Intro
L-R Jodie Bell, CEO Ramu Productions; Marty Cunningham, Director Special Projects CITS; Rikki Lea Bestall, Screenwest CEO; Tom Avison, CEO of Perth Film Studios; and Cassandra Jordan, CEO CinefestOZ Film Festival. Image courtesy of CinefestOZ.
There were 2 WA films amongst the 4 finalists selected by an esteemed panel of judges and audiences enjoyed screenings of We Bury the Dead and Birthright as part of the festival. Adelaide film, Songs Inside, took out the $100,000 prize and Frances O’Connor was named the Cinefest OZ 2025 Screen Legend.
As part of the festival’s Industry Conference, key industry leaders discussed the State’s vision for the industry, as outlined in the WA Screen Industry Strategy , supported by the incentives, funding, workforce and industry support provided by Screenwest, and the progress and plans for the Perth Film Studios as it gets closer to opening in early 2026.
A range of exciting productions are choosing to film in WA to advantage of the incentives on offer, including The Traveller, Ghosts Australia, Reckless, We Bury the Dead and Birthright, creating jobs for our State and supporting the WA economy.
The latest WA Government investment in the lead up to the Perth Film Studios opening, is the $5 million screen capacity building fund which Screenwest recently announced to fast-track growth of critical screen infrastructure and the capacity of the screen industry.