Australian Writers' Guild Awards: 'The Code,' 'Jasper Jones,' 'Skyrim' mod
Thriller series "The Code" won the Australian Writers Guild's Major Award for a second time, while teenage murder mystery "Jasper Jones," romantic comedy "Ali's Wedding," and a comprehensive, unofficial fan-made storyline to fantasy video game "Skyrim" were among other winners.
Already a critical and global hit following a gripping first season in 2014, "The Code" returned to Australian TV screens at the start of September with a refreshed cast and another plotline's worth of hot-button issues.
Dan Spielman, Ashley Zukerman and Adele Perovic have been retained as the investigative journalist and computer hacker brother pairing with their activist friend; Golden Globe and Emmy award winner Anthony LaPaglia is among the cohort of newcomers.
But it was series creator, writer and producer Shelley Birse who was fêted at the 2016 Australian Writers Guild awards this past weekend.
"This year's award makes it the only series in history to have been recognized by two Major Awards for both of its seasons," explained the Australian Writers Guild, while "The Code" also received the AWGIE for original television miniseries.
Also featuring among the 31 award categories at the 49th Annual AWGIE Awards were feature films "Jasper Jones" and "Ali's Wedding."
The writing for "Jasper Jones" won the Feature Film - Adaptation category; a 2017 release is expected for the murder mystery that sees Levi Miller of "Pan" become a teenage detective, trying to put together the pieces in a murder investigation that has Angourie Rice ("The Nice Guys,") Hugo Weaving ("Matrix" and Peter Jackson's Tolkien franchises) and Toni Collette ("United States of Tara") among its cast members.
Original author Craig Silvey has his novel shortlisted for the International IMPAC, while Shaun Grant of "Snowtown" adapts for the screen.
"Ali's Wedding" uses the romcom rubric to take a look at the life of a young Muslim man whose romantic aspirations play out at the intersection of conflicting cultural expectations: Australian comedian Osamah Sami, who co-created web series "Two Refugees & a Blonde," stars in and co-wrote "Ali's Wedding" with Andrew Knight, and it debuts at the Adelaide Film Festival at the end of October.
And a fan-made add-on for sprawling fantasy video game "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" also made the grade, with Nick Pearce's "The Forgotten City" named best in Interactive Media.
The free download for the PC edition of "Skyrim" -- and soon, the Xbox One version, its creator says -- sinks players into a dwarven city threaded through with a murder-mystery storyline.
