Well, this is exciting, isn’t it? We’re about to drop the good news!! Today is a very big day for the cast and crew of the 2022 Official Selection.
Congratulations, Western Sydney filmmakers -- you’ve really brought your A-game this year and we’re super excited by all the nods you’ve got from the judges.
Before we get carried away by the buzz in the air - we should recap. As we are 11 years young, we know many of you already know the drill by now, but this year’s finalist line-up is FULL of fresh, new talent so please excuse us while we lay it down for those who haven’t been here before.
There are 19 fantastic films in the 2022 Official Selection, all of which are in the running to win one of two major trophies – the Best in the West Award (for indie filmmakers) or Best Student Film. So the two films that receive the top scores overall from our esteemed panel of judges will go home with a beautiful crystal trophy, PLUS some awesome DOP and Sound Mastering prizes (and plenty of swag!).
The next trophy on the line is ‘Best Music Video’ – a new award we introduced last year on our 10th birthday – and we are thrilled to once again be celebrating musicians and filmmakers collaborating on creative projects because it is something we’re really passionate about, and it’s something we’re seeing more and more of here in Western Sydney!
What’s the last trophy up for grabs? We’re so happy you asked, because we’re relying on you – yes, YOU – to decide who wins! The highly coveted Audience Choice Award earns bragging rights among your mates because no matter what the judges decided, it was YOUR film that was the audience favourite!
And how do we know it was the overall fave? Because we’re going to do a live vote with the entire audience in the cinema at the end of the night. We’ll tally the votes quickly in the final intermission, then return to announce the name of our Audience Choice Award winner!
How sweet is that?? So obviously you’ll want to bring your posse for support! Pester them to reserve their ticket NOW! But be warned … we’ve known plenty of friends who have been swayed in a different direction by other amazing films in the festival line-up!!
Of course, all four of these trophies also come with some serious loot for the winners too - check out our latest prize sponsors blog for to find out what prizes we have in store for you this year (wait, HOW MUCH cash?*)
But that’s not all folks! You see, this is where things get interesting....
Each year we also ask our wonderful festival judges to nominate the films that demonstrate excellence in the following categories: Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematographer, Best Editor, Best Sound Design, Best Production Design, Best Original Score, Best Lead Actor and Best Supporting Actor.
Thank goodness that the judges are the ones deciding this year’s winners, because there’s simply no way that we could ever decide!!
So many awards. So many talented filmmakers. We can’t wait. It's going to be HUGE for sure!
Is the suspense killing you yet? No? Well it’s killing US!! So we won’t keep this year’s nominees to ourselves any longer. Still Searchin' Productions is proud to announce the nominees for this year’s individual category awards: (Go, you good things!)
BEST DIRECTOR NOMINEES
Arco’s World - Kasey Medeiros
Baby Dole - Katrina Lay
Blame The Ovens - Ali Sayed
Bogan Moths - Tony Radevski
DO IT 4U: Dyan Tai feat. AnSo - Shaun Parker
Domesticated - Elle Harris
Hello My Name is Mother Nature - Darcy Carroll
I Don’t Get You: Particles - Vuk Micic
Leopard - Kamil Domaradzki and Ali Zoghi
My Gift - Michael Raso
Only One - Chloe de Brito
Seen - Sharon Mani
Springbound - Clarence Lin Thein
Tales from the Dark Web: Moira Hill - Ryan Cauchi
Yannis - James Elazzi
BEST SCREENPLAY NOMINEES
Baby Dole - Katrina Lay
Blame The Ovens - Jayant Sharma, Ali Sayed and Aniket Deshkar
Bogan Moths - Tony Radevski
Domesticated - Valentin Lang and Elle Harris
Hello My Name is Mother Nature - Darcy Carroll
Leopard - Kamil Domaradzki
Seen - Sharon Mani
Tales from the Dark Web: Moira Hill - Ryan Cauchi
Yannis - James Elazzi
