2022 Best Film Prize winner Alexa Prinno (Couple Goals) 
and Audience Choice Award Winner Jay Jay Jegathesan (The Saint).

The WA Made Film Festival has offi cially announced the return of its highly-regarded smartphone filmmaking competition, Get Smart! Presented by Buy West Eat Best.

Get Smart! Presented by Buy West Eat Best invites established filmmakers, independent filmmakers, students, and the general public to submit a mini-masterpiece to be considered for a special event screening during the next WA Made Film Festival which will run February 17-26, 2023.

“This year’s Get Smart! Presented by Buy West Eat Best competition was an overwhelming success. Not only did we screen nine incredible locally-made smartphone films, but we also introduced a brand new smartphone filmmaking workshop conducted by esteemed WA filmmakers Kerreen Ely-Harper, David Vincent Smith and Brian Hennings,” says Festival Director Matthew Eeles.

“We are very passionate about creating new opportunities for WA filmmakers to show off their filmmaking skills without the need for expensive equipment and a big budget.”

To challenge fi lmmakers even further, this year’s competition includes the exciting theme, ‘Ghost’. Short fi lms submitted to must contain the theme ‘Ghost’ giving filmmakers the option to explore a range of genres. This doesn’t mean that the film has to be a horror film. The film can be a ghost comedy, a documentary about ghosts, the word ghost is mentioned in the film, someone being ghosted on a date, a picture of a ghost in the background. The possibilities are endless and theme ‘Ghost’ can be as subtle or as direct as the filmmaker likes.

The 2023 Get Smart! Presented by Buy West Eat Best event screening will include a before and after party, drinks, locally-sourced food, networking opportunities and an awards ceremony which will include a major cash prize of $1000 for Best Film chosen by a jury of industry professionals.

This year’s top prize for Best Film was awarded to Alexa Prinno for her short film, Couple Goals – a raw and honest glimpse into the sometimes suffocating isolation of motherhood.

“I’m originally from Melbourne and now living in Perth. I didn’t know what to expect from Get Smart! Presented by Buy West Eat Best. I thought it was going to be a small screening – like something you’d find on the indie filmmaking scene in Melbourne. But I found Get Smart! Presented by Buy West Eat Best to be an incredibly well-run and professional event,” says Alexa.

“I had a really fun time with my friends who came along to support me. Normally I act, but I really enjoyed the challenge of shooting and editing while acting at the same time, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to expand my skill set. It was so much fun. I learned so much about the fi lmmaking process and it was humbling to win the top prize on the day.”

The ever-expanding WA Made Film Festival featured 63 WA films over two weekends in 2022 firmly establishing itself as Western Australia’s largest celebration of locally-made screen content. Get Smart! Presented by Buy West Eat Best will again be an exciting addition to the 2023 festival.

WA filmmakers will have until the end of the year to complete their flms with submissions for Get Smart! Presented by Buy West Eat Best opening along with regular feature film, short film, web series, television and documentary submissions on August 31 and closing December 9, 2022.

More details about the WA Made Film Festival and Get Smart! Presented by Buy West Eat Best, including terms and conditions and can be found at http://www.wamadefilmfestival.com.au