Strap in, because you're in for a wild ride – the incredible talent brewing right here in Western Sydney is about to blow your socks off!
Today is not just any regular day. It's a momentous day, especially for the stellar cast and crew of the 2023 Official Selection.
Please give a big round of applause for our phenomenal local filmmakers – you've once again unleashed your A-game, and we can barely contain our excitement as we get ready to unveil this year's individual award nominees.
Now, before we get swept away by the excitement crackling in the air, let's hit the rewind button for a quick recap. While many of you, after 12 years of Made in the West, are seasoned pros who know the ropes, this year's finalist line-up boasts some fresh, new talent. So, please indulge us as we break it down for those who might be stepping into the festival spotlight for the first time!
There are 18 fantastic films in the 2023 Official Selection, all of which are in the running to win one of two major trophies – the Best in the West Award (for indie filmmakers) or Best Student Film. The two films that receive the top scores overall from our esteemed panel of judges will go home with a beautiful crystal trophy, plus a swag of other awesome prizes.
The next trophy on the line is the Best Music Video. We are thrilled to once again be celebrating musicians and filmmakers collaborating on creative projects because it is something we’re really passionate about, and guess what? The music & film industry is booming right here in Western Sydney! Get ready to groove in your seats, because we're turning up the volume and bringing you a playlist that'll have you dancing in the aisles.
What's the final award, you ask? Well, the final award is all about YOU – yes, we mean YOU! When it comes to the Audience Choice Award, the power lies in your hands to determine the ultimate winner. Forget about what the judges thought – we’re going to invite the entire cinema audience to a live vote at the end of the night! Then, with some quick math during the final intermission, voila! We'll return to unveil the triumphant winner of the Audience Choice Award.
How sweet is that?? So obviously you’ll want to bring your posse for support! Pester them to reserve their ticket NOW! But be warned … we’ve known plenty of friends who have been swayed in a different direction by other amazing films in the festival line-up! Who will win the audience favour??
Of course, all four of these trophies also come with some mad bounty for the winners too - check out our latest prize sponsors blog for to find out what prizes we have in store for you this year (it’s our biggest prize pool EVER with $25,000 worth of prizes up for grabs!)
But that’s not all folks! You see, this is where things get interesting....
Each year we also ask our wonderful festival judges to nominate the films that demonstrate excellence in the following categories: Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematographer, Best Editor, Best Sound Design, Best Production Design, Best Original Music Score, Best Lead Actor and Best Supporting Actor.
Thank goodness that the judges are the ones deciding this year’s winners, because there’s simply no way that we could ever decide!!
So many awards. So many talented filmmakers. We can’t wait. It's going to be HUGE for sure!
Is the suspense killing you yet?
Made in the West is proud to announce the nominees for this year’s individual category awards:
BEST DIRECTOR NOMINEES
Arcade - Tim Grubisic
Fields: Ashli - Matthew Burns
Hantu: Dyan Tai - Shaun Parker
Heather's Diary: Monstress - Clarence Lin Thein
No Film Sets in Bankstown - Alex Dona
Shedding - Darcy Vincent
Tint - Jack Voegt
Tony's Dream - Augusto Garcia
Too Many Ethnics - Vonne Patiag
When Worlds Collide - Victor Tran
When You Go For A Take - Martin Yeung
Yours Truly - NJ Hartley & Chris Yip
BEST SCREENPLAY NOMINEES
Chained - Aaron Waite
No Film Sets in Bankstown - Alex Dona & Michael Becker
The Crab Pamilya - Bailey Mcnamara, Diana Caicedo & Thomas Fleming
Tint - Jack Voegt
Tony's Dream - Augusto Garcia
