We want to give a massive shout-out to everyone who played a part in the Opening Night celebrations for the 2024 Made in the West festival a resounding success!
We've got a lot to be grateful for! Not only do we get to throw the most epic bash of the year for our local filmmaking community, but we also have the incredible opportunity to spotlight the amazing talent and stories from our region.
All of this, mind you, happens with a dream team of friends who see our vision for a thriving, supportive and collaborative creative arts community in Sydney's west.
The filmmakers we champion are a force to be reckoned with—dedicated, creative, and unapologetically bold.
Year after year, we're blown away by the ambitious and one-of-a-kind stories coming out of the West, and the films in the 2024 Official Selection showcase exactly what Western Sydney is made of!
For us, the highlight of the night—and a massive reason why we're in this game—is seeing a packed cinema with hundreds of filmmakers, along with their friends and family, cheering each other on and celebrating local films. It's truly the most wonderful thing!!
This year, a team of 25 contributors joined forces to bring the festival to you, alongside the legendary folks at Event Cinemas Liverpool who continue to give their unwavering support to our community.
Organising Made in the West Film Festival each year requires us to coordinate a lot of moving parts, so we owe a huge debt of gratitude to our festival crew.
We want to give a shout-out to the incredible folks who made this year's film festival a roaring success!
A heartfelt thank you to Holly Rose, Richard and Ashleigh — the dynamic Front of House team who ensured everything ran smoothly from ticket check-in to doors open, banners and foyer bump out. Your contributions were invaluable in making the event so seamless.
Big thanks to Emily and Claire our Artist Liaison for our filmmakers, giving instructions for their interview spots and ensuring we got the grabs we need for the highlights and online movie marathon. Thanks for helping everyone enjoy the experience!
Huge gratitude to Steve and Aaron - our Projection team working their magic behind the scenes to make sure the show runs smoothly. Thanks for keeping the show going!
Kudos to our red carpet photographers, Lexy Potts, Dan Thornton (and his awesome apprentice Felicity), and Nataly Thomson, for capturing all the excitement among the crowd and the audience. We can't wait to share the official photo albums showcasing the finalists and guests looking fabulous on the red carpet!
Special mention to Abbey-Jane Camilleri, our graphic designer from WSU's Burrow Design Studio, for crafting an out-of-this-world festival poster that set the stage for our best festival yet! You can find more of Abbey's work here.
A big thanks to Christina for handling the merch desk and ensuring our festival memorabilia reached our fans. You did great!
And to Nathalie and Angeli - our powerhouse publicity team working to capture the magic of festival to share with our fans and followers. Thanks for sharing our wins with the wider public.
A special nod to Shetu, our MC for the in-cinema screening, for infusing the evening with energy – we loved having you on the mic!
And a shout out to Addy, our quiet but deadly technical producer, who helped prepare our crew behind the scenes and supported the film team on opening night. Thanks for all your help!
A huge shout-out to Luke Walker Productions for providing camera crew, equipment, and lighting. Your professionalism and fun spirit make you a joy to work with. We appreciate your support and friendship.
Hats off to James, Daniel, and Daragh—our Red Carpet host, camera operator, and producer—for capturing the emotion and excitement of Western Sydney film's biggest night.
We are super keen to see the Festival Highlights come through!
And a round of applause please for Matt, Vuk, and Ross—our Online Marathon host, camera operator, and director—for bringing the festival to viewers around the world.
he 2024 MEGA Movie Marathon is all set to stream online from December 10 to the end of January, featuring a bumper lineup of films, filmmaker interviews, and red carpet highlights.
A heartfelt thank you to the team at Event Cinemas—Teoni, Chris, and all the Liverpool cinema staff—for your ongoing support and encouragement of the filmmaking scene in Western Sydney.
And finally, immense gratitude to the entire crew of contributors and friends at Made in the West Creative, including Ross, Misty, Jay, Emily, Aaron, Steve, and Nathalie. Your collective efforts have been the backbone of our success over the last 13 years. We wouldn't want to do it without you!
HUGE thanks to you all for helping us pull off an amazing night for the Western Sydney film community.
Through our combined efforts, Made in the West has provided hundreds of local filmmakers with a dedicated space to share their stories on the big screen.
Did you hear? This year we screened our 300th film made right here in the suburban heartland of Sydney. We're super proud!
We're also incredibly grateful for the support offered by WSU our Gold+ Screen sponsor and major sponsors Luke Walker Productions, AFTRS, In the Park Events and Made in the West Creative, all the festival judges and also our wonderful prize sponsors for making the night so special.
Made in the West Film Festival is made possible by the support offered by all our contributors and WE CAN’T WAIT to return in 2025 with even more amazing people on our side.
And by the way, if you’re reading this and you think you’d like to work with us next year at Made in the West and contribute your time or talent to the event, or join our sponsors & partners list, get in touch and tell us what you think you can do to help!
We’re always happy to hear from new collaborators.
But we’re not done for 2024 just yet!
We need you to SHARE the great news: Made in the West Film Festival is streaming films online and on demand for our extended family, friends and fans to tune in all summer long.
It’s the #SummerOfFilms – and not just any films! #WesternSydneyFilms
Tell your friends and family to check out the MEGA Movie Marathon for a kickass lineup of short films that is sure to entertain even the grumpiest of grinches this holiday season!
The marathon goes live on Tuesday 10 December and will feature vox pops with filmmakers filmed on Opening Night live from the red carpet!
The full 2024 program is up on our website now, with films & synopses, plus social links to follow the filmmakers online.
It’s only $6 USD to watch the show (on Vimeo On Demand) and they’ll have one whole week to complete the viewing and VOTE for their favourite films.
Which film will WIN the People’s Choice Award this year and take home our first ever CASH PRIZE?? Thanks to In The Park Events, in association with Sydney Olympic Park, we’re upping the ante this year with a $2,000 cash prize for the winner of the People’s Choice Award, plus each of our genre awards will receive a Sony gear pack valued at $1,000.
Our #SummerofWSfilm will finish in January with outdoor screenings and a closing night party on Sunday 2 February – join us as we announce the winners live at Sydney Olympic Park! Stay tuned for more announcements coming soon.
So tell your friends and family to prepare for a #couchfest this summer!!
Sign up to stream the best 3-hour movie marathon of short films you’ve seen all year (yep, we said it), complete with filmmaker interviews and highlights from the red carpet at Oopening Night. It's a great way to be part of Made in the West 2024.
Thanks again to our wonderful crew and happy holiday viewing, everyone!