The AFI Awards - and how to win them?

In marked contrast to last year, when 'Somersault' (Cate Shortland, 2004) had a solo starring spot at the AFI awards with virtually no supporting cast to speak of, the 2005 awards are looking more like a real competition. And this reflects the year's releases that have led up to it. In 2004, The Age could run an article called, with ineffable good taste and wit, 'Crappy days are here again', in which the author could rightly say, 'looking at this year's AFI Awards line-up, it's fair to say it's time to start worrying', and query whether it would be better simply to skip a year if the field is too meagre to warrant handing out prizes.