Content company Portal A has hired Lex Halaby as creative director. Halaby is a Palestinian-American director and creative director based in Los Angeles. He has worked independently for clients such as Netflix, Facebook, Universal Pictures, Coca-Cola, Snapchat, Budweiser, Hulu and Microsoft, among others. Halaby has been collaborating with Portal A as an independent director and creative director for over eight years, most recently working on Portal A’s the Ultimate Home Championship for YouTube Originals, Pokemon, and Google’s Interactive Series with the Try Guys, Google Chromebook’s YouTube series with Bill Nye, and The Best Snaps Show with Snapchat. Now on staff at Portal A, Halaby reports to Kai Hasson, co-founder and executive creative director….
“Better Man” Tops Australia’s AACTA Awards With 16 Nominations
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) has unveiled its domestic nominations for the 2025 AACTA Awards. Returning to the Gold Coast in February, the awards celebrate achievements in Australian film, television, documentary and online content.
Topping the film categories are cinematic heavyweights Better Man, How to Make Gravy, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Late Night with the Devil and Memoir of a Snail. Leading the race, the Robbie Williams-inspired Better Man picked up a record-breaking 16 nominations across film categories. This is followed closely by George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and streaming giant BINGE’s feature film debut How to Make Gravy securing 15 nominations each. Horror-favorite Late Night with the Devil secured 14 nominations while the animated gem Memoir of a Snail landed 11 nominations. Rounding out the Best Film category is Runt, which earned four nominations.
The nominees for Best Direction in Film are Michael Gracey for Better Man, George Miller for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Nick Waterman for How To Make Gravy, Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes for Late Night with the Devil, and Adam Elliot for Memoir Of A Snail.
In television, the critically acclaimed Boy Swallows Universe dominates with 22 nominations, including Best Miniseries and eight acting nominations, the most nominations for any production in AACTA history. Dylan River’s Thou Shalt Not Steal follows with nine nods, while Colin From Accounts and The Artful Dodger earn eight nominations each. Other standout productions include Exposure, Fake, Total Control, Fisk and Territory,... Read More