Can you believe it? This year we’re celebrating the 12th annual Made in the West Film Festival celebrating films that feature cast, crew and locations from Western Sydney.
We're so excited to introduce you to the awesome films that are part of this year’s Official Selection. Get ready folks! We’ve got some amazing films for you this year, and as always, Western Sydney filmmakers have brought the goods.
This year, we received 50 remarkable short films, all created in Western Sydney or featuring cast and crew members from the region. That's quite impressive!
Among them, you’ll find a few returning stars who have graced our line-ups in past years, an impressive set of music videos (which we’re sure is just a small slice of what’s out there in Western Sydney’s booming music scene), plus a fresh wave of emerging filmmakers making their mark on the scene, telling challenging and insightful stories with all the heart you've come to expect from filmmakers from the West.
Please give a thunderous round of applause to each and every one of this year's filmmakers – they all deserve your congratulations.
We wish we could include all of you in the festival, but our event's duration is limited. We received over seven hours of content this year, and only two hours will make it to the big screen this November.
So, it’s time to reveal the 18 short films included in this year’s line-up!!
These films represent the incredible diversity of our growing creative community, with all the drama, documentary, thrillers, comedy and horror you would expect, plus a few surprises, and more than a few films that will take you on a wild journey.
All 18 films will screen at Made in the West on Saturday 25 November at Event Cinemas Liverpool. Doors open at 6pm!
Without further ado, we proudly present the 2023 Official Selection:
A Corps in the Spotlight - Submitted by After You Productions
Arcade - Submitted by Bus Stop Films
Chained - Submitted by Aaron Waite
Death2Vinyl: Raj Mahal - Submitted by Matthew D. Taylor
Fields: Ashli - Submitted by Ashley Dawes
Hantu: Dyan Tai - Submitted by Shaun Parker
Heather’s Diary: Monstress - Submitted by Sarah Homeh
No Film Sets in Bankstown - Submitted by Alex Dona
Olden Eyes: Bineal Roy - Submitted by Cristobal Olguin
Shedding - Submitted by Emily Sutcliffe
Sweet Moment: Cosmo Blue - Submitted by Luke Walker
The Crab Pamilya - Submitted by Thomas Fleming
Tint - Submitted by Jack Voegt
Tony’s Dream - Submitted by Augusto Garcia
Too Many Ethnics - Submitted by Vonne Patiag
When Worlds Collide - Submitted by Esky Escandor
When You Go For a Take - Submitted by Martin Yeung
Yours Truly - Submitted by NJ Hartley
We’re excited for you all and can't wait to see your amazing films on the big screen at EVENT Cinemas on Saturday 25 November!
Have you seen this year’s HECTIC prize list??? We’re giving away $25,000 in prizes!!
The full details just dropped yesterday and we have to say, we’re absolutely blown away! This year’s trophy winners and the talented peeps who snag an individual category award are in for a real treat, thanks to our generous sponsors and partners, who have each contributed some amazing prizes to this year’s haul.
We want to give a HUGE THANKS to all of them for showing their support for the local community!
There are so many people who are getting behind the Western Sydney film community. From our wonderful Screen Sponsors who help us put on a great show each year, to our amazing prize sponsors who love connecting with local filmmakers, to our awesome judging panel that is deliberating as we speak!
So much is happening, and there’s still so much to come as we countdown to the festival!
This year's lineup will entertain you, make you laugh, surprise you, get you grooving in your seats, even tug at a few heartstrings – just as you've come to expect from Western Sydney filmmakers (consider yourself warned!).
We truly believe that every filmmaker who submitted a film this year deserves your congratulations.
From concept to creation, we know exactly how much effort goes into making a film, even if it's only a few minutes long. We salute you all for your dedication and hard work.
Western Sydney filmmakers undoubtedly possess incredible talent!
And every once in a while some special filmmakers come along – they embody the spirit and passion that we know is at the heart of all filmmaking and this shines through their work.
We think they deserve a mention:
12AM - Submitted by Pankaj Upadhayay
Mad Maxine - Submitted by Joseph Giannini
These filmmakers didn’t make it into the official selection, but we want to give them a shout out regardless, for having what we call the ‘Spirit of the West’ which involves a steadfast commitment to telling stories on screen and a joyful vision for what’s possible on a small budget film.
They might have missed out this year but we know that if they continue on the path they’re on, they will be in the festival line-up soon enough!
In the meantime we hope they, and all of this year’s entrants, will join us at the festival – after all, they’re all VIPs in our eyes! We can’t wait to host you all there.
Get ready for a jam-packed festival on Saturday 25 November! Featuring two segments of finalist films, two intermissions for networking and mingling, nine individual awards, four film trophies, and loads of love for the Western Sydney film community – it’s not to be missed!
Our huge V-max cinema comfortably seats 330 people (luxurious leather armchairs included) and foyer access to the bar (hello, espresso martinis!) and a massive three-story screen with surround sound – we love our festival home at EVENT Cinemas!
Stay tuned to our website and socials for updates – we’ll open tickets to the public on Monday!!
Can’t join us at the cinema? No worries! We're bringing the red carpet to you!
For the fourth year in a row, Made in the West’s MEGA movie marathon will be available after the show for you to stream on demand, all throughout the summer holidays.
We’ll be capturing all the fun of the red carpet and interviews with filmmakers so that folks at home and across the country can find #WesternSydneyFilms online!
That’s right! Just make some popcorn and your favourite beverage then settle in on the couch for Australia’s best short film marathon featuring all 19 finalist films. Stay tuned for more details – we'll be sharing more about our online program soon!
So no matter where you’ll be, tune in for Made in the West this year because you're in for a treat! We're looking forward to hosting you.
See you on the red carpet soon!