New faces, more great prizes: Meet our new sponsors!
Updated: 7 days ago
Our 15th anniversary season keeps getting better, and we’ve got another wonderful group of supporters to welcome!
If you’ve caught our first sponsor announcement and our latest round of Prize Sponsors, you’ll know that some very generous organisations are backing Western Sydney filmmakers this year.
Now, we’re adding more names to that list, including THREE brand-new sponsors bringing their creativity, resources and enthusiasm to Made in the West for the first time.
From studio access to script development, these contributions give our filmmakers something to carry into their next projects. Please put your hands together for our next festival supporters!
Welcome to the festival, MTNS MADE
We’re giving a big Made in the West welcome to MTNS MADE, joining us as a new sponsor in our milestone year!
Their support is helping cover event costs and bringing a special Katoomba screening event to our February Film Showcase program.
They’re also contributing memberships for our Blue Mountains filmmakers, adding another opportunity for local creatives to connect with their community.
We love seeing partnerships create more places for films to be seen and more ways for filmmakers to get involved.
With talent coming from across Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains, having MTNS MADE on board feels like a wonderful addition to our festival family.
Thank you, MTNS MADE, for getting behind our anniversary season and helping us celebrate the filmmakers in our neighbouring mountains!
We’ll share more about the February screening as the season unfolds.
Animation magic from Orbi Labs
Our next new sponsor is bringing some creative flair to the festival itself!
Orbi Labs is creating an animated play-on promo for Made in the West, contributing their time and skills to help bring our 15th-year celebrations to life.
There’s a lot of creative work involved in presenting a film festival, from the films themselves to everything that welcomes you into the experience. We’re thrilled to have Josh from Orbi Labs adding their animation skills to the mix, and we can’t wait to share it on screen throughout the season.
A huge thank you to Orbi Labs for jumping on board for the first time and putting your creativity behind Western Sydney film. We’re so excited to be working with you on this!
A day to create, thanks to Sentori Studios
Filmmakers, imagine having a full day in a beautiful brand-new studio to put towards your next project.
New Prize Sponsor Sentori Studios is making that possible, donating one full day in the studios for a festival prize winner!
For an independent filmmaker, access to a space to create can be a valuable part of getting the next production moving.
This prize gives one of our winners a practical resource to build into their plans after festival season.
We’re delighted to welcome Sentori Studios to Made in the West and grateful that they’ve chosen to support our community in our anniversary year.
Thank you, Sentori Studios, for opening your doors to an emerging filmmaker. We can’t wait to see what our winner creates next!
Room to collaborate at ACE Parramatta
Every film starts with conversations, preparation and people finding a way to work together.
The Screen Cultures program at ACE Parramatta is helping make room for that process, contributing access to meeting rooms and rehearsal rooms, plus studio time in Delta 88, its sound recording studio.
Whether it’s gathering your collaborators, rehearsing a scene, recording music or capturing a voiceover, these spaces offer plenty of possibilities for a project in development or production.
Thank you to ACE for sharing resources that help our filmmakers come together and get the work happening!
By the way, we’re proud to be partnering with ACE next year on seven new workshops & set tour opportunity for screen practitioners.
If you’re keen to learn more about set construction, screen sound, production design, screen composing, Panavision lenses, locations management, or games development, register your interest here.
WIFT NSW backs an outstanding female filmmaker
We’re proud to welcome back WIFT NSW, supporting our Outstanding Female Filmmaker Award with a membership and one year of mentorship.
A festival award celebrates the work you’ve made, and having someone to turn to afterwards can help you work out what comes next.
This prize offers the recipient an opportunity to keep learning, seek guidance and build connections as they develop their filmmaking practice.
Thank you, WIFT NSW, for continuing to champion women in our filmmaking community and supporting their next steps.
Support for the stories still taking shape
There’s plenty of filmmaking that happens before anyone picks up a camera, and our next supporters are helping our winners spend time on that essential development work.
Peter Millynn, long-time practitioner and festival jury member, is contributing one year of mentorship and script development, offering sustained support as a filmmaker works on their storytelling. We’re grateful for this generous commitment of time and expertise.
Auteura Pictures is donating a script consultation with director Luke Agius, giving a filmmaker the opportunity to discuss their work and consider a fresh perspective on the page.
Vellamatt Entertainment is contributing a producer consultation with producer Matthew C. Vella, creating another opportunity for a prize recipient to seek advice and explore their next steps.
Thank you to all three for making space for those conversations. Sometimes, a thoughtful question or a fresh set of eyes can help a filmmaker find much-needed clarity and momentum. Your advice and guidance is so valuable!
Meet the filmmakers they’re supporting
These opportunities are here because our community keeps making work worth celebrating.
Our 2026 Official Selection is out now, and we’d love you to get to know the films and filmmakers at the heart of this year’s festival. Explore the film list A–Z, discover something that catches your eye, then head to our Program page for session details and screening times.
To every sponsor contributing funding, creative work, space or advice: thank you for helping us celebrate what Western Sydney filmmakers have achieved and supporting what they’ll make next.
And to our first-time sponsors MTNS MADE, Orbi Labs and Sentori Studios – welcome aboard! We’re super stoked to begin these new partnerships as Made in the West turns 15.
Come celebrate with us!
Opening Night Gala tickets are now open. Join us on Saturday 28 November at Event Cinemas Liverpool for red carpet photos, a special selection of short films, filmmaker interviews and our first awards of the season, the highly coveted Jury Awards.
Bring your cast, crew and film-loving friends, and help us give our anniversary season a proper Made in the West welcome.
Fifteen years of Western Sydney film, a whole summer to celebrate, and a wonderful community helping make it happen.
We’ll see you on the red carpet soon, Western Sydney.