Made in the West Film Festival has a lot to be thankful for.
The community of filmmakers that we support and celebrate is dedicated, creative, ambitious and wonderfully inclusive. Being in the crowd last Saturday at the festival was just electric, and for SSP, having hundreds of filmmakers in the room cheering for each other’s work was, without a doubt, the best part of the night. We think this year’s festival showed exactly what Western Sydney is made of, and we are proud.
Still Searchin’ Productions would like to thank some of the people who helped us bring the 2017 Made in the West Film Festival to life. There are many moving parts that come into play on the night and we rely on the very generous help, time and talent of our festival crew and contributors.
Thanks to these heroes for their help at this year’s Made in the West:
Prema Smith – our festival MC who was front and centre on stage, right where he loves to be. He kept the energy levels high and our film schedule on time – it was a pleasure working with him. You can check out Prema’s website and book him for your next gig HERE.
Hari Frohling – he’s the one who put together the artwork on that great looking programme you had in your hands all night! We thank him for taking the time to help us get it right, especially when all our judges’ scores come in so last minute! You can check out Hari’s work HERE.
Daniel Thornton – our red carpet photographer who spent the evening capturing the atmosphere in the room, we applaud you! We’re really excited to share all the beautiful moments you snapped throughout the night. Watch this space everyone as you’ll all be seeing those pics very soon! You can follow Dan and see more of his work HERE.
Xaric Phoenix – our cast and crew photographer that you saw snapping photos of our filmmakers throughout the intermissions. He captured such great shots of everyone and we can’t wait to release our gallery of photos tomorrow! You can check out more of Xaric’s work HERE.
James Preston – our red carpet TV Host who spent the night interviewing our festival finalists for the 2017 red carpet highlights reel. He did a great job and we’re looking forward to seeing the final video of the night! You can check out James’ podcast HERE and get in touch with him HERE:
Sumeet Joseph – our red carpet cameraman who filmed the night and all our finalist interviews – we’re thankful he could join us this year and we’re looking forward to seeing the footage! We’re sure the highlights reel is going to look amazing. You can connect with Sumeet HERE.
Geline Garcia – our video editor whose work always starts once the festival is done! Geline is currently editing our red carpet highlights reel and hopefully it will be ready for us to share with you all this week! We love GG’s work and we know she’ll make the night look awesome, as always.
Charu and Bridget – our wonderful volunteers who assisted us with finalist interviews and prizes, helping the SSP team throughout the night, including with our final vote! Thank you both for your time, we really appreciated your help.
Maria and Neil – for their generosity and very welcome assistance in the lead-up to the festival. They helped us with prizes and preparing for our crew, plus setting up on the day – their contribution was very much appreciated and we thank them for their encouragement and support.
Rah Sharma – for supporting our vision and reminding us of the impact Made in the West can have on a filmmaker’s life. He helped us connect with new crew this year, plus source some last-minute equipment – it was very much appreciated. You can check out Rah’s work HERE and connect with him HERE.
And last, but certainly not least, thanks to the entire team of contributors at Still Searchin’ Productions – Ross, Misty, Jono, Nat, Steve, Dave, Tess and Carissa. Your commitment to Made in the West over the years has meant hundreds of local filmmakers now have a dedicated space to share their stories. Western Sydney’s film scene is finally on the map and we’re thankful you are part of it.
Made in the West Film Festival is incredibly grateful for the support offered by our contributors this year. We can’t wait to return in 2018 with a new venue and even more amazing sponsors and supporters on our side – it’s going to be our best year yet, we’re sure of it.
And by the way, if you’re reading this and you think you’d like to join us next year at Made in the West and contribute your time or talent to the event, get in touch and tell us what you think you can do to help! We’re always happy to hear from new collaborators.
With love,
SSP