CinefestOZ Film Festival in Busselton WA 2022
WA's CinefestOZ Festival is a highlight of the year and pretty damn special. We celebrated films made, food and wine of the region, making new connections and catching up with friends.
(L-R) Amanda Bridgeman & Naomi Rossdeutscher, Narelda Jacobs, Rustico Restaurant, Seriously Red: Daniel Webber & Jessica Carrera & Krew Boylan, Naomi & Ros Walker, Melanie Timms.
The Industry days are particularly great for filmmakers
We heard from Tony Ayres, Martha Coleman, Daina Reid, Richard Roxburgh, Alison Hurbert-Burns, Adam Piron, Ros Walker, Ben Young and more.
The industry is looking for content but it's very hard for emerging writers in Australia, with content, to get read. Being writers based in WA, this festival is a highlight as it offers us the opportunity to network, talk about our writing, discover who is willing to accept a pitch and hear what the Streamers are looking for.
The four “In Competition” feature films were fabulously different from each other and are a showcase of the high calibre filmmaking in Australia
Writer & Director Goran Stolevski’s feature, Of an Age, won the CinefestOZ $100,000 Film Prize. Actors Thom Green, Elias Anton, Hattie Hook and Producer Kristina Ceyton joined Goran Stolevski in Busselton for the screenings and celebrations. This is a very moving story, that’s also funny, compelling and creative.
The jury included Richard Roxburgh, Emma Booth, Meyne Wyatt; Melissa Kelly, Tony Ayres, and Adam Piron - a representative from America’s Sundance Film Festival.
“We were deeply moved by this film, it haunted us, and it was an experience that touched us all on a personal level,” Roxburgh told The Sunday Times.
Seriously Red, a comedy with a message, filled with Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers music, and a bit of Kylie, starring the writer/actor Krew Boylan and Daniel Webber, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale and Sophia Forrest, with Producers Jessica Carrera, Deanne Weir and Olivia Humphrey in attendance, opened the festival with joy.
Sweet As is WA director Jub Clerc’s debut feature, a sweet coming-of-age, road movie, shot in the stunning Pilbara in Western Australia.
Matt Nable’s debut feature, Transfusion, with Avatar star Sam Worthington, touches on PTSD, crime and a father & son relationship. Produced by John and Michael Schwarz from Deeper Water Films. This is an incredibly polished debut film all round, powerful and emotional, and will be screening on STAN.
The $5000 prize, top award for Best Short Film was for Freedom Swimmer, a heart wrenching, creative film about a grandfather's perilous swim from China to Hong Kong, by writer/director Olivia Martin-McGuire & producers Brooke Silcox, Ron Dyens & Olivia Martin-McGuire.
by Naomi Rossdeutscher – House of Paradox
