2025 Jury Awards announced at Opening Night Gala
- Made in the West Film Festival
- Nov 23
- 6 min read
Congratulations everyone! Last night's event was spectacular, with a packed red carpet and 300 people who came out in style to celebrate the launch of our biggest festival season yet!
The red carpet was buzzing before the show, packed with filmmakers, cast, crew, and our festival photographers at the media wall.
Our TV crew captured filmmaker interviews while the bubbles flowed and sponsors and judges had a chance to meet the filmmakers who submitted films this year.
To every single filmmaker who helped us open festival season last night - bravo to you!
Your stories lit up the V-max big screen at Event Cinemas Liverpool, reminding us why Western Sydney is one of the most exciting creative hot spots in the country.
We can't wait to show you the entire program in the weeks ahead! There are 22 more amazing films in our program this year, curated among 8 short film marathon sets that are playing all summer long on screens in our local suburbs. Have you seen the full program?
Made in the West has never really been about the awards – it's actually about coming together to share our creative ideas and celebrate our wins.
Whether you are cheering for a friend, reconnecting with former collaborators, or discovering new talent for the first time, you are the ones who make this year's event unforgettable.
To everyone who came along last night to Opening Night Gala event – thank you for bringing so much energy to the room!
You made the night electric for all the filmmakers participating and our team got a real kick out of hosting such a vibrant crowd.
Western Sydney stories belong on the big screen!
Last night's event was a wonderful start to a bumper season of short films made right here in the West, and proved why the support for this community continues to grow stronger every year.
Here's to the filmmakers, the fans, and everyone who made the 2025 Opening Night a celebration to remember!
Big thanks to Event Cinemas Liverpool for supporting the Western Sydney film scene as our venue sponsors and to our screen sponsors for their crucial support.
Thanks also to our crew and volunteers, MC and hosts, photographers, prize sponsors, and all the cinema staff that helped us bring together a wonderful night.
This year's Opening Night Gala Official Selection included 14 short films that are gutsy, poignant, and laugh out loud funny – our local filmmakers really brought their A-game this year.
One of our festival judges, Peter Millynn, described this year's lineup as "an unbelievable flock of high concept, high production value and delicately acted films" – and we couldn't agree more.
We say it all the time and we mean it – Western Sydney creatives are making some of the best films in the country right now!
How lucky are we to be a part of a community that is so driven, so unapologetically authentic, and so fresh on screen? There's nowhere else in the country doing what we're doing right now and we should all be so proud!
But here's the best part – Opening Night was just the beginning! This year, Made in the West has transformed into a three-month festival season, and we're taking Western Sydney films to more people than ever before.
From Monday 1 December through Saturday 28 February, you can catch our Marathon Summer Sessions screening across Western Sydney at venues in Liverpool, Campbelltown, Bankstown, and Parramatta.
Plus, our MEGA Movie Marathon will be streaming online around the world throughout the entire summer!
Check out the full 2025 Program on our website to find a screening near you, or stream the festival only from the comfort of your couch for $19.95 (full 3-hour marathon) or $9.95 (curated sessions).
This year's line-up spans all genres – from thriller to coming of age, comedy to drama, doco's and action-packed adventures, plus we have some fantastic music videos too. It's a mixed bag, just as we like it!
And here's something exciting – by attending our in-person screenings or watching online, you'll have the chance to vote for the People's Choice Award!
The winning filmmaker will take home a massive $3,500 camera equipment prize package thanks to Panavision Australia, announced at our Closing Night Party on Saturday 28 February.
That's right – we're closing out the festival season with a spectacular celebration at The Joan in Penrith, where we'll announce the winners of the People's Choice Award, Genre Awards, and our new Next Generation Awards.
It's going to be the perfect finale to an incredible summer of Western Sydney storytelling!
Hats off to our panel of judges for selecting the 2025 winners – we certainly couldn't have done it! Their scores combined determine the winners of our top awards, plus cast & crew were nominated for individual category awards based on the judges' recommendations.
Made in the West Creative is proud to present the 2025 Jury Award winners:
BEST DIRECTOR – Sophie Siersier for Oi
BEST SCREENPLAY – Laneikka Denne for Oi
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER – Kamil Domaradzki for No Right Turn
BEST EDITOR – Matthew John Pearson for De-Comm
BEST SOUND DESIGN – Adrian Castro for Tiger Cop: Project A
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – Mark Tvrdeic for HOLD.
BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE – James Mountain for Oi
BEST LEAD ACTOR – Laneikka Denne for Oi
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – Adrian Dieguez for A Blacktown Ballad
All finalists were also in the running for prizes, thanks to our wonderful sponsors. You can see the full list of awards and prizes on our website, with more than $32,000 worth of opportunities up for grabs this year!
All films were in the running for our major trophies for Best in the West (for indie filmmakers), Best Student Film, and Best Music Video.
Of course, the room erupted with cheers as the winners were announced. We want to give a HUGE shout out to the runners up in these categories:
2025 Runner-up Best Music Video: I Don't Wanna: Sarah Jane & The Noise – submitted by Luke Agius and nominated for Best Editor
2025 Runner-up Best Student Film: Azadi – submitted by Clinton Gill and nominated for Best Screenplay
2025 Runner-up Best in the West: No Right Turn – submitted by Kamil Domaradzki and nominated for Best Director, Screenplay, Cinematographer (WINNER), Editor, Production Design, Original Music Score, Lead Actor and Supporting Actor
These amazing films deserve a round of applause!
And of course, you must save your most rapturous standing ovation for our 2025 WINNERS!
The award goes to….
2025 Best Music Video WINNER: Always: Sonic Mantra - submitted by Matthew C. Vella and nominated for Best Director
2025 Best Student Film WINNER: The Colour of Black – submitted by Melika Azimi and nominated for Best Director, Cinematographer, Screenplay, Lead Actor, Supporting Actor and Original Music Score
2025 Best in the West WINNER: Oi – submitted by Laneikka Denne and nominated for Best Director (WINNER), Screenplay (WINNER), Cinematographer, Sound Design, Original Music Score (WINNER), Lead Actor (WINNER) and Production Design
We had so many attendees commenting on the quality of films in the line-up and tensions were high as the final votes were being counted for the highly coveted Audience Choice Award. But in the end, there could only be one…
Congratulations to:
2025 Audience Choice Award WINNER: Tiger Cop: Project A – submitted by Adrian Castro and nominated for Best Editor, Sound Design and Supporting Actor
CUE APPLAUSE
Congratulations again to all cast & crew involved in the making of this year's films and thank you to everyone who joined us last night – we had a blast and we hope you enjoyed your night too.
And of course, we're not done yet!
The festival season is just getting started, and we have an entire summer of Western Sydney films ahead of us.
Tell your friends and family to join us at one of our Marathon Summer Sessions in Bankstown, Campbelltown, Parramatta or Liverpool!
With your help, we can grow the audience for local films this summer and we'll be on our way to a regular spot in the cinema, folks - and isn't that what we all want?
Western Sydney filmmakers' works up on the big screen for all to enjoy!
And of course, if your favourite people are out of town or living overseas, they can stream the MEGA Movie Marathon online too!
All viewers will get to vote for their favourite film, to determine the winner of the 2025 People's Choice Award and our $3500 Panavision prize!
Check out the 2025 Program on our website for the full list of films we're featuring this summer, screening dates and venues, plus links to all the filmmakers on social media so you can follow their work and find pics from last night's event on the red carpet.
You can check out the live stories and audience videos from the night on our Instagram highlights too!
Speaking of which, we'll be sharing all the photos from the red carpet in the coming weeks, so keep an eye on our socials for those.
Keep an eye out for us (and our photographers!) at some of the Marathon Summer sessions too! We'll be there to host post-screening networking drinks with all the Western Sydney cast & crew who attend.
And of course, our 2025 Red Carpet Highlights Reel will come at the end of the season, featuring interviews with some of this year's Official Selection and the best film moments from the festival in-cinema, around town, and on the red carpet.
It's great to see Western Sydney filmmakers enjoying the spotlight and we're proud to be sharing your stories on cinema screens in all four corners of our city, and with more people than ever before. What an amazing opportunity!
So join us at screenings across the region, tune in online, cast your vote for the People's Choice Award, and help us make this three-month festival season one for the history books.
Thanks again for a great night, everyone – YOU ROCK!!