Some years have just one hit Australian film. With Elvis and The Stranger, these AACTA Awards had two.

There was more emerging talent both in front of and behind the camera in the ABC’s Mystery Road: Origins, which shows Indigenous storytelling continues to be a strength of the screen industry. It won ahead of Bump, The Tourist and Wolf Like Me (all Stan*), Heartbreak High (Netflix) and Love Me (Binge, Foxtel).

That shows how much quality Australian drama has shifted away from commercial TV networks to streaming services. The executives of these streamers will doubtless argue that this means there is no need for Australian content quotas but many writers, directors, producers and actors know that quotas will be just as necessary in future as they were for networks Seven, Nine and Ten in past decades.

In the growth phase, every steaming service wants high-profile Australian films and TV projects. But when the market matures – and there are fewer streamers and inevitable cost-cutting – there will be fewer doors for Australian producers to knock on.

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The nominees for best miniseries were stronger for free-to-air networks, with The Twelve (Binge, Foxtel) winning from Barons and Savage River (both on the ABC), True Colours (SBS) and Underbelly: Vanishing Act (Nine Network).

A reboot of 1990s high school drama Heartbreak High for Netflix could have been a listless exercise in nostalgia, but it has turned out to be a breath of fresh air for Australian drama.

Its successful first season has unearthed writing talents led by series creator Hannah Carroll Chapman and a cluster of talented young actors, including James Majoos, Ayesha Madon, Thomas Weatherall and Chloe Hayden.

If The Stranger shows overseas viewers a troubling Australia they might recognise from Animal Kingdom, Snowtown, Wolf Creek and Nitram, Heartbreak High shows a more modern version: multicultural, energetic, gender diverse and representative of different social classes.

The downside? As with other quality films and shows on streamers, if you don’t have whatever platforms these great films and TV shows are on – Netflix, Disney+, Prime, Stan and the rest – you don’t see it.

But the AACTA Awards confirm their quality and act as a guide for viewers who want to seek them out.

*Stan is owned by Nine, which also owns this masthead.

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