Announcing the 2025 Official Selection!
- Made in the West Film Festival
- Nov 6
- 6 min read
Updated: Nov 9
Made in the West has kicked off with a huge bang for our 14th annual film festival, and we’re back, bigger than ever!
Did you hear the news? We recently announced a new format for the festival, with additional screenings across Western Sydney so we can bring local stories to local screens like never before!
With eight different 2-hour movie marathon sessions screening across 5 venues throughout the summer season, you won’t have to travel far to find the year’s best short films near you!
It’s really very exciting, and we couldn’t do it without the support from our venue partners Event Cinemas Liverpool, Event Cinemas Campbelltown, Bankstown Arts Centre, Arts & Cultural Exchange Parramatta, and The Street University in Liverpool.
So, while we’re busy preparing for our biggest festival season ever, here is a recap of what to expect over the coming months:
Opening Night Gala – 6pm Saturday 22 November at Event Cinemas Liverpool
This is the in-cinema experience you’ve come to know and love. Tickets are open right now and will fly out the door – grab yours now to avoid disappointment!
Then, once summer hits, you will have TWO options on how to binge the year’s best short films made in Western Sydney:
NEW | Marathon Summer Series – special curated sets of films from the Official Selection line-up will screen at various locations across Western Sydney and right throughout summer. These in-person events cost $10 - $15.
MEGA Movie Marathon – our online festival component, streaming all summer long around the world, features a 3-hour line-up of Official Selection films tailored perfectly for our online audience. You can stream all of them for $20 or, for the first time ever, choose your own adventure by streaming one of our marathon sessions for $10.
The full festival experience, with red carpet interviews and highlights from the Opening Night, is the best bang for your buck, but with our new curated sets you can decide what kind of experience you want to have, or choose how you want to feel.
Maybe you’re keen to experience the Locked & Loaded set, full of action and adventure, or maybe you want the unsettling vibes or like the mystery and suspense of a Thrills & Chills set, or maybe you want to see the world through a fresh set of eyes in the Real World Stories set.
Once summer is nearly over, we’re going to tally up the votes from those who attended our in-person screenings and those who tuned in from around the world to reveal the winners of our People’s Choice Award, genre awards and new Next Generation awards at our Closing Night Party on Saturday 28 February at The Joan in Penrith.
Tickets to this special celebration start at $15 – though you can purchase a VIP ticket for $25 and get some front row seats to the winners' announcements and a glass of sparkling on arrival.
So, we're not in short supply of opportunities to celebrate this summer how amazing the filmmaking community is here out West!
Okay – now onto the big announcement. This year’s Official Selection.
Before we get there though (gosh we just love keeping you in suspense!) we HAVE to say this: we received more submissions this year than ever before! With a 50% increase on the last couple of years, and over 70 entries received, you’ve been BUSY and we commend you for it!
We have 36 films in the Official Selection program this year, which goes to show how diligently screen practitioners are working.
You’ve really stepped up your game in 2025 and that needs acknowledging. We can’t wait to showcase your hard work and celebrate with you and your crew!
Made in the West Creative proudly presents the 2025 Official Selection:
A Blacktown Ballad - Submitted by Herbert Leota
Agoge - Submitted by Adam Daniel
Always: Sonic Mantra - Submitted by Matthew Vella
Animus - Submitted by Eli Jackson
Azadi - Submitted by Clinton Gill
Contagious - Submitted by Thea OConor
De-Comm - Submitted by Salvatore Samperi
Destination Sophie - Submitted by Santhosh Murugesan
Duplicity - Submitted by Andrew Singh
Egg Law - Submitted by Dominic Colucci
Fasten Your Belts: Deo - Submitted by Amadeo Putro
Fun & Games - Submitted by Jeffrey Gordon
Ghost Town Cricket - Submitted by Matt Sterne
Hold - Submitted by Daniel Fletcher
I Don't Wanna: Sarah Jane & The Noise - Submitted by Luke Agius
I Spy Myself - Submitted by Bus Stop Film
No Right Turn - Submitted by Kamil Domaradzki
Odd One Out - Submitted by Taylah Barbeitos
Oi - Submitted by Laneikka Denne
Olan, Earthbound - Submitted by Bus Stop Film
Passion Pop - Submitted by Chris Elena
Rage Bait - Submitted by Hebah Ali
River Town People - Submitted by Michelle Kaldy
Riverberi - Submitted by Pete Ireland
Silent Currents - Submitted by Georgios Atsalis
Stone Lions, Liquid Lions - Submitted by Georgia Plantzos
Tamah - Submitted by John Nguyen
The Colour of Black - Submitted by Melika Azimi
The Impossible Decision - Submitted by Bus Stop Films
The Teapot Troopers - Submitted by Laurence Shaw
Tiger Cop: Project A - Submitted by Adrian Castro
Wander - Submitted by Rhys Cropper
Waves - Submitted by Cristobal Olguin
Wolf - Submitted by Alex Kamura
Wombo - Submitted by Angus Lowe
Yandel'mawa - Submitted by Kate Richards
SEE HERE for the Program Lineup with details of which films are screening where this summer, so you can book your tickets to join us for our Marathon Summer of Film!
Congratulations to all 36 films featuring in this year's festival, and thank you to everyone who submitted their films this year!
We hope to see all of you on the red carpet at Opening Night - this is your time to shine!
Bring your cast & crew, get your photo snapped on the red carpet and enjoy a great night out among friends and local filmmakers.
We'll share the pics with everyone after the night, so you'll get to enjoy seeing your
Our Opening Night Gala will feature a 3 hour movie marathon, comprising two segments of films and networking opportunities before, during and after the film screening. It’s one you won’t want to miss!
Thanks to our wonderful judges whose nominations mean that the Official Selection films are in the running to win awards and prizes for the Best in the West (for indie films), Best Student Film and Best Music Video trophies, plus all the talented cast and crew are up for some individual category awards too.
Best of all, our last trophy and highly coveted Audience Choice Award is voted for by the live audience on the night so be sure to grab your tickets now and tell your family, friends, cast and crew to save the date and grab theirs too.
Over the summer we'll be collecting votes online from our viewers in cinema and around the country as we screen the MEGA Movie Marathon online and Marathon Summer Series both online and IRL. All the films are up for more awards at the end of the season too – including the hotly contested People’s Choice Award.
Have you seen this year’s prizes? Thanks to our generous sponsors and partners, we’re giving away more than $32,000 in prizes!
We’re totally blown away by this year’s prize pool and we can’t thank our wonderful prize sponsors enough. We extend a BIG THANKS to all of these heroes for showing their support for the local community.
There’s never been a better time to be a part of the Western Sydney Film community!
It’s time to register for your tickets; although do remember, all entrants and Official Selection finalists should check your email inbox for a special access code to unlock VIP tickets for our Opening Night celebration!
Grab some popcorn, settle into your seat, and enjoy some of Australia’s finest short films. The festival countdown is on and we can’t wait to see you enjoying the 14th edition of Made in the West – in person or online – wherever you are!
Cheers to an incredible year of #WesternSydneyFilm! We'll see you on the red carpet soon.
