Have you spotted Western Sydney films around town lately? You’re not imagining things – Made in the West festival films are in demand!
We think films made by local creatives should be on big screens everywhere and we’re working hard behind the scenes at Made in the West CREATIVE to make that happen.
This year we’ve teamed up with In The Park Events and Sydney Olympic Park to bring some of Made in the West’s film festival favourites to one of the city’s biggest cultural hubs.
Our first gig at Sydney Olympic Park took place back in February, kicking off with the Taylor Swift concert series over five days.
Made in the West provided films for the new digital screen activation at Fig Grove, situated at the edge of the terraced steps for concertgoers to watch some festival favourites while they’re hanging out before the show.
We’ve had seven of Made in the West Film Festival’s award-winning favourites featured on screen this year, including Melon Grab by Andrew Lee, Operation Kung Flu by Maria Tran, No Film Sets in Bankstown by Alex Dona, Larry Time by Dan Krige, The Takedown Of Melanie Sprottle by Jo Beveridge, plus two music videos, Good As Gold by Esky and Only One by Ashli.
The digital screen at Fig Grove was part of an immersive entertainment experience provided by In The Park Events, with visitors having access to three outdoor stages – the Main Stage, Music Box Stage, and Caravan Stage – plus roaming entertainers, a variety of food trucks, and relaxed areas to sit, dance, or simply chill out with friends.
With thousands of Swifties travelling to Accor Stadium for the concerts happening in town, having food and entertainment options available at Olympic Park before the show means people could arrive early and beat the rush! The entertainment continues after the main events too, so concertgoers can keep the night alive with music and dancing as they make their way out.
Made in the West has also been working with friends from our Western Sydney film community to provide film crew to capture the live entertainment on the Caravan Stage and livestream to the big screen. Setting up the three-camera shoot was easy and once we linked up to the big screen, it looked fantastic!
Since then, we’ve returned throughout the year to share Western Sydney films on screen at some of the biggest events of the year, including Pink, the Royal Easter Show, The Weeknd, Olivia Rodrigo and now, this week, Coldplay!
That means THOUSANDS of people have seen short films Made in the West this year, which we absolutely love!
We’re stoked to be able to bring the creative energy of Western Sydney filmmakers right into the heart of the park… and guess what?
We’ve got big news!
We’re working on getting the 2024 festival films in the park this January for a series of outdoor festival screenings! We’ll have more on that to announce soon.
But in the meantime we can tell you even more exciting news – In The Park Events has signed on as our newest festival prize sponsor!!
We’re excited to announce that this year’s Marathon Selection films will be in the running to WIN prizes and awards for Best Horror, Drama, Sci Fi, Comedy, Animation and Documentary.
Our MEGA Movie Marathon will be screening ONLINE AND ON DEMAND from 10 December through to 31 January and features an extra special lineup of Western Sydney films!
How exciting!!
HUGE THANKS to In The Park Events in association with Sydney Olympic Park for supporting Western Sydney filmmakers and Made in the West Film Festival.
We’ll be announcing the Marathon Selection films in the coming days and we’re looking forward to seeing you at the end of the festival season to announce the award winners.
The team at Made in the West Creative has loved this amazing opportunity to screen Western Sydney films in such a bustling public square this year and we can’t wait to see more of it in future.
Supporting the Western Sydney community and bringing our stories to a wider audience is what we’re all about, and this project does just that.
Providing film content for screens is one of our core services! We’re working with local filmmakers to provide content licensing and making our festival archive available to showcase at more public events!
Want to add local storytelling to your next big event? We make it easy to feature films from our festival archive. Whether it’s a council event, a community festival, or a corporate gathering, you can bring the spirit of Western Sydney’s film scene to your audience. Just get in touch with us for a quote, and let us help you create a memorable event.
This new partnership with In The Park Events has been an incredible opportunity to celebrate Western Sydney talent and activate one of Sydney’s most iconic locations. We’re grateful to everyone involved, and we hope to see you at Fig Grove soon, catching a film, grabbing some food, and enjoying the vibe!