Kiwi actress Emily Barclay has scored another award for her mantlepiece after winning Best Lead Actress at the L'Oreal Paris 2006 Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards in Melbourne last week for her performance in Suburban Mayhem.

Empire Magazine described her performance as "sensationally out-there...alluring and repellent".Kiwi actress Emily Barclay has scored another award for her mantlepiece after winning Best Lead Actress at the L'Oreal Paris 2006 Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards in Melbourne last week for her performance in Suburban Mayhem.

Empire Magazine described her performance as "sensationally out-there...alluring and repellent".In the film, Barclay plays Katrina Skinner, a 19 year-old, out-of-control single mum, who plans to murder her father when he threatens to contact social services and take away her child. Urban Cinefile critics said "Emily Barclay's Katrina is a wonderful invention. Barclay is sensational."

Competition for Barclay in the Best Lead Actress category included Teresa Palmer for 2:37, Abbie Cornish for Candy, and Laura Linney for Jindabyne. The award was presented to her by actor Heath Ledger.

The Suburban Mayhem cast also received two more AFIs - Anthony Hayes (Look Both Ways) won Best Supporting Actor, and Mick Harvey (composer for Chopper) won Best Original Music Score.

The AFI Awards are the Australian film and television industry's longest running and most prestigious awards ceremony. Recognised internationally, the AFI Awards are the premier event of Australian film culture, acknowledging excellence in a broad range of categories that cover Feature Film, Television, Documentary, Short Fiction and Short Animation.

Barclay's accolades include Best Actress at the 2005 NZ Screen Awards and Most Promising Newcomer at the 2005 British Independent Film Awards, both for her role in the Kiwi film In My Father's Den.

Image: Emily Barclay as 'Katrina' in Suburban Mayhem.