CinefestOZ Film Festival has revealed the full lineup of Jury members who will decide on the winner of the prestigious $100,000 Film Prize – the country’s richest film award for an Australian production – recognising excellence in Australian filmmaking at this year’s event.
Joining Jury Chair Richard Roxburgh on the panel will be international guest Adam Piron, Director of the Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program; CinefestOZ patron, actress Emma Booth; accomplished producer Melissa Kelly; director, actor, writer and artist Meyