As Hollywood awards season gets underway with ceremonies such as the Golden Globes and Emmys, Australia's entertainment industry prepares for its own version of the Oscars next month.
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) is set to host the 2024 AACTA Awards on the Gold Coast, with the return of the highly-celebrated AACTA Audience Choice Awards.
TikTok sensation Jeremy Franco is on the short list for the Favourite Australian Digital Creator award, which is voted for by fans. The category is one of seven included in the AACTA Audience Choice Awards, alongside Favourite TV Show, Favourite Film, Favourite Actress, Favourite Actor, Favourite Australian Sporting Moment and Favourite Australian Media Personality. Franco is up against several other digital creators including the likes of Millie Ford, Kat Clark and Jimmy Jan.
With his family originally from Goa, Franco was born in Mumbai and spent the first few years of his life living between India and Hong Kong before moving to Australia when he “was around the age of five or six”.
After posting his first video in 2020, he steadily attracted a growing audience, which is currently at over 490,000 TikTok followers and more than 206,000 Instagram followers.
“I think I always knew I wanted to be in the entertainment industry but never thought it possible as it was never going to be a means to please my parents,” Franco previously told Draw Your Box. “I always loved creating content. Making videos was always something fun for me to do, regardless of whether I had an audience or not.”
When it comes to South Asian nominations at the AACTA Awards overall, The Disposables is nominated in the Best Online Drama or Comedy category. Directed by Renny Wijeyamohan and starring lead, Sumi Gunaratnam, the ABC production explores refugees, the environment and Sri Lankan Tamil identity. Other shows nominated in the category are Appetite, Latecomers, Me & Her(pes), Monologue, Wilkins and The Future of Everything.
Voting is now open for the AACTA Audience Choice Awards here and will close at 5pm AEDT, January, 25. The nominees will be announced on February, 4 and the winners will be announced on Saturday, February 10.