Made in the West 2017 is just around the corner! Today, in the last edition of our winners’ interview series for 2017, we chat to Toby Loveday - the winner of the Audience Choice Award in 2015. His film The Goat was certainly well-loved by the crowd and we still remember the roar of applause as he was announced as the winner of the final trophy.
This year it could be you walking out the door with the mightiest of crystal awards for Western Sydney filmmakers – all you need to do is impress our audience enough to vote for your film! So if you haven’t yet entered a film then you’d best get cracking because time is running out! The submission deadline is THIS FRIDAY 10 November!
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Made in the West Film Festival: Hi Toby, thanks for catching up with us for a quick chat! What have you been working on since we saw you at Made in the West 2015?
Toby Loveday: Mostly I’ve been working on more short films to share around. Made in the West was a great help in getting my name out there!
MITWFF: The Goat was certainly a crowd favourite. Where did the inspiration for it come from, and were you happy with the audience’s reaction on the night?
TL: I had wanted to do a comedy piece for a while and this was a pitch I couldn’t resist! I was very happy with the audience’s reaction; as with all comedy, you pray that the jokes land and people laugh when you hope they will. Having the reaction from the audience on the night was priceless.
MITWFF: You’ve spoken before about Western Sydney being a cultural hub. Why do you think this is, and what more can we be doing to harness young, dedicated filmmakers from the area?
TL: I still believe that Western Sydney is the cultural hub of Sydney. There is a great mix of cultures from across the globe merging in this one area. We need to promote and offer support to creative people in the area, across all education levels, especially if they have a story to tell.
MITWFF: Why did you decide to submit your film into Made in the West?
TL: A friend suggested it to me! I thought it would be a good opportunity to screen my latest short film and showcase the ability of my fantastic cast and crew who helped to bring it together – the majority of whom were either working in or were from Western Sydney.
MITWFF: What was the best thing about attending the festival?
TL: Meeting like-minded people, sharing thoughts and getting into the collaborative spirit. Of course, I do let pride get the best of me at times and being recognised as the Audience Choice Award winner was, and remains, a great honour!
MITWFF: How did it feel to see your project on the big screen at Made in the West?
TL: It validated the entire cast and crew’s hard work and was an extremely rewarding experience.
MITWFF: Which local filmmakers are you keen to work with next?
TL: I'm keen to collaborate with anyone really, however the local filmmakers that spring to mind are Donna Hogan, Sharleen Cornish, Sana’a Shaik and Ross Page.
MITWFF: What advice can you offer other Western Sydney filmmakers?
TL: The best stories are yet to be told. Everyone has one, so go out there and start filming!
MITWFF: What are you looking forward to at this year’s Made in the West Film Festival?
TL: Networking with more talented, upcoming filmmakers.
MITWFF: What is the best way for people to connect with you?
TL: I'm available though Facebook at Toby Loveday. Feel free to message me if you would like to collaborate!
Awesome! Thanks for chatting with us Toby. We’re sure there are going to be some super talented filmmakers in the line-up this year and we’re looking forward to meeting them too! We’re pleased that this year’s finalists will get a chance to chat with you some more at our VIP networking session before the screening - we'll see you there!
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If you've made a short film featuring cast, crew or locations from Western Sydney, you might be in the running to WIN this year's Audience Choice Award! Check out the ENTRY CRITERIA and SUBMIT YOUR FILM now!
Made in the West Film Festival returns to the Paddington RSL on Saturday 25 November 2017. Be there when doors open at 6pm and we’ll screen a three-hour marathon of Western Sydney’s best short films of the year, with trophies and prizes and all of the networking your film-loving self can handle along the way. Best of all - it's free to attend!! RSVP at our FB event and we’ll see you there!