Celebrating all things Made in the West— including yours truly.
Afro Sistahs takes home awards at Made in the West Film Festival. 🏆
A week ago, the Sistahs went on their first festival outing celebrating the work the team has achieved. Packing out the 300 seater Liverpool Event Cinemas, Made in the West Film Festival showcased the incredible creative talent coming out of Western Sydney.
The Finalists for Made in the West Film Festival 2018
Afro Sistahs took on the 3 storey screen presenting our four shorts to our largest single audience thus far, made up of repeat viewers and new comers to the eclectic lives of Akilah, Kabusha, Ayo and Trisha. Heading in, we were so honoured to be nominated for 5 awards and even more so to take home the award for Best Director awarded to Hawanatu Bangura.
The red carpet was rolled out as guests and filmmakers arrived in style to celebrate each other for their work with many snaps capturing the moments of jubilation and interaction between festival attendees and fellow nominees. A VIP section for the finalists created space and opportunity to mingle, celebrate and chat with other filmmakers.
After the hustle and bustle of pre-screening banter, the time had finally come. Ushered into a massive cinema room, we took our seats for the screening to begin. A quick look around the room affirmed a magnificent turn out. The crowd was a melting pot of diversity—a true reflection of the multicultural nature that is, Western Sydney.
Cinema PACKED with excited festival attendees.
The air buzzed as festival director, Ross Page, spoke of the drive and passion that came with the pursuit of ones dream whether to make a low budget film or run a successful festival such as Made in the West. It was also incredibly affirming to hear of his efforts over the years to get MITW Film Festival back in Western Sydney.
There was a high calibre selection of films spanning across different genres such as drama, comedy, thriller and documentary. We were glued to our seats as we journeyed through our emotions. We laughed out loud until our bellies hurt. We gripped our seats through kick-ass action sequences we’re sure Jackie Chan would be proud of. Every film was different, standing out in its own unique way.
With the end of our two hour entertainment came the all-important award show, the element that would surely have been a hard task for the selection panel to complete.
The Collective felt honoured to have been nominated in the first place, especially in our first festival outing, but it did not end there. And when the award for best director was announced: “Hawanatu Bangura!” :
It was an icing-on-the-cake type moment. It was an honour to be recognised and celebrated with this award.
Like all good things, the night had to come to an end, but not before the after party!! 🎊🎉
Afro Sistahs would like to thank those that came along to support us on the night, and to all the incredible viewers and supports around the world that continuously show us why these stories are essential.
Congratulations to everyone who entered their films this year!
To see this year’s list of winners, make your way to the Made in the West official website. If you would like to enter your film in 2019, make sure to keep an eye out on their website and social-media platforms