Over 500 filmmakers, celebrities, media and screen industry representatives turned out to celebrate the very best in Western Australian screen production at the 28^th Annual West Australian Screen Awards hosted by comedian Rhys Nicholson, at the Heath Ledger Theatre in Perth last night, Monday 4 July 2016.

Presented by FTI, the WA Screen Awards (WASAs) is the premier celebration of West Australian screen culture, celebrating excellence and achievements in feature film, short film, web series, music videos, television production, documentary, games and interactive productions.

The red carpet featured past WASA-winners including Ethan Thomas (Greenfield) and Emily Rose Brennan (The Legend of Gavin Tanner), Director General at the Department of Culture & Arts Duncan Ord, Deputy Chair of FTI Mitchel Wells, former broadcaster and politician Diana Warnock, Fringe World Director Amber Hasler, artist Geoffrey Drake-Brockman, TV and radio presenter Christian Horgan, as well as Perth musicians Kučka, Mathas and Timothy Nelson, who all enjoyed world-class service, delicious canapés and premium beverages thanks to the State Theatre Centre of WA.

The big winner of the night was short drama We Were Here, directed by David Vincent Smith and produced by Joshua Gilbert and Simon Camp, which won four gongs including Cinefest Oz Best Short Form – Drama and Jaguar Best Performance by an Actress for Alexandra Nell’s performance.

Flushed, written, directed and produced by Richard Eames, took out three awards including The Backlot Perth People’s Choice Award. 

Feature film Bad Girl, written and directed Fin Edquist and produced by Steve Kearney, Bruno Charlesworth and Tenille Kennedy, took out the night’s most coveted award for Media Super Best Long Form – Drama, winning over The Legend of Gavin Tanner and Bngvel. 

The winner of the prestigious PSC McKenna Hampton Young Filmmaker of the Year award and $5000 cash prize went to producer/editor Jess Black.

The Screenwest Outstanding Contribution to the Industry Award was presented to picture and sound editor/production supervisor Lawrie Silvestrin, who was recognized for his service to the screen industry, working on countless documentaries, feature films, drama series and short films. Director General of the Department of Culture & Arts, Duncan Ord, praised Lawrie’s commitment to the screen industry when presenting the award.

The night of celebration was also a night of reflection as two industry greats were awarded posthumous awards for their work. Leading WA Documentary producer Brian Beaton of Artemis Films won the WA Screen Academy Best Long Form – Factual award for Who Do You Think You Are? Series 7, along with his co-producers Celia Tate and Margie Bryant. FTI CEO Paul Bodlovich announced on the evening that following on from suggestions from Brian’s family and colleagues a new Brian Beaton Award would be created. The inaugural Brian Beaton Award, supported by Screenwest and FTI, will be created with the input of the Beaton family and his colleagues and will be given for the first time at the 29^th WA Screen Awards. FTI will be accepting donations through their Philanthropy program for the award and Screenwest has committed to $5000 annually to go towards the recipient, in honour of Brian’s memory.

In a bittersweet moment Wayne Davies was also awarded a posthumous award for Jaguar Best Performance by an Actor for his work in Lola & Luis.  After Roy Davies accepted the award on his late-son’s behalf, a moving tribute featuring an arrangement of Wayne’s acting performances showed why this was not the first time he had received the award, winning also in 2013, and having been nominated for the award more times than any other actor. Wayne is remembered for volunteering his services on numerous WA projects to assist emerging filmmakers.

27 winners received the contemporary WASA statuettes, designed by Western Australian sculptor, Geoffrey Drake-Brockman.

FTI received a grand total of 404 entries from 120 screen projects across 30 categories for the 28^thWASAs.

The WASAs are an FTI initiative held to enhance the vibrancy of the Western Australian screen sector through increasing awareness and connecting screen practitioners of all disciplines and career stages.

The 28^th Annual West Australian Screen Awards were proudly supported by major partners Screenwest and Lotterywest and presented in conjunction with the Revelation Perth International Film Festival (7 – 17 July 2016).

