CinefestOZ kicks off this month
Running from 29 August to 3 September in the vibrant South West, the festival has released an epic 2023 program featuring Screenwest-supported projects Keeping Hope, Marlu Man, Raising Thunder, I'm Not a Nurse, Touch, Babanil and Mr Kimberley.
CinefestOZ has launched its 2023 Program of films and events, with world and Australian premieres and the awarding of their annual $100,000 Film Prize set to take place in Western Australia’s vibrant South West from 29 August to 3 September.
Celebrating its 16th year, the 2023 festival will provide festival-goers with the opportunity to see some of Australia’s best new films first, and connect with filmmakers and visiting talent at the region’s cinemas, wineries, restaurants, boutique breweries, small bars and galleries in Augusta, Bunbury, Busselton and Margaret River.
“Unique Australian stories are at the heart of the CinefestOZ Film Festival and we hope you will love this year’s film selections, which celebrate the diversity of our country and its people, and the film events where festivalgoers can meet filmmakers, enjoy fantastic food, wine and music and most importantly have fun and be entertained.” said Margaret Buswell, CinefestOZ Chair.
This year’s Film Prize finalists are Monolith, Bromley: Beyond the Dark and MIFF@CinefestOZ films Shayda and The Rooster. The coveted $100,000 prize recognises excellence in filmmaking from an Australian feature film or feature-length documentary and is awarded on Gala Night by a jury of prominent industry guests, which in 2023 will be chaired by Australian writer, director and producer Robert Connolly (Blueback, The Dry).
Highly-anticipated Australian productions fresh from premieres at Sydney Film Festival and/or Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) include Rachel’s Farm, Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story, The New Boy, Joined Up Films’ Screenwest-supported NITV documentary Keeping Hope, and LGBTQIA+ drama Sunflower, which sold out its screening at MIFF in three minutes and is executive produced by WA’s Michael Facey.
The festival’s short film line-up features a slew of Western Australian shorts, including Marlu Man, Raising Thunder, I’m Not a Nurse and Touch, all supported through Screenwest’s Elevate initiative. Screenwest-supported short documentary films Babanil and Mr Kimberley, funded through the Your Planet: Climate & Environment initiative and WA Reflections initiative, respectively, have also been selected to screen in the festival’s annual Deadly Indigenous Shorts program.
The festival’s two-day industry program will run from 31 August to 1 September, and is set to be headlined by US producer and former Universal Pictures production president Debbie Liebling, renowned for the development and realisation of the cultural phenomenon South Park. Other industry guests heading to this year’s festival include Stan development executive Katherine Brown, and Binge executive director Alison Hurbert-Burns.
CinefestOZ 2023 runs from Tuesday, 29 August to Sunday, 3 September in locations across Busselton, Margaret River, Bunbury, Dunsborough and Augusta.
Tickets are on sale now at cinefestoz.com
CinefestOZ is supported by Screenwest and Lotterywest through the Audience and Community Engagement Fund.
Contact Screenwest
T: +61 8 6169 2100
E: info@screenwest.com.au
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date with Screenwest.