MADE IN THE WEST would like to thank our sponsors for their generosity!
It's not very often someone puts their hand up and says they want to support young artists and filmmakers in the West, so we are very pleased to have found some kind folks willing to contribute to our cause.
Their support for our vision makes us even more thirsty for a thriving Western Sydney film culture. We want to see more films being made here, more film jobs going to Western Sydney filmmakers, more arts venues and studios, and more audiences eager to watch our work.
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Each year Still Searchin Productions ( SSP ) puts on an evening of films for everyone to enjoy. We do it because we love watching short films made by people like us!
We are an independent film group from Western Sydney - we've always got a project or two on the go, and we try to make sure we make a short film each year, in between film jobs and commercial shoots.
We love showing off our work once we've finished it -- and where better than on a big screen in front of an audience??
We put on the first screening night five years ago when we finished our short film The Red in our final year of uni. We had such a good response that we did it again the following year when we had finished Pushing the Envelope.
We just thought it was a good night out -- watching films, meeting other filmmakers in the breaks, talking movies. It wasn't until the following year that we thought about introducing some awards.
The awards began as a way to encourage everyone to keep making more films, plus there's nothing like a little competition to make us all try harder to improve!
We sponsor the three major awards:
The Best Student Film Award goes to the student film given the highest score by our panel of judges.
The Best in the West Award is for independent filmmakers only, and is also decided by the judges' scores.
The Audience Choice Award is open to all finalists and is decided by an audience vote on the night... so even WE don't know who is going to win that one.
When we pick up the trophies each year, the day before the event, we always get so excited for the winners. That's when it really sinks in that someone is going to win - they're some pretty nice trophies!
In 2016, we also have some great prizes for our winners!
Green Key Studio is once again gifting the winner of the Best In The West Award with some free studio time. Green Key are the ONLY green screen studio in the West and they have equipment and editing facilities for all types of film projects.
The team at Green Key have generously offered to provide ONE FULL DAY in the studio to our winner, which is awesome, so you can shoot that cool driving scene, space walk, or cliffhanger moment for your next short film.
Video Australasia has come on board this year with a fantastic gift for our Audience Choice Award winner. Video Australasia work with some of Australia's best film and television producers in Australia, providing top shelf cameras and broadcast equipment on some amazing film shoots around the country.
They have donated a $500 VOUCHER for camera equipment for the winner to use on their next project! Just think -- that could be YOU with $500 to burn on some new gear... all you need now are the votes!
Western Sydney University has again put forward a prize donation for our Best Student Film winner. The university has a great Communication Arts program and encourages its students to participate in the film community through events like Made In The West.
WSU have donated an Apple iPad to the winner of this year's student award. We know that'll come in handy when you're working on the go -- best of luck to our student entrants!
And last but certainly not least...
Media Hub Australia have made a fantastic contribution to this year's event costs by sponsoring the award for Best Director.
Media Hub is Australia's leading broadcast channel play-out and online live-streaming service provider. If you're watching television in Australia, chances are it's coming to you from Media Hub in Sydney's West!
We are very grateful to Media Hub for coming on board as a festival sponsor this year and to all our wonderful prize sponsors too. Their generosity has helped bring this year's event to life, with all the little trimmings that make Made in the West such a great night for filmmakers.
We hope you enjoy the show!
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This year’s festival is shaping up to be one of our best yet -- some GREAT FILMS and now some GREAT PRIZES too -- we can't wait to see who wins the awards!
THANK YOU to our 2016 sponsors!!