2009 Australian Film Institute Awards

The 51st Annual Australian Film Institute Awards ceremony, honouring the best in film and television acting achievements for 2009 in the cinema of Australia, took place over two nights on 5 December 2009 and 11 December 2009 at the Regent Theatre, Melbourne and broadcast on the Nine Network.

During the ceremonies, the Australian Film Institute presented Australian Film Institute Awards (AFI awards) in 40 categories, including feature films, television, animation, and documentary. The ceremony was hosted by Julia Zemiro of SBS's RocKwiz.

Nominations were announced on 28 October 2009, with Balibo receiving the most with 14 in total. A new award introduced in 2009 was for the highest grossing film, recognising box office figures exceeding $65 million in the previous 12 months.

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface; with nominees thereafter.

AFI Award for Outstanding Achievement in Television Screen Craft

 * Luke Jurevicius. Figaro Pho. For "Creative Excellence"

AFI Award for Outstanding Achievement in Short Film Screen Craft

 * Andrew McLeod. Water. For "Cinematography"

AFI International Award for Excellence in Filmmaking
* presented at the AFI Outstanding Achievement Dinner in August.
 * Nathan McGuinness. Senior Visual Effects Supervisor

AFI Raymond Longford Award*

 * Geoffrey Rush

Byron Kennedy Award
* presented at the AFI Outstanding Achievement Dinner in August.
 * Ray Brown

Multiple nominations

 * Fourteen: Balibo
 * Thirteen: Samson and Delilah
 * Ten: Beautiful Kate
 * Nine: Mao's Last Dancer
 * Eight: Australia