And the winners are…

REVELATION PERTH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY- SHORT FORM
Sol Bunker – Damian Fasolo
Swing in Seven – Arthur Bienkowski
The Luthier – Scott Summers
WINNER: We Were Here – Lewis Potts

REVELATION PERTH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – LONG FORM
Bad Girl – Gavin Head
The Pineville Heist – David Le May
WINNER: Bngvel – Owen Beck & Cameron Frost

SANDBOX 
BEST EDITING – SHORT FORM
Sol Bunker – Merlin Eden
Outline – David Ellis
Reflection – Cris Broadhurst
WINNER: Flushed – Richard Eames

SANDBOX
BEST EDITING – LONG FORM
The Pineville Heist – Regg Skwarko
Candidate Games – Nicholas Dunlop
Hotel Coolgardie – Pete Gleeson with Lawrie Silvestrin
WINNER: Who Do You Think You Are, Series 7 (5) – Teresa Ashton-Graham
                                                            
SCREENWEST
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO THE INDUSTRY
WINNER: Lawrie Silvestrin

ULTIMO
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – SHORT FORM
DAFUQ? – Ruth Levi
Zauberberg – Bryan Woltjen
FAE – Jacqueline Pelczar
WINNER: Sol Bunker – Erika Jellis

HAPPS
BEST Visual FX
Red Hood: The Fallen – Toby Bajrovic, David Ellis, Dean Musumeci, Anouk Ratnawibhushana, William Lark, Mitchell Charman & Jayden Beveridge
Bad Girl – Tony Bannan & Jaemie Manners – Sandbox
Broken Contract – Steve Vojkovic, Philip Hew & Joel Taylor – Boogie Monster
WINNER: Kepler – Finding Home – Pu Peng & Andre Chang-Fane – Rockett Launch

SOUNDBYTE
BEST SOUND – SHORT FORM 
Reflection – Andy Parnell & Cris Broadhurst
DAFUQ? – Xoe Baird
Submarine – Ben Nockolds
WINNER: Sol Bunker – Leo Murray

SOUNDBYTE
BEST SOUND – LONG FORM 
The Legend of Gavin Tanner – Xoe Baird & Trevor Hope
Who Do You Think You Are, Series 7 – Laurie Chlanda & Ric Curtin
WINNER: Bad Girl – Ric Curtin, Scott Montgomery & Xoe Baird

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC – SHORT FORM
The Shapes – Matt Lovkis & Timothy Nelson
Outline – Mark Holdsworth
Submarine – Alex Ford
WINNER: Sol Bunker – Benjamin Morton & Thomas ‘Soup’ Campbell

COLONIAL
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
Fait – Slow Glow – Matsu
Safe Sex – Most Beautiful Animal – Peter Cheng
Moana – Vader – Luna Laure
WINNER: Sons Of Rico – What am I doing here? – Tara Fox

THE STANDARD
BEST GAME
Roid Rage – Jeremy Eade & Kim-Saskia Risser-Eade
blackmarket – Kate Neylon, Devised by PVI Collective: Kelli McCluskey, Steve Bull, Chris Williams, Steve Berrick & Jason Sweeney
World’s Fastest Pizza – Oscar Brittain
WINNER: Star Hammer: The Vanguard Prophecy – Paul Turbett, Anthony Sweet & Anthony Carriero

FTI
BEST INTERACTIVE PRODUCTION 
Shirtfront – Shelby Shaw, Briege Whitehead & The Constable Care Child Safety Organisation
blackmarket – Kate Neylon, Devised by PVI Collective: Kelli McCluskey, Steve Bull, Chris Williams, Steve Berrick & Jason Sweeney
Diggers VR Experience – Justin McArdle & Travis Badge
WINNER: Beneath the Waves –Sam Bodhi Field, Alice Ross, Hungry Sky & Clay Bryce

ADG
BEST DIRECTION – SHORT FORM
Outline – Cody Cameron-Brown
Flushed – Richard Eames
Marrow – Stevie Cruz-Martin
WINNER: We Were Here – David Vincent Smith

