Non-Composer To Receive Screen Music Awards Honour

Acclaimed Australian director Bruce Beresford (Puberty Blues, Driving Miss Daisy, Mao's Last Dancer) is set to be honoured with the International Achievement Award at the 2012 Screen Music Awards, despite not being a composer.

Presented by APRA and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers, the Screen Music Awards aim to celebrate the achievements of screen composers. Though Beresford is a director organisers believe his work with composers during his seminal and Oscar-winning career is worthy of the International Achievement Award – which was last awarded in 2009. He has worked with Australian composers such as Christopher Gordon (Mao's Last Dancer), George Dreyfus (The Fringe Dwellers), Tim Finn and Les Gock (Puberty Blues) and Robert Alderslade (Breaker Morant).

“I'm delighted, flattered and rather surprised to be receiving the APRA-AGSC International Achievement Award, as I'm not a composer,” Beresford said today.

APRA|AMCOS CEO Brett Cottle added, “If a patron is someone who champions or sponsors a work then Bruce is certainly viewed as a patron of the art of film music by those who have been privileged to have worked with him. As a society that represents music creators, it gives us great pleasure to bestow this award on Bruce Beresford in recognition of his considerable international achievements as a film-maker and his specific commitment to creating opportunities for ground-breaking work by Australian screen composers.”

Since it was last awarded three years ago, the criteria for the honour – whose previous recipients include David Hirschfelder, Lisa Gerrad, Guy Gross, The Wiggles, Peter Best and Bruce Rowland – have been widened allowing Beresford's work in creating opportunities for composers to be recognised.

Christopher Gordon, the composer who worked on Mao's Last Dancer, will present Beresford with the award at the award ceremony, which will be held at BMW Edge at Melbourne's Federation Square Monday 19 November.

To be hosted by The Chaser's Andrew Hanson and Chris Taylor, award presenters for the night have been announced. Actor Jack Thompson, composer Cezary Skubiszewski, director Ian Darling and musician Peter Luscombe, actor Lachy Hulme, and actors Tom Wren and Melanie Vallejo will present awards. There'll also be appearances from actor Don Batte and The Sapphires co-writer Tony Briggs.

The musical performances have also been revealed with Electric Empire performing a song from The Sapphires and Kira Puru will perform Lonely Child, the theme from Redfern Now. Snippets from the Feature Film Score Of The Year nominees will be performed interspersed throughout the event by Paul Grabowsky's ensemble.

The full list of nominees – including Lisa Gerrard and Custard songwriter Dave McCormack – is available here.