Michael Rainone, Russell Wyatt Roberts and Megan Aspinall celebrate their Best of Fest: Film and Audience Choice Award for their short film, Passing Signals. Photo by Ryan Ammon. 

A total of 25 awards were handed out to short films across this year’s WA Made Film Festival, including two Best of the Fest awards for Best Film and Best Performance, nine Audience Choice awards, the $1000 Best Film prize at Get Smart! Presented by Buy West Eat Best, and 13 awards at the festival’s inaugural Student Awards.

Short film Passing Signals was the WA Made Film Festival’s biggest winner throughout the 10-day event, taking out the Best of the Fest: Best Film award.

Written and directed by Russell Wyatt Roberts, the emotionally heavy Passing Signals follows a lonely, middle-aged man (Michael Rainone) who stumbles upon a peculiar television broadcast featuring a woman (Megan Aspinall) who can see and hear him through the screen. Captivated, the man and the woman forge an intimate connection, filling each other’s emotional void through their shared virtual intimacy.

“This film hit us like a tonne of bricks during the selection process. We watched it towards the end of the run, and we instantly knew that it was worthy of our Best of the Fest: Best Film award – such is the film’s high quality,” says festival director Matthew Eeles.

“Having watched Russell’s career blossom over the years, we’ve always known he was an extreme talent, and Passing Signals cements him as one of the very best filmmakers actively making movies in Western Australia.”

Passing Signals also resonated with festivalgoers, winning the Audience Choice award at the Friday Night Shorts showcase.

Chookas producer Tahlia Kelleher, writer Gabrielle O’Keeffe and director Nicholas Hooker at the 2025 WA Made Film Festival Student Awards. Photo by Ryan Ammon. 

Chookas was another big winner, with lead actor Dinasha Perera winning the festival’s first-ever Best of the Fest: Performance award for her outstanding portrayal of stage actor Brianna in the excellent short film.

The wins didn’t end there for Chookas, which also took home three awards from six nominations at the WA Made Film Festival Student Awards. As well as being recognised for Best Film, Gabrielle O’Keeffe won Best Screenplay, while emerging filmmaker Nicholas Hooker won the Best Director award.

Chookas is set during the opening night of a high-stakes theatre production, where two friends discover secrets and lies backstage that spill out on stage, threatening to derail their careers and the future of the company.

“This was the film that we believe is perfect in every possible way. It’s complex, layered, deep, and highly intelligent filmmaking while maintaining joy and humour at the same time,” said Eeles.

Myles Pollard as MC at the 2025 WA Made Film Festival Student Awards.

Other winners on the night included Proof of Kill (Best High School Film presented by Murdoch University), Digital Realism (Best Documentary), Bridget Bourke (Best Performance presented by Ali Roberts Studio, Santa Duties), Jasmine De Filippis (Best Performance Under 18 presented by Ali Roberts Studio, Mind Meddling), James Hoare (Best Cinematography, Don’t Talk About the Monster on the Roof), Will Towers (Best Editing, Lily), Jacqueline Cockerell (Best Production Design, Kenopsia), Emma Crawford (Best Music, Eat the Meat), Atwith Nachai (Best Sound presented by Murdoch University, Refrain), and Blanche Deards (Best Costume Design, Gestation).

The inaugural WA Made Film Festival Student Awards is a new initiative designed to recognise and celebrate emerging talent in the Western Australian film industry, with the event closing the festival on Sunday night at Planet Royale Theatre.

Zak Hilditch, Shaun Heredia, Chloe Brink, Kate Separovich and The Jinn star, Sascha Turich. Photo by Ryan Ammon. 

Another big winner at the festival was Shaun Heredia’s atmospheric short film The Jinn which won the $1000 Best Film prize at the festival’s Get Smart! Presented by Buy West Eat Best smartphone filmmaking competition. The Jinn was awarded the prize by the festival’s Smart Jury made up Zak Hilditch (These Final Hours), Kate Separovich (Proclivatas) and Chloe Brink (Playing Gracie Darling).

Short films taking home Audience Choice awards throughout the festival were Holiday (Get Smart! Presented by Buy West Eat Best), Joan (Saturday Shorts), For Old Times’ Sake (Long Shorts & Short Longs Part 1), Fat Crackers: Fat Boy Summer (Sunday Shorts Part 1), Lily (Left of Centre), Passing Signals (Friday Night Shorts), The Recipe for Jam (Long Shorts & Short Longs Part 2), and The Hug (Sunday Shorts Part 2).

The WA Made Film Festival will return in 2026, with submissions opening in the second half of 2025. For full details about the festival, visit www.wamadefilmfestival.com.au.

Disclaimer: Cinema Australia founder and editor Matthew Eeles is the festival director of the WA Made Film Festival

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