Our latest #WesternSydneyFilm Online Networking Event was such a vibe! You felt it too – right?
We were delighted to be joined by a screenful of folk from the Western Sydney Film community – a huge thanks to all who joined us for our most recent catch up on Zoom! We certainly came away feeling excited about what’s still to come this year and all of your amazing projects!
Once again, we partnered with Western Sydney Filmmakers Hangout for this event and founder Matthew C. Vella joined us on the call to talk about his work with #WSFH, when he’s planning the next event (coming very soon!), and what he’s been working on lately. He just released his short film She’s Not Your Type, which took home the Audience Choice Award a few years back at Made in the West and has been running laps around the festival circuit ever since!
We’re always happy to join with WSFH to connect Western Sydney filmmakers online!
Our online networking events are a unique blend of three elements: a live TV show with guest interviews, a Zoom party with random breakout rooms for smaller group chats, and a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-style interactive game, complete with alternate endings!
This time we spotlighted three awesome filmmakers (and our first all-female line-up!) who are each working on some great projects.
Writer, actor and director Prudence Bernadette a.k.a Theartgrl from Prudent Pictures shared the exciting news that she had just hit her crowdfunding goal for the pilot on her new web series Lipstick - amazing!! You may have seen her last short film Ps Get Degrees at Made in the West Film Festival in 2020. Prue has been busy boosting her skills in media accounting AND creating a new mentorship program for new filmmakers!
Fun fact: Prue was the lucky winner of our Golden Ticket in 2020 - hidden inside one of our 10-year Anniversary Magazines! Check out all that amazing festival merch she’s rockin' now!!
Actor, director and kick ass fight choreographer Maria Tran from Phoenix Eye Film Productions joined us now that she’s back in Sydney for a few gigs. She talked us through how she’s been prepping for her new theatre show Action Star and chatted about the work she has been doing with Paulie and the Housos team on a new series! You might remember Maria from her short film Operation Kung Flu which screened at Made in the West last year - and featured our AD Ross as an awesome bad guy!
Student filmmaker and creative photographer Nataly Thompson is studying a Bachelor of Design and Media Arts Production at WSU and was repping the student filmmakers on the call! She chatted with Ross about 360 video and the ways that immersive filmmaking might be used in different films - so cool! You might have seen Nataly on crew with us at Made in the West in recent years – and you will spot her again this year too, as she will be snapping pics for us on the red carpet!
Thank you again to everyone who joined us at our last the #WesternSydneyFilm online networking event for the year. We had a blast!
The next time we see you will be at the festival – SAVE THE DATE! Saturday 26 November at Event Cinemas in Liverpool – for the biggest night of the year for Western Sydney Film!
It was great to meet so many new people and get to hear about your work, plus share a few laughs about the challenges we all face being film creatives these days. We hope you feel inspired to get your 2022 projects completed before the year is out!
Speaking of which, submissions for Made in the West 2022 are open now!
If you have made a short film (under 15 minutes) that features cast, crew or locations from Western Sydney, you are eligible to submit your film. All genres and types of content are welcome, from documentaries and music videos, to animation, drama series, web series episodes, sci-fi and horror.
You can learn more and read the entry criteria here.
Made in the West is a celebration of Western Sydney on the big screen. This year we are celebrating our 11th annual festival and we’re proud to showcase hundreds of filmmakers from across Western Sydney and the original and authentic stories being told in our local region.
If you’re keen to work with us, shoot us an email to let us know what role/s you’re keen to take on, and we’ll get you on the team!
And, if you know someone who would like to sponsor the festival this year as a prize donor or financial contributor, let us know! Our sponsors are vital in helping us celebrate the contributions that filmmakers make to Western Sydney’s arts scene and their amazing support allows us to share some fantastic #loot in our prize pool each year.
Drop us a line if you want to get involved.
We’re looking forward to seeing you at the next WSF ONE in 2023!