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER NOMINEES
An Orange and The Eye - Zachary Peel-McGregor
Baby Dole - Tyron Seeto
DO IT 4U: Dyan Tai feat. AnSo - Christopher Quyen
I Don’t Get You: Particles - Luke Walker
Leopard - Kamil Domaradzki
My Gift - Christopher J McHardy
Only One - Jack Saltmiras
Seen - Irisha Adanya
Tales from the Dark Web: Moira Hill - Rupan Poudel
Yannis - Nicolas Nalbandian
BEST EDITOR NOMINEES
Domesticated - Alex Dona
Leopard - Kamil Domaradzki
My Gift - JD Cohen
Only One - Brenton Cassidy
Seen - Sharon Mani
Suburban Witchcraft: Head in a Jar - Shaye Fox
Tales from the Dark Web: Moira Hill - Ryan Cauchi
Things That Go Bump: Machine on a Break - Luke Agius
Yannis - Alex Dona
BEST SOUND DESIGN NOMINEES
An Orange and The Eye - Andrew Bellity
Baby Dole - Siraj Qureshi and Angus Roche
Because of Ava - Mike Tilbrook
Blame The Ovens - Ali Sayed
Bogan Moths - Jarad Avnell
Domesticated - Shauna Doyle
Leopard - Piotr Domaradzki
Springbound - Clarence Lin Thein
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE NOMINEES
Blame The Ovens - Rajdeep Joshi
Leopard - Emma Greenhill and Ali Zoghi
My Gift - Nicole Katherine Brady
Seen - Caitlin Royston
Tales from the Dark Web: Moira Hill - Me-Lee Hay
Yannis - Paul Nicolaou
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN NOMINEES
Baby Dole - Katrina Lay
DO IT 4U: Dyan Tai feat. AnSo - Dyan Tai, Shaun Parker and Christopher Quyen
Domesticated - Hamish Elliot
I Don’t Get You: Particles - Dan D’Arcy
Leopard - Diva Abrahamian
My Gift - Hayden Anderson
Only One: Ashli - Esther Rosenberg
Seen - Jesse Abcede
Springbound - Veronica Silver
Things That Go Bump: Machine on a Break - Jodie Feeney
BEST LEAD ACTOR NOMINEES
An Orange and The Eye - Harmanjeet Singh
Baby Dole - Emalia Burford
Because of Ava - Cerise Kellie
Blame The Ovens - Pranam Janney
Domesticated - James Sweeny
Hello My Name is Mother Nature - Alex Roberts
Leopard - Saro Lepejian
Seen - Brooke Lee Rayner
Springbound - Quinlan Deakin
Tales from the Dark Web: Moira Hill - Alex King
Yannis - Edward O’Leary
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR NOMINEES
Baby Dole - Bailee Arndt
Because of Ava - Laura Daniella Bucci
Domesticated - Travis Jeffery
Leopard - Tyson Ibrahim
Springbound - Sabrina Salas
Yannis - Will Bartolo
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Congratulations to all of the amazing cast & crew involved in producing this year's top 19 films and best of luck to all our nominees in their individual prize category awards!
Have you snapped up your ticket to the festival yet? Made in the West will always be a FREE event, but bookings are necessary. Tickets are flying out the door (we’ve never seen them book out this quickly) so reserve yours now to avoid disappointment.
What are you waiting for? RESERVE YOUR TICKET NOW!
Not sure what you’re in for? Check out our website to learn more, read through our FAQs here and follow us on social media so you don’t miss a thing.
And of course, if there’s a date clash, or your work EOY party is on, or you’re just not one for large gatherings anymore (we don’t blame you), REMEMBER you can catch the exact same Official Selection films online from the start of December through to the end of January at our super sexy new on-demand Online Film Festival.
There’s even more awards up for grabs over the summer too, as we will be asking all the viewers at home to vote for their favourite film too, so we can crown our annual People’s Choice Award.
Congratulations again to this year’s nominees!! See you on the red carpet soon, Western Sydney.
*No actual cash on offer. But it’s certainly the dream, one day, to offer financial reward to winning filmmakers to support their future creative practice! For now, we’ll have to make do with over $10,000 in prizes thanks to our generous sponsors, including DOP and Sound mastering and Foley packages, Studio and Rehearsal room hire, Memberships and Mentorships, Artist headshots, Workshops and Podcast interviews on the Pagey Train. We can’t complain! Check out the full list of prizes and awards for all the deets.