Mad Max: Fury Road continues its unstoppable glory lap around awards season, scooping best film at the fifth annual Aactas – the Aussie Oscars – on Wednesday night, as well as best director for the visionary George Miller, who rebooted the franchise.

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts avoided the tie that had Russell Crowe’s The Water Diviner and the horror flick The Babadook sharing the top honour at the last Aacta awards in January.

But while Miller’s return to the road beat the box office hit The Dressmaker to the academy’s vote, Jocelyn Moorhouse’s period drama still took home five of its 12 nominations, including the people’s choice award for favourite Australian film and three acting nods: best actress for Kate Winslet and best supporting actor and actress for Hugo Weaving and Judy Davis.

Michael Caton, celebrated for his comedic turn in 1997’s The Castle, was named best actor for his cast-against-type role in Last Cab to Darwin. “Comedies never win best actor,” he told journalists afterwards, “it’s always drama,” before thanking God for this opportunity – if God were a man named Jeremy Sims (the film’s director).

The biggest television winner was Peter Allen: The Boy Next Door, a biopic starring Joel Jackson as the older Allen and 14-year-old Ky Baldwin as his younger self. Both actors were rewarded, and the biopic took home best mini-series or drama.

The Aacta for best television actress went to Pamela Rabe for her chilling turn as Joan “The Freak” Ferguson in Wentworth, making it two for the actor who also picked up a Helpmann award this year.

Also rewarded was ABC’s Glitch, a boon for its star Patrick Brammall, whose film Ruben Guthrie didn’t get a look-in in the film categories. Holding the Man, directed by Neil Armfield, was also overlooked despite multiple nominations.

Cate Blanchett, tipped for a second Academy Award for best actress for Todd Haynes’ Carol, took home the Longford Lyell lifetime achievement award, joking that it was payback time for the years she had spent as an Aacta ambassador.

Directors including Bruce Beresford, Sam Raimi, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese and Alejandro González Iñárritu were among those who paid video tribute to the actor – as well as Gillian Armstrong in person, who recalled auditioning Blanchett as a Nida graduate.

She was presented with the award by her friends Hugo Weaving, who paid tribute to the young Melburnian drama student once known as “Cathy Blanket”, and Richard Roxburgh, who praised an actor who always gave her all.

Amid tears – “I’ve become one of those ridiculous people who cries, it’s just a fucking award” – Blanchett praised the Australian film industry as as “gem” and applauded its moves toward gender equality. “I think it’s fantastic Aactas is coming into the 21st century,” she said. “Because we just get on and do stuff, female achievement gets swept under the carpet, so it’s extraordinary to achieve this.”

Presenters on the night included Mel Gibson, Radha Mitchell and Rachel Griffiths, but on the red carpet, crowd excitement was reserved for the reality show winners Bindi Irwin of Dancing in the Stars, newly crowned X Factor singer Cyrus and Oddball the dog, star of the Aacta-nominated film of the same name.