Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The south-west will resemble Hollywood from Wednesday, with CinefestOZ kicking off. Now in its 11th year, CinefestOZ has grown to become the biggest film festival in Australia. Award-winning actress Sigrid Thornton is the festival jury's chair, with other actors and actresses Michael Caton, John Howard, Tasma Walton and of course our local Busselton actress Emma Booth also attending. Over 150 film screenings and associated events will feature in the festival. There's something for everyone, with 18 Australian premieres and 11 international premieres to be shown, including three Quebec French films, illustrating the festival's rich diversity on display.

The richest film prize in Australia—the $100,000 CinefestOZ Film Prize—will again be awarded for the fifth year. The event invests in future artists, launching Cinesnaps, a program run in schools, offering workshops for young south-west students. One of the unique elements of the festival is that feature films are shown in wineries, small bars and galleries, giving a true south-west feel. They showcase not only the region's natural landscape but the region's fine local food and wine to people from across the country. I commend the work by the CineFest Oz board and founders David Barton and Helen Shervington to the House.