How great was this week’s #WesternSydneyFilm Online Networking Event?? We love getting everyone together to talk films and get inspired about the work ahead and this time, with so many new people on the call, was especially sweet!
BIG thanks to all who joined us on the night! We certainly came away feeling excited about what’s still to come this year and we can’t wait to see you again at the festival in November.
Side note: If YOU have a film featuring cast & crew from Western Sydney NOW is your chance to enter the 2024 festival – check out the entry criteria here and submit before 25 October!
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 and when he’s planning the next event, and what he’s been working on lately. He’s just been awarded support by Blacktown Council for his latest project Nannu (Maltese for grandfather!), plus he’s in post-production for the locally produced feature film The Undesirables. He’s also always working his comedy videos for VellaMatt YouTube and TikTok channels, including a cool new vid featuring kickass Western Sydney filmmaker and martial arts queen Maria Tran -- coming soon!
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 local filmmakers who are each working on some great projects.
We checked in with writer, director and podcaster Kyle Goldfinch, who has just recently finished work on his debut short film Neuromance which premiered at Queer Screen's Mardi Gras Film Festival. The film is about twenty-three-year-old Nate who is living with autism and discovers the horrors of the gay dating scene in Sydney. Kyle has been a podcast host for Orbital Radio’s Film Festival Guide and was previously on the selection committees for Mardi Gras Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Flickerfest and Scout Film Festival in Boston. He has just started a new podcast too! It’s called The Publicist & The Producer – keep an eye out for it!
We chatted to writer and producer Addy Fong who runs the popular local filmmaking group Curiously West: Film Club. Curiously West is a joint venture between CuriousWorks and Powerhouse Youth Theatre Fairfield, meeting fortnightly on Thursday evenings at PYT Fairfield. The sessions range from skill-building workshops, to Popcorn and Pencils sessions where filmmakers can watch and review films, to networking sessions, and collaborative film-making sessions. Many of us know Addy from her from her days on staff at Western Sydney Uni in the production department – it was great to chat to her about going freelance! She’s been working on some new projects and recently became one of the emerging artists selected for Testing Grounds 2024. Her latest script was recently selected in the Adelaide Independent Film Festival Script Swap and is up for a prize, so we wish her all the best!
And finally, we talked to Thomas Fleming, a student filmmaker at WSU and the writer / director of The Crab Pamilya which took home the Audience Choice Award last year at Made in the West. He told us about the inspiration for involving his entire family in the production and all the challenges that came with producing a film with such a large ensemble cast! He also gave some great advice for any student filmmakers out there thinking of making their next film – don’t be afraid to give it a go! Filmmaking can be hard at first – it’s a team effort – but the challenge is half the fun!
As always, we also gave everyone details about what’s coming up for us in the months ahead, including… Did you hear? We’re going to be at the SXSW (South By SouthWest) Festival in Sydney! We’re super excited to be participating for the second year of #SXSWSydney event and you can catch us hosting an INDIE FILMMAKER MEET UP on Tuesday 17 October from 2.30pm-3.30pm at JMC Academy in Ultimo. You know how we love connecting with other creatives!
Check out the session details for more info and grab your badge / wristband to be there with us at the biggest tech/screen/music/games EVER to visit the southern hemisphere!
Made in the West is a celebration of Western Sydney on the big screen. This year we are celebrating our 13th 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.
Thank you again to everyone who joined us at the online networking event - our last one for the year. The next time we see you will be at the festival – SAVE THE DATE! Saturday 30 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 2024 projects completed before the year is out!
Speaking of which, submissions for Made in the West 2024 are still open for another few weeks!
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.
SUBMIT YOUR FILM NOW! Submissions close SOON on Friday 25 October.
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 festival soon!