Longford Lyell Award

First presented in 1968, the AACTA Longford Lyell Award is the highest honour that the Australian Academy can bestow upon an individual.

Originally known as the AFI | AACTA Raymond Longford Award, in honour of the great Australian film pioneer, Raymond Longford. The name of the Award was changed in 2015 following extensive industry consultation, in recognition of Raymond Longford's partner in filmmaking and in life, Lottie Lyell.

The AACTA Longford Lyell Award recognises a person who has made a truly outstanding contribution to the enrichment of Australia's screen environment and culture.

Director Ian Dunlop was the first recipient of the honour at the 1968 AFI Awards. Since then, many icons of the Australian screen industry have received the Award, including Peter Weir, Geoffrey Rush, Fred Schepisi, Jan Chapman, David Stratton, Don McAlpine, Sue Milliken, Al Clark, Jacki Weaver, Andrew Knight, Cate Blanchett and many more. Most recently the Award was presented to actor Bryan Brown at the 2018 AACTA Awards presented by Foxtel in Sydney in December 2018.

For the full list of Longford Lyell Award recipients, click here.