mr Kasch; director Matthew Pond and producer Tina Lymberis took the Best Short Documentary award for their drag queen extravaganza Undressing Vanessa; Best Music Video award went to directors Angus and Julia Stone, Josh Groom and Andrew Yoole and producers Madeleine Milasas and Jodie Passmore for Just A Boy by Angus and Julia Stone; The Best Sound award went to Sam Petty for The Square; Kieran Darcy-Smith was recognised for Best Unproduced Screenplay (Memorial Day); actor Leon Ford was singled out for a Rising Talent Award, and Flickerfest was named Festival of the Year.