Made in the West is returning for its 11th annual film festival and we can’t wait!!
Dust off your going out shoes and SAVE THE DATE for Sydney’s most exciting short film festival, coming to you live in cinema on Saturday 26 November 2022.
Our venue partners Event Cinemas are back on board for 2022 and we’re excited to host another red carpet event at their Liverpool venue! From the three-storey Vmax screen to the state-of-the-art surround sound and comfy leather chairs, we have loved hosting the festival at Event Cinemas for the last five years. We thank them generously for their hospitality, and for backing filmmakers from Western Sydney.
Gold+ Sponsor Western Sydney University have also committed their support to Made in the West for another year, and we welcome their contribution to Western Sydney’s cultural and art scene. We’re pleased to be working alongside the world’s #1 ranked university for their commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals earlier this year, working towards a strong and equitable creative community here in Western Sydney.
Have you made a film featuring cast, crew or locations from Western Sydney? Submissions are open now!
We welcome all genres including comedy, horror, drama and animation, plus music videos, doco’s and webseries - as long as it’s under fifteen minutes in duration and features at least one location, cast or crew member based in Western Sydney.
“The quality of films coming out of western Sydney right now is off the hook!” says AD Ross.
If you’re working in the West, or collaborating with someone who is from the West, we’d love to see your film on the big screen. Get in quick before entries close on 28 October.
Still Searchin’ Productions has hosted the film festival since its inception in 2012. Our goal has always been to throw the kind of film festival we’d want to attend! That’s why we don’t put any rules on the work you make – we want you to create whatever films inspire you and drive you each day – all genres are welcome!
It’s been a busy year so far for us; we worked with an all WSU student crew to film our latest episode of Made in the West TV (coming soon!) and we’ve held a couple of online networking events with the fabulous Matthew C. Vella from Western Sydney Filmmakers Hangout. We have another event planned for early October - stay tuned for more info coming soon!
We had so much fun celebrating our first decade of festivals last year. You only turn ten once, and we certainly did it in style! Not only did we launch our very own merchandise line, but we also collaborated with the team at Burrow to design a super stellar 10th Anniversary magazine.
And that’s not all - members from the #WesternSydneyFilm community came together to surprise our GM Misty McPhail and AD Ross Page with some congratulatory messages of their own. What a wonderful gift!
Reaching double digits was monumental for us – there were plenty of moments along the way where we thought it all might end! Like many great film festivals that have risen and fallen, some right here in our own backyard, we knew that keeping the festival flame burning would take time, patience and care. Every year as the community comes together to celebrate the best of the best films, we are humbled to host so many awesome people and to showcase the incredible talent that Western Sydney has to offer.
As we enter our next decade, the next stage of the festival feels exciting and anew. We know that Made in the West gets bigger and better every year, but we also want more for the local creative community -- more opportunities, more local stories on screens, more ways to come together, more support and engagement from corporate and government organisations. We don’t ask much!
So SAVE THE DATE for Saturday 26 November because Made in the West will be back on the big screen at Event Cinemas (Liverpool) … tickets open in early November and the event is FREE for all filmmakers and fans to attend.
So, mark your calendar, write it in your diary, set a reminder, tell your friends - whatever it takes! You don’t want to miss this year’s event.
Are you keen to work with us? We’re always on the hunt for local creatives with a passion for film and an interest in producing an exciting festival experience.
Working in a fun and dynamic team like ours, you will get to contribute your skills, get some feelgood publicity along the way, and of course you’ll meet a bunch of other creatives as you help keep one of the best community film events running smoothly this year.
Every year the short films we showcase get better and better; from the technical production to their creativity to their originality and authenticity. The stories that Western Sydney have to share right now are second to none, and they deserve to be celebrated around Australia and across the globe.
So as we launch ourselves into the next decade of Made in the West, we can’t wait to see what the next ten years will bring the community.
Did we tell you? The number eleven is our lucky number!!
It's going to be a GREAT year -- there are some exciting opportunities on the horizon! Watch this space (and sign up to our newsletter!) so you don’t miss out.
Good luck! We can’t wait to see what you’ve been working on <3
SSP