Too Many Ethnics - Vonne Patiag
When You Go For A Take - Martin Yeung
Yours Truly - Chris Yip
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER NOMINEES
A Corps in the Spotlight - Diego Murillo
Arcade - Nathan Jackson
Death2Vinyl: Raj Mahal - Kate Cornish
Hantu: Dyan Tai - Chris Quyen
No Film Sets in Bankstown - Nicolas Nalbandian
Olden Eyes: Bineal Roy - Andrew Lin
Shedding - Oliver Vandyk
Sweet Moments: Cosmo Blue - Luke Walker
Tint - Darwin Schulze
Tony's Dream - Carolina Izquierdo Duarte
Too Many Ethnics - Dimitri Zaunders
Yours Truly - Tejas Bhat
BEST EDITOR NOMINEES
Death2Vinyl: Raj Mahal - Mana Creative
Fields: Ashli - Matthew Burns
Hantu: Dyan Tai - Chris Quyen
No Film Sets in Bankstown - Alex Dona
Olden Eyes: Bineal Roy - Cristobal Olguin
Tint - Jack Voegt
Tony's Dream - Alexandre Guterres
Too Many Ethnics - Lucas Conway
When Worlds Collide - Victor Tran
When You Go For A Take - Martin Yeung
BEST SOUND DESIGN NOMINEES
No Film Sets in Bankstown - Dave Smith
Shedding - Darcy Vincent
Tint - Rebecca Sawyer
Tony's Dream - John Hrsec
When Worlds Collide - Izac Xuereb
When You Go For A Take - Martin Yeung
Yours Truly - David Do, NJ Hartley & Austyn Hartley
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN NOMINEES
Arcade - Tessa Leal
Hantu: Dyan Tai - Dyan Tai & Erin Carroll
Heather's Diary: Monstress - Lily Currey-Billyard
Olden Eyes: Bineal Roy - Marcella Tattersall
Sweet Moments: Cosmo Blue - Luke Walker
Tint - Kate Sowada Hicks
Tony's Dream - Lily Currey-Billyard
Too Many Ethnics - Isabella Andronos
When Worlds Collide - Reggie Azward
BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE NOMINEES
A Corps in the Spotlight - Eddy Li
Arcade - Tim Gutler
No Film Sets in Bankstown - Alison Cole
Tint - Zarni Tun
Tony's Dream - Alejandro Villanueva
Too Many Ethnics - Marcus Whale
Yours Truly - Morgan Boughey
BEST LEAD ACTOR NOMINEES
A Corps in the Spotlight - Tiarna Causer
Arcade - Danni Fenech
Chained - Chloe McCarthy
No Film Sets in Bankstown - Joshua Shediak
The Crab Pamilya - Roland Bartko
Tint - Jack Voegt
Too Many Ethnics - Vonne Patiag
When You Go For A Take - Denise Chan
Yours Truly - Chrissy May Valentine
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR NOMINEES
Arcade - Jared Keane
No Film Sets in Bankstown - Michael Becker
The Crab Pamilya - Orla Saphron
Tint - Tania Vukicevic
Too Many Ethnics - Jasper Lee-Lindsay
Congratulations to all of the amazing cast & crew involved in producing this year's top 18 films and best of luck to all our nominees in their individual prize category awards!
Have you snapped up your ticket to the festival yet? Made in the West will always be a FREE event, but bookings are necessary. Tickets are flying out the door so reserve yours now to avoid disappointment.
What are you waiting for? RESERVE YOUR TICKET NOW!
Not sure what you’re in for? Check out our website to learn more, read through our FAQs here and follow us on social media so you don’t miss a thing.
And if you can’t make it this yea, you can catch the exact same 18 Official Selection films online from the start of December through to the end of January at our super slick on-demand Online MEGA Movie Marathon.
From 1 December because we will be bringing the red carpet to you with all the finalist films, highlights from the festival and interviews with the 2023 filmmakers. There’s even more awards up for grabs because we will be asking all the viewers at home to vote for their favourite film too so we can crown our annual People’s Choice Award
PLUS we’ll be announcing new genre awards for Best Horror, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi, Documentary, Animation and Web Series! Tune in to the PageyTrain podcast in early February for a live reveal of the winners.
EARLYBIRD Ticket reservations for our MEGA Movie Marathon will save you a few bucks if you’re keen to book via our Humanitix site for just $5 AUD ahead of time, otherwise keep an eye on the Vimeo site for the marathon release on Friday 1 December!
We’ll see you on the red carpet very soon, Western Sydney.
Congratulations again to this year’s nominees!!