Ongoing partnership supports student filmmakers of Western Sydney

Western Sydney University is proud to sponsor the annual ‘Made in the West Film Festival’ – a grassroots festival dedicated to screening Western Sydney films.

Founded by talented alumni from the University’s School of Humanities and Communication Arts, the festival will celebrate its 10th anniversary as part of this year’s festivities.

Professor Matt McGuire, Acting Dean of the School of Humanities and Communication Arts, said the festival highlights the region’s filmmakers, including many past and present students of the University.

“Made in the West Film Festival is a fantastic initiative that is shining a light on the stories of Western Sydney,” said Professor McGuire.

“Western Sydney University is delighted to be a long-standing partner and supporter of the festival and to provide students from a range of disciplines with exciting opportunities to engage with the industry event.”

Over a decade ago, Made in the West Artistic Director Ross Page and General Manager Misty McPhail hosted their first ever-short film screening night as students at Western Sydney University.

This year, the festival aims to give a much-needed boost to the arts and cultural industries, including emerging artists.

“We really could not have imagined that the decade to follow would result in the Made in the West Film Festival you see today – a bustling scene of filmmakers that are connected and collaborative and driven to create,” said Mr Page.

“We would like to acknowledge the School of Humanities and Communication Arts for their contributions to building the creative capacity of Western Sydney artists and connecting local organisations like ours to the many student filmmakers and creatives that seek experience and inspiration, just like we did ten years ago.”

Western Sydney University has worked with Made in the West to deliver over 100 engagement opportunities for students, including design projects, TV crew productions and digital internships and event management training opportunities.

Since 2018, Western Sydney University has donated studio time in their state-of-the-art TV studio at Parramatta South campus to support the production of Made in the West TV – the festival chat show featuring award-winning filmmakers.

This year, students Elissa Sewell and Natasha Raj are leads on the digital campaign and magazine launch, while Luke Hodge is working on TV show production and Tia McGillivray on the festival campaign design.

Notably, Ms McGillivray designed this year’s event poster and a team of students from the School of Humanities and Communication Arts under the leadership of Katrina Sandbach designed an augmented reality anniversary yearbook.

The Made in the West Film Festival supports short films from a range of genres, including documentary, music video, animation, drama, web series, sci-fi, and horror. Films will be judged by a panel of industry professionals, including Dr Rachel Bentley and Dr Wendy Chandler from the School of Humanities and Communication Arts, with finalists to feature in a marathon screening event on Saturday 4 December, and a digital screening from Friday 10 December

For more information, visit the Made in the West Film Festival website (opens in a new window).

ENDS

25 November 2021

Ali Sardyga, Senior Media Officer