ADG
BEST DIRECTION – LONG FORM
The Legend of Gavin Tanner – Matt Lovkis & Henry Inglis
Who Do You Think You Are? Series 7 – Kay Pavlou & Alan Carter
Hotel Coolgardie – Pete Gleeson
WINNER: Bngvel – Owen Beck

AWG
BEST SCRIPT – SHORT FORM
We Were Here – David Vincent Smith
DAFUQ? – Matt Lovkis & Henry Inglis
Council – Hayden Fortescue
WINNER: Flushed – Richard Eames

MURDOCH UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ARTS
BEST STUDENT FILM
My Love, Lilac – Elaine Smith & Jacqueline Pelczar (Central Institute of TAFE)
Godot’s Clinic – Joshua Walker, Harriet Roberts & Lex Tyson (West Australian Screen Academy)
Bngvel – Owen Beck (Murdoch University)
WINNER: FAE – Michael Boyle & Reid Smith (Central Institute of TAFE)

WA SCREEN ACADEMY
BEST SHORT FORM – FACTUAL 
Spoonful of Sugar – Angela McDonald, Harriet Roberts & Augustin Lobet
Swing in Seven – Dominic D’Leno & Caitlan O’Connor
Viva La Vincent – Jasmine Leivers, Thomas Baskerville & Ashleigh Nicolau
WINNER: Summer Blues – Renee Kennedy, Nicholas Dunlop & Lilly Radloff

WA SCREEN ACADEMY
BEST LONG FORM – FACTUAL 
Candidate Games – Alice Ross, Ella Wright & Sam Bodhi Field
Hotel Coolgardie – Kate Neylon, Melissa Hayward & Pete Gleeson
WINNER: Who Do You Think You Are? Series 7 – Celia Tait, Brian Beaton, Margie Bryant

JAGUAR
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS 
Adriane Daff – Outline
Alex Malone – Zauberberg
Emily Rose Brennan – The Legend of Gavin Tanner
WINNER: Alexandra Nell – We Were Here

JAGUAR
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR
Clarence Ryan – We Were Here
Mike Djukic – Flushed
Daniel Monks – Marrow
Matt Lovkis – The Legend of Gavin Tanner
WINNER: Wayne Davies – Lola & Luis

CINEFEST OZ
BEST SHORT FORM – DRAMA
Outline – Jess Parker & Cody Cameron-Brown
Lola & Luis –Jess Black & Miley Tunnecliffe
Flushed – Richard Eames
WINNER: We Were Here – Joshua Gilbert, Simon Camp & David Vincent Smith

MEDIA SUPER
BEST LONG FORM – DRAMA
Bngvel – Owen Beck
The Legend of Gavin Tanner – Lauren Elliott, Matt Lovkis & Henry Inglis
WINNER: Bad Girl – Steve Kearney, Bruno Charlesworth, Tenille Kennedy & Fin Edquist

THE BACKLOT PERTH
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD
True Colours – Ben Croker, Sophie Notley & David Valent
Council – Hayden Fortescue, James Pentecost & Gabrielle Cole
Absent – Tanya Dharmapala & Iain Appleyard
WINNER: Flushed – Richard Eames

ARTIST MANAGEMENT AUSTRALIA
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Entrants in the following award categories were eligible for an Outstanding Achievement Award at the 28^th Annual West Australian Screen Awards:

Best Production Design – Long Form
Best Original Music – Long Form
Best Animation
Best Script – Long Form
Best Television Production – Live

WINNER: Outstanding Achievement For Animation – The Shapes – Lauren Elliott, Matt Lovkis & Henry Inglis

WINNER: Outstanding Achievement For Television Production – LIVE – Burswood Carols in the Park 2015 – Tibor Meszaros & Simon Hydzik – WTV

PSC MCEKNNA HAMPTON YOUNG FILMMAKER OF THE YEAR
Briege Whitehead
Hayden Fortescue
Jordon Prince Wright
WINNER: Jess Black