AACTA Award for Best Cinematography

The AACTA Award for Best Cinematography is an award presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), a non-profit organisation whose aim is to "identify, award, promote and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements in film and television."^[1] The award is presented at the annual AACTA Awards, which hand out accolades for achievements in feature film, television, documentaries and short films.^[2] From 1976 to 2010, the category was presented by the Australian Film Institute (AFI), the Academy's parent organisation, at the annual Australian Film Institute Awards (known as the AFI Awards).^[3] When the AFI launched the Academy in 2011, it changed the annual ceremony to the AACTA Awards, with the current award being a continuum of the AFI Award for Best Cinematography.^[3]

Best Cinematography was first presented in 1976 Australian Film Institute Awards with the winner being chosen by the Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS). The award is presented to the cinematographer of a film that is Australian-made, or with a significant amount of Australian content. Russell Boyd, Peter James, Donald McAlpine and Geoffrey Simpson have won the award three times each, more than any other cinematographer. Boyd has received the most nominations with nine.