The 51st Annual Australian Film Institute Awards ceremony, honoring the best in film and television acting achievements for 2009 in the cinema of Australia, took place over two nights on 5 December 2009 and on 11 December 2009. During the ceremonies, the Australian Film Institute presented Australian Film Institute Awards (AFI awards) in 40 categories, including feature films, television, animation, and documentary. The ceremony was hosted by Julia Zemiro of SBS's RocKwiz. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface; with nominees thereafter.