The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre
An innovative multi-arts hub in the heart of Blacktown City.
Made in the West Film Festival hits the big screen at The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre this Autumn.
Catch 4 films from the 2022 festival, including the People’s Choice Award-winner Hello My Name is Mother Nature by Pamela Manos and Darcy Vincent.
Blacktown Arts invites filmmakers and film lovers to celebrate some of western Sydney’s most exciting local talent. So come in, sit back, relax, and enjoy some of the incredible films western Sydney has to offer. We have a special screening session with light refreshments on Saturday 29 April.
About Made in the West Film Festival
Over the last 10 years, Made in the West has been supporting and celebrating local and emerging film talent in Sydney’s west. They bring the glamour of the red carpet to the west, providing opportunities through industry awards and connecting independent and student filmmakers with established industry experts.
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Films
Hello, My Name is Mother Nature
Pamela Manos & Darcy Carroll
Mother Nature goes to a speed dating event in an attempt to get over her toxic relationship with Mankind. A chance for love to blossom proves fruitless, with each potential match being more disastrous than the last.
Blame the Ovens
Ali Sayed
When a kind-hearted cop is confronted by two ruffians in an isolated city location, he yields to their demands but meanwhile changes their perceptions of society.
An Orange and The Eye
Chrishantha Fernando
As a trolley collector gathers the stray trolleys left abandoned across Parramatta, he encounters a gruff homeless person who won’t give up his trolley. The old man sees the collector’s efforts and despite needing the trolley himself, he has a change of heart.
Leopard
Kamil Domaradzki
A Middle Eastern teenager from Western Sydney struggles with coming out to his childhood best friend and cousin on his sixteenth birthday. A coming of age drama about toxic masculinity, peer pressure, friendship and being true to yourself.
Bios
- Made in the West Film Festival
- Darcy Carroll and Pamela Manos
- Ali Sayed
- Chrishantha Fernando
- Kamil Domaradzki
Made in the West Film Festival is a grassroots film festival that shines a spotlight on Western Sydney’s indie film scene, celebrating the work of local filmmakers at their annual red carpet event. Founded in 2012, Made in the West is the largest celebration of its kind, dedicated entirely to showcasing Western Sydney talent on the big screen.
Darcy Carroll and Pamela Manos are aspiring young filmmakers from Western Sydney whose film Hello My Name is Mother Nature premiered at Made in the West Film Festival and was awarded the Audience Choice Award, People Choice Award and Best Comedy. Darcy hopes to use his artistic voice in the future to create warm and accurate representations of Greater Western Sydney and the diverse voices that live here. Pamela hopes to pursue her passion and talents for producing and directing to share insights from her personal life and all the stories formed in weird and beautiful ways.
Ali Sayed has had a passion for film making since his childhood. His passion is to bring unconventional and interesting stories to audiences and he gets inspiration every single day from society, the people he meets, and the challenges they face. Ali’s vision is to tell these stories and reflect them back to society through his eyes. After moving to Sydney 8 years back, he established the base for Filmpreneurs in Sydney. Networking with like-minded film creatives, 7 years ago he formed 24Six Films. Ali has written, directed and edited 7 critically acclaimed shorts of different genres in Australia.
Chrishantha Fernando began his career in the arts as a child actor in Sri Lanka, with numerous roles in theatre and radio drama. He was selected by the Sri Lanka TV Corporation for a three-year producer traineeship and was later employed as a producer on numerous Studio & OB productions for public broadcast. He won the producer’s scholarship in TV Broadcasting and as part of the scholarship, he carried out an assignment at AFTRS. Chrishantha has also developed documentaries for both ABC and SBS and is currently developing his first feature film.
Kamil Domaradzki is a director/cinematographer who migrated to Australia when he was six. Pursuing his passion for film, he completed the Advanced Diploma in Film & Television at TAFE and continued on to later graduate with a Diploma in Cinematography at AFTRS. Kamil draws inspiration from his heritage, life experiences and surroundings, grounding his films around personal stories, friends and family. He is a spirited creative, who believes in a strong collaborative team driven environment that nurtures visual storytelling to support narrative, and is committed to exploring new and innovative ways to create emotional and engaging stories.
Presented by Blacktown Arts in partnership with Made In The West and supported by Blacktown City Council and the NSW Government through Create NSW.
