South Australian First Nations-led horror The Debt greenlit for production 

South Australia’s flagship feature film development initiative, Film Lab: New Voices, has greenlit its third feature film for production – The Debt, an exciting new horror led by South Australian First Nations filmmakers. Co-written by Yankunytjatjara writer Pearl Berry and Piri Eddy, directed by Johanis Lyons-Reid and produced by Yankunytjatjara producer Lilla Berry, The Debt will premiere at Adelaide Film Festival in 2026. Here’s the…

Cinema Australia Podcast #124 | Adrian Ortega

Welcome to the latest episode of the Cinema Australia Podcast. In this episode, I’m joined by writer, director and producer Adrian Ortega to discuss the making of his new film, Westgate – a poetic exploration of family, culture, and the weight of past traumas. Set in 1999 in the shadows of the Westgate Bridge collapse,…

Interview: Nicholas Clifford

Filmmakers have been using the time-loop genre as a narrative device for decades, but none have come close to matching the nostalgic adoration of Harold Ramis’ Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray as a depressed and cynical weatherman forced to relive a bad day. In Australia, we’ve had our own share of time-related films, from the…

New trailer! Pasa Faho

Pasa Faho, the anticipated feature debut from Igbo-Australian filmmaker, writer and visual artist Kalu Oji, will receive its World Premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival in August where it is the first film at this year’s festival to sell out across all its screenings. Audience in Western Australia will have the opportunity to see…

Bronte Pictures evolves to become Bronte Studios

Bronte Pictures, the prolific Australian feature film production house behind films such as Wyrmwood: Apocalypse, The Fabulous 4 and soon-to-be-released Beast of War, has announced an ambitious expansion plan under its new Bronte Studios banner. Under the new Studios’ structure, Michelle Krumm, former Miramax, The Weinstein Company executive and indie Producer joins the company as…

West Coast Visions serves up Prawn Curry Christmas

Charmaine Murray and Yasmin Kassim’s scripted feature Prawn Curry Christmas has been selected as the 2025 recipient of Screenwest’s coveted West Coast Visions, supported by $1.5 million. The richest filmmaking initiative in Australia for emerging filmmakers, West Coast Visions is designed to uncover, inspire and develop talented Western Australian filmmakers with distinctive visions for a…

Submissions are now open for the 2026 WA Made Film Festival

Submissions have officially opened for the 2026 WA Made Film Festival. WA-based filmmakers are encouraged to submit their feature films, short films, documentaries, student films, web series, television episodes, and Get Smart! Presented by Buy West Eat Best smartphone films to be part of this unmissable event running from February 20 – March 1, set…

Production wraps on Malta/Australia co-production Nannu

Production has officially wrapped on new short film, Nannu, an intimate and emotionally charged cultural drama inspired by writer/director Matthew C. Vella’s personal relationship with his late Maltese grandfather. Filming took place in Western Sydney in January 2025 and concluded in Malta in June 2025, marking a deeply symbolic collaboration between the two countries. Nannu…

Originate Genre fast-tracks homegrown talent for the big screen

Eight projects have been selected to participate in Stage 2 of VicScreen’s dynamic development initiative Originate Genre aimed at nurturing new voices in commercial cinema. Originate Genre is a two-phase development program designed to elevate live-action genre movie projects from concept to market-ready screenplays. The first stage of the program presented over four sessions earlier…

New CineConnect program brings screen industry’s best to the West

Expressions of Interest Now Open Filmmakers in Western Australia for the CinefestOZ Film Festival’s Industry Program – running 4 to 5 September 2025 – will have the opportunity to meet with some of Australia’s leading streamers, broadcasters and practitioners – including Stan, Paramount Plus, BBC Studios, Minderoo Pictures and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF)…