Made in the West returns for another #SummerofFilm
Updated: 22 hours ago
The countdown can officially begin! Made in the West Film Festival is back for our 15th annual celebration of Western Sydney filmmaking, and this year we’re taking over the big screen for a whole summer of local films, filmmakers and festival events.
Our Marathon #SummerofFilm kicks off at Event Cinemas Liverpool with our Opening Night Awards Gala on Saturday 28 November 2026.
Join us on the red carpet, see who the jury has put forward for our first awards, and be part of the buzz that brings all eyes on Western Sydney this summer.
And of course, Opening Night is the big celebration where we all step into the spotlight, but it’s only the beginning!
Across two monthly programs in December and February, we’ll be bringing the full 2026 Official Selection to the cinema as part of our Marathon #SummerofFilm, giving audiences more chances to discover the incredible films being made right here in Western Sydney.
We’ll kick things off with Opening Night and then roll straight into our first month of cinema sessions EVERY SUNDAY throughout December, take a short summer break, then return in February for another month of films, events and festival celebrations before wrapping up the season with our Closing Night Awards Party.
And we’ve also got a few surprises up our sleeves, including a very special double-feature premiere coming to the big screen this summer!
We can’t tell you what it is just yet, but we CAN tell you that we’re very excited to be able to share it with you all very soon.
So, mark Saturday 28 November in the calendar — and maybe keep a little room around it too. This year, we want you to explore the program, find films that surprise you, come back for another session and make a summer of it.
Opening Night is free to attend, with optional paid tickets available if you want to party like a VIP, or nab some of the best seats in the house. Our Marathon Cinema Sessions will be kept low cost too — around half the price of a regular cinema ticket — so you can see more films, support more local filmmakers and experience more of the festival without breaking the summer budget.
The full program is coming soon!! So that means one question will have to wait just a little longer: which films will get their moment on Opening Night?
And just as a reminder, a festival season like this doesn’t happen without a whole team of people working behind-the-scenes, and we’re thrilled to already have some of our key sponsors joining us for our 15th year.
We’re delighted to welcome back two of our long-time supporters, Event Cinemas Liverpool and Western Sydney University, who have both played an important role in helping Made in the West grow over the years.
Western Sydney University continues to throw its support behind local filmmakers and creative opportunities in the region, and we’re proud to have a partner that shares our belief in the talent, stories and creative future of Western Sydney.
This is their 9th year supporting the festival and their 5th as a major Screen Sponsor! Their support helps us keep creating opportunities for emerging filmmakers to have their work seen and celebrated with new audiences.
And, of course, where better to see those films than on a massive cinema screen?
Our partnership with Event Cinemas Liverpool means Western Sydney filmmakers get to experience their work where it belongs — in a real cinema, surrounded by a live audience.
The spectacular three-storey V-Max cinema will once again be home to our Opening Night celebrations, and our new 250-seat marathon cinema will come alive with more Made in the West screenings as our #SummerofFilm continues.
We’re also incredibly grateful to Screen NSW, who are supporting this year’s Opening Night Awards Gala through the Opening Night Fund. Their support will help us roll out the red carpet and launch our 15th anniversary season in proper Made in the West style.
And this is only the beginning! We’ll have plenty more partners, venues and festival happenings to reveal as we get closer to summer.
Want to see YOUR FILM on the big screen?
There’s still time! Submissions are now open until 9 October, and if you’ve made a film with a connection to Western Sydney — through your cast, crew or locations — we want to see it.
Drama, comedy, documentary, animation, horror, sci-fi, music video or something that refuses to fit neatly into a box: we love discovering the enormous range of stories being made across our region.
Selected films will become part of our 2026 Official Selection and have the opportunity to screen on the big screen during our 15th anniversary #SummerofFilm.
And for some films, the opportunities don’t stop when the festival ends.
Made in the West Film Festival is hosted by Made in the West Creative, our certified social enterprise working year-round to create more opportunities for Western Sydney filmmakers. Through our film licensing and exhibition work, we connect local films with additional screening opportunities at community events, cultural programs and other screens throughout the year.
Filmmakers always retain ownership of their work, and we’ll always contact you to seek permission before your film is considered for an opportunity beyond the festival. Where licensing fees are available, our aim is to make sure filmmakers are paid for the use of their work.
It’s all part of the bigger picture: helping great Western Sydney films travel further to reach new audiences and create tangible opportunities for the people who made them.
So if you’ve got a film ready to share, get it to us by 9 October! We can’t wait to see what you’ve made.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Made in the West without a little healthy competition. Our 2026 Official Selection will be in the running for a huge range of Jury Awards, filmmaker prizes and industry opportunities, recognising everything from standout films and performances to the key crew working behind the scenes.
And the jury won’t have the final say on everything. Our People’s Choice Awards put the power in YOUR hands, with opportunities to watch, vote and champion your favourite films across the festival season.
Our wonderful sponsor Panavision has already pledged a whopping $5,000 towards equipment hire to the winner of our 2026 People’s Choice Award!
It’s going to be an amazing opportunity for one lucky filmmaker to make their next short film in 2027 with some truly beautiful Panavision lenses.
And there’s even more exciting prizes to come!
We’ll reveal more about this year’s prize pool and jury as in the days and weeks ahead — we already have some great sponsors on board, and we’re building that prize list as we speak.
But for now, filmmaker friends, consider this another very good reason to get your film submission in before 9 October. ENTER HERE via our online entry form.
And of course, the #SummerofFilm won’t stop at the cinema doors. Our MEGA Movie Marathon returns online throughout the summer, giving audiences near and far another way to discover Western Sydney films, revisit their favourites and have their say in the People’s Choice Awards.
It means more time to watch, more films to discover, and a much bigger audience for the filmmakers in our program — because great Western Sydney stories deserve to be seen across the world.
There’s plenty more to come. Keep an eye on this blog and follow us on Instagram for festival announcements, filmmaker news, program reveals, behind-the-scenes action and… a few surprises we’re keeping under wraps for now.
Our 15th year is shaping up to be a big one, and this time, we’re giving you more ways to be part of it! More films on the big screen, more opportunities to discover local filmmakers, more reasons to come back to the cinema, and a whole summer to celebrate the stories being made right here in Western Sydney.
So save Saturday 28 November 2026 for our Opening Night Awards Gala, and keep some room in the calendar for December and February as you get ready to explore our biggest #SummerofFilm yet.
Opening Night is just the beginning. We’ll see you at the movies, Western Sydney!