Festival brings sparkle of silver screen to the region

The South West’s annual film festival had the stars walking the red carpet this week alongside locals keen to soak up the atmosphere of CinefestOz 2023.

Held at various venues across the region from Bunbury to Augusta, the festival showcases the best of Australian cinema and welcomes a list of award winning actors, directors, screenwriters and producers ahead of the announcement of the winner of Australia’s richest annual film prize.

This year, Shayda, which tells the story of a young Iranian mother and her six-year-old daughter who take refuge in an Australian women’s shelter, was named the winner of the $100,000 prize.

“Our Film Prize Jury, which comprised Chair Robert Connolly, Debbie Liebling, Mia Wasikowska, Rob Collins and Deborah Riley – assessed each of the four finalists from a perspective of excellence – taking into account originality, the power of the story, the pace, structure, memorable characters, acting quality, cinematography and its alignment with the narrative, and the ability of the filmmaker to create a strong and cohesive experience in the cinema,” CinefestOZ Chair Margaret Buswell said.

“After much deliberation over the four finalists, the jury selected Shayda.”