2017 Host

Lee Lin Chin was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, of Chinese extraction, and is best known as a newsreader on SBS. Beginning with the network as a translator for Chinese-language films, she later worked for ABC Radio and then in 1992 returned to SBS as the face of SBS World News, a role she holds to this day. This long-standing role has made her one of Australia’s most recognizable television personalities and journalists.

Her early career included small acting roles in Bangkok Hilton (1989), which was produced by APSA FIAPF Outstanding Achievement in Film recipient Dr George Miller, and Resistance (1992). In recent years, Chin has expanded her on-screen presence on SBS with presenting roles on current affairs comedy program The Feed and as the face of Australia during the Eurovision Song Contest telecast to an international audience of over 200-million. She also regularly appears in various capacities across the SBS website and On Demand service.

In 2016, Lee Lin Chin became the first SBS personality in the network’s 36-year history to be nominated for the Gold Logie, a popular Australian entertainment award. She has experienced a rapid rise in pop-culture thanks to social media. With a worldly outlook, her personal interests include international affairs, history, literature, and the arts.

David Wenham is one of Australia’s most revered and popular actors. Since his breakthrough in the acclaimed crime drama The Boys (1998) and much-loved Seachange (1998-1999), Wenham has remained one of the Australian industry’s biggest stars with memorable roles in Better Than Sex (2000), Gettin’ Square (2003) and Oranges and Sunshine (2010) alongside international box office-conquering hits like The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003), 300 (2006) and Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! (2001) and Australia (2008).

In addition to appearing on stage in The Crucible and doing voice work in two APSA-nominated animated feature films, Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (2010) and Blinky Bill: The Movie (2015), Wenham has also ventured into directing. The short film Commission was a part of the APSA-nominated omnibus feature The Turning (2013), and his feature debut Ellipses (2017) received its world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival.

Nominated for 13 AACTA Awards, winning three, Wenham has recently appeared in Lion (2016), an Academy Award® and APSA nominee, and the international box office hit Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Other high profile roles include the television mini-series Wake in Fright (2017), Top of the Lake (2013) and its sequel Top of the Lake: China Girl (2017).