SYDNEY—Critically acclaimed films Balibo and Samson & Delilah have topped this year's AFI Awards nominations, while Baz Luhrmann's blockbuster Australia missed out on the major awards categories.
Political thriller Balibo picked up 14 nominations, closely followed by Samson & Delilah which scored 13.
Some 26 Aussie films were vying for nomination at this year's awards, and a record six received best film nominations.
Balibo, Beautiful Kate, Blessed, Mao's Last Dancer, Mary and Max, and Samson & Delilah will battle it out for top honours.
AFI chief executive Damian Trewhella said this one-off increase reflected the strength of the local industry in 2009, which recorded box office figures of more than $65 million over the past 12 months.
"This really is a stellar year for our screen industry," he said as the nominations announcement in Sydney on Wednesday.
"Accordingly it's created an intensely competitive awards cycle, that's included a record number of entries across many categories."
The year's highest grossing film, Australia, claimed nine nominations but in mostly technical categories such as best sound and best production design.
Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman were notably absent from the best actor and actress categories, but young star Brandon Walters was recognised with a best supporting actor nod.
He was also among an expanded field of six up-and-coming actors to be nominated for the AFI young actor award.
Russell Crowe, Anthony LaPaglia, Guy Pearce and Martin Henderson are up for the AFI international award for best actor, with Toni Collette, Melissa George, Rose Byrne and Mia Wasikowska in the female equivalent.
Beautiful Kate clinched a total of 10 nominations, and Mao's Last Dancer got nine.
Beautiful Kate stars Sophie Lowe and Maeve Dermody are both in the running for acting gongs - Lowe for best lead actress and Dermody for best supporting actress.
Dermody said it was great to be a part of a film that the public had supported.
"It's been wonderful being in a film that people have actually gone to see," she said.
"Rarely does that happen with Australian film."
TV dramas Underbelly, False Witness and East West 101 received multiple nominations in the television section, while ratings-winner Packed To The Rafters is up for two trophies.
The AFI Awards will be held over two nights on December 11 and 12 at Melbourne's Regent Theatre, hosted by Julia Zemiro.
Zemiro, who hosted the non-televised industry awards night last year, said she was excited and just a bit nervous about taking on the major awards ceremony.
"I'm a little nervous about what I'm going to wear, because women are judged in a way that men aren't, so I'm putting a lot of thought into that," Zemiro said.
"But I do think people care about the AFIs, and they care if they get one or not. (Was that a dig at) the Logies? Yes it was."
