Actress and filmmaker Rachel Griffiths will chair the jury for this year’s CinefestOZ Film Prize, overseeing a panel comprising US filmmaker Gary Foster, documentary writer/director/producer Nel Minchin, and actress Tasma Walton.
They will be tasked with selecting the $100,000 prize winner from the four finalists – John Sheedy’s family feature Runt, Jon Bell’s horror feature debut The Moogai, Natalie Bailey’s comedy feature debut Audrey, and Adam Elliot’s 1970s-set animation Memoir of a Snail.
The jury will attend each of the finalist’s red carpet premieres as well as the special Film Jury In Conversation breakfast at Shelter Brewing Co, where they will discuss the titles and share stories from their own filmmaking journeys, ahead of their announcement of the winner on Saturday, September 7.
Griffiths said she was honoured to be chosen as chair and be able to experience the people and landscapes of the WA’s south west region for the first time.
“I’m looking forward to meeting this year’s filmmakers and joining a stellar jury to celebrate the films in selection,” she said.
“After COVID, festivals like CinefestOZ are more important than ever creating and connecting community around one of the oldest human activities – telling and sharing stories.”
CinefestOZ chair Margaret Buswell said the festival was once again delighted to welcome “such a high calibre of film industry talent” to adjudicate and award the film prize.
“The CinefestOZ Film Prize was established ten years ago to recognise and reward excellence in Australian filmmaking, and we know that our industry jury will again have a tough decision with such dramatically different finalists,” she said.
The CinefestOZ Film Festival will occur from August 31 – September 8 in Western Australia’s south west.