What to expect at the Closing Night Awards
- Made in the West Film Festival
- Feb 21
- 5 min read
Have you got your tickets to the Closing Night Awards Party yet? Book now and join us to celebrate the final awards of the festival and an EPIC season for Western Sydney film!
After an enormous Summer Season of Screenings across four locations in Western Sydney, we have so much to celebrate. Thirty-six films, eighteen screening events, and hundreds of audience members later, it’s clear: Western Sydney Film is on the rise!
Now all that's left to do is celebrate Closing Night!
It's the first time we've hosted a party like this at the end of the festival season. Of course, we all know and love the Opening Night event... we've been hosting that huge party every year for 14 years!! But what happens at the Closing Night event?
If you’re wondering what the plan is for this Saturday night's event at The Joan in Penrith, then you've come to the right place — here's what to expect!
The Closing Night Awards Party starts at 7pm on Saturday 28 February. We're hosting the event for the first time in the Borland Lounge at The Joan in Penrith!
It’s an intimate lounge bar venue with a big screen, private bar, delicious food, cabaret tables, comfy couches, and for one night only, it'll be buzzing with local filmmakers and festival supporters.
Your MC for the night is Made in the West Creative's EP, Misty McPhail, and your host for the awards is everyone's favourite festival Artistic Director, Roscoe Pagey Train. With these two on the mic together, you can expect a fun time!
The awards presentations will wrap by 9pm — it's a tight two-hour celebration that will wrap before anyone even has time to ask, “Wait… where’s the afterparty?”
HOW TO GET THERE
The venue address is 597 High Street, which is a short 700m walk from the train station. If you're driving, then parking is free at the Civic Centre carpark, or free for 2 hours at Westfield Penrith next door.
Make a night of it — arrive early, grab a drink, and settle in before the festivities begin. We recommend allowing a little extra time so you don’t miss the red carpet arrivals or opening moments of the program.
BOOK YOUR TICKETS
Invite your cast, your crew, your collaborators — or bring along friends who’ve been meaning to see what Western Sydney filmmaking is all about.
General Admission tickets are $15 or you can go fancy with VIP tickets for $25 and settle in on the couches up the front.
The box office will also be open on the night, so if you have some last minute guests attending they will still be able to get a ticket at the door.
DRESS TO IMPRESS
Whether you go full glam, sharp and tailored, or creatively expressive, be bold and step into the spotlight to enjoy the red carpet moment.
Our photographers will be capturing arrivals, award moments and candid celebrations throughout the evening.
Besides, you never know when your name might be called up for an award, so dress like a winner!
AWARD-WINNING FILMS AND $10K IN PRIZES!
We've got an all-new line-up for you to enjoy, which includes a few festival favourites on screen, awards presentations and speeches, and highlights from this year’s program woven through the night.
We'll be handing out the final $10,000 in prizes and in-kind support across the categories, and we know that these awards will not only bring meaningful industry recognition, but also tangible pathways forward for our winning filmmakers.
The People’s Choice Award is the big kahuna, proudly sponsored this year by Panavision Australia, so comes with an incredible $3500 equipment and mentorship prize to support the winner’s next project.
We’re thrilled that Nic from Panavision will be joining us to help announce the winner in person!
Our six Genre Awards — Drama, Thriller, Horror, Documentary, Action and Comedy — are all decided by you, the audience. It’s one of the most powerful parts of the festival: filmmakers seeing the direct impact of community support and the votes gathered by viewers over the entire summer of screenings online and in cinemas.
This year we also introduce our brand new Rising Star Award, supported by Australians in Film, Screen Producers Australia, Creative Plus Business and Irierootsini Photography. This prize pack is amazing! It includes a 6 month mentorship, SPA membership, promotional headshots, and practical career support designed to propel an emerging filmmaker forward.
We’ll also be announcing the 2025 Outstanding Female Filmmaker Award, sponsored by WIFT NSW and honouring the bold and brilliant women helping shaping our screen culture.
We couldn't be more excited! These awards reflect who we are as a festival: community-driven, future-focused, and fiercely proud of our talent.
SPECIAL GUESTS GALORE
We’re thrilled to be welcoming past winners, festival alumni, sponsors, partners and community leaders who have supported the journey of this year’s filmmakers. You never know who you’ll run into!
Last year's People's Choice Award winner Paul Rye will be stopping by to help present the 2025 award, and share what he’s been working on since his prize winning film, and how Made in the West helped build momentum for his latest project.
It's the legacy we’re super proud of here at Made in the West HQ — not just screening films, but helping careers grow.
So come and join us for one final celebration with red carpet energy, festival awards, and a room full of Western Sydney filmmakers ready to cheer each other on.
FINAL VOTES THIS WEEK ONLINE
While our cinema screenings have now wrapped, our online viewers are still enjoying festival films!
The MEGA Movie Marathon is still available to stream online for one more week, and it's the ONLY way to cast your final votes.
If you haven’t watched (or want to revisit your favourites), you can stream the full marathon via our new festival streaming platform on Vimeo.
Voting for the People’s Choice Award and our six Genre Awards closes Saturday 28 February at 12 noon SHARP, so this is your last chance to jump online, watch, and have your say.
THE MOMENTUM IS BUILDING FOR OUR 15TH YEAR
What began as a grassroots community platform has evolved into a year-round film community ecosystem of screenings, workshops, projects, partnerships and industry pathways.
The team here at Made in the West is incredibly proud of how far we've come, how amazing the filmmakers from Western Sydney are proving to be, and how important it is for us to continue waving the festival flag for filmmakers across our region.
As we close this year's festival season, we’re already looking ahead.
Next year marks our 15th year of championing Western Sydney filmmakers — that's fifteen years of red carpets, grassroots community, sold-out sessions, nervous nominees and roaring applause!
We’re so grateful to the venues who put their hands up to host our Marathon Summer Sessions this year.
Huge thanks to Bankstown Arts Centre, Event Cinemas Liverpool, Event Cinemas Campbelltown, and Arts & Cultural Exchange (ACE) Parramatta for opening their doors and helping us bring Western Sydney stories to a wider audience.
By broadening the festival across more screens this season, we’ve laid the groundwork for something bigger — and yes, you'd better believe it! — in our 15th festival year we’ll be continuing to expand access and opportunities for Western Sydney filmmakers to see their work on screen.
If this season has shown us anything, it’s that the stories from our region are only getting bolder, more inspiring, and more ambitious. And so is our festival!
Next weekend's Closing Night Awards Party is our opportunity to celebrate a milestone moment for the festival, and our community. So stream the marathon, cast your vote, dress up, bring your friends, and secure your seat now.
Let’s send Made in the West 2025 out with a bang.