AUSTRALIANS IN FILM ANNOUNCES HONOREES FOR 2007 BREAKTHROUGH AWARDS

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (4/16/07) - Australians in Film, the preeminent LA based organization for expatriate Australians in the entertainment industry, announces its honorees for the 2007 Breakthrough Awards taking place on May 3rd, in Beverly Hills, Calif. This event celebrates the accomplishments of Australia’s brightest young talents emerging in Hollywood. The third annual Australians in Film Breakthrough Awards will honor Emilie De Ravin from the ABC television series “Lost” and, “The Hills Have Eyes”, Isla Fisher, currently starring in “The Lookout” and the upcoming “Wedding Daze” and Greg McLean, director of “Wolf Creek” and the upcoming film “Rogue.”

The exclusive, invitation-only event will be attended by 150 of the entertainment industry elite. Past recipients of the “Golden Boomerang” award are Jacinda Barrett, Jesse Spencer, James Wan & Leigh Wannell, Melissa George and Robert Luketic.

ABOUT THE HONOREES
Emilie de Ravin returns for the third season as a series regular on ABC’s Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning drama “Lost” from creator J.J. Abrams (“Felicity”/”Alias”). She plays ‘Claire,’ the surrogate mother who gave birth on the island last season and is one of the survivors of a plane crash.

de Ravin starred in the Fox Searchlight remake of the 1977 Wes Craven cult classic “The Hills Have Eyes”. Her independent film “Brick”, which played in competition at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2005, was picked up by Focus Features at the festival, and was re-released March 31, 2006 to critical acclaim. de Ravin is from Melbourne and has studied ballet since the age of 9.

Isla Fisher can currently be seen starring in “The Lookout”, written and directed by Scott Frank and also starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jeff Daniels. Upcoming films include “Hot Rod” with Andy Samberg of “Saturday Night Live,” “Wedding Daze” with Jason Biggs and written and directed by Michael Ian Black, as well as “Definitely, Maybe” with Ryan Reynolds and Rachel Weisz.

Fisher is most widely recognized for her critically acclaimed performance as Vince Vaughn's off-kilter love interest in the blockbuster “Wedding Crashers”.

Born in the Middle Eastern country of Oman, Fisher’s family moved to Perth in Western Australia when she was a young girl.

Greg McLean has been writing, directing and producing for over ten years. His experience extends across theatre, film and television. Greg attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), completing a graduate diploma in directing. His first feature was the independent success “Wolf Creek”, which was distributed internationally by The Weinstein Company and broke box office records in Australia for an ‘R’ rated release. The film played at Sundance, Cannes and Melbourne film festivals. The Weinstein Company also financed his second feature film – the recently completed thriller “Rogue”, which stars Radha Mitchell and Michael Vartan and is due for release at the end of 2007.

ABOUT AUSTRALIANS IN FILM
Australians In Film celebrates the work of Australian film and television makers by creating an environment in which Australians and Americans can foster a strong and long-lasting relationship through Australian screen culture and the individuals who create it. Founded in May 2001, Los Angeles-based Australians In Film hosts monthly screenings, premieres and special events and currently has over 500 members. Ambassadors include Australian Oscar-winning actors Cate Blanchett (The Aviator 2005), Nicole Kidman (The Hours, 2002), Russell Crowe (Gladiator, 2000) and Geoffrey Rush (Shine, 1996), Oscar-winning director Mel Gibson (Braveheart 1995, The Passion of the Christ, 2004) and 30 other internationally known stars and film-makers including Hugh Jackman, Fred Schepisi, Heath Ledger and Naomi Watts.

Australians In Film is proud to have the support of the Australian Government, and to be sponsored by AUSFILM, Penfolds & Rosemount Estate Wines, Qantas, MacCorkindale International Partners, Stacey Testro International, Tourism Australia, Austrade, Jurlique, Loeb & Loeb and Tourism Queensland. For further information please visit www.australiansinfilm.org.

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