‘It’s a home-grown film’: Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge dominates Australian film awards
Gongs included best film and best director for Gibson, while actors Andrew Garfield and Hugo Weaving also won
Mel Gibson and his new movie Hacksaw Ridge have swept the board at the Australian film awards in a return from the wilderness for the “choked up” Oscar-winner.
Gibson returned to his Australian roots to direct his first film in a decade, the true story of a conscientious objector who saved 75 men during the Battle of Okinawa in the second world war.
It tells of Desmond Doss who enlists and is determined to save lives on the front line as a medic, but refuses to carry a gun on moral grounds.
Watch: Mel Gibson on his new movie Hacksaw Ridge
Since its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Hacksaw Ridge has generated Oscars buzz and was recognised by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts with nine gongs at their annual awards ceremony in Sydney late on Wednesday.
They included best film and best director for Gibson, while the movie’s lead and supporting actors, Andrew Garfield and Hugo Weaving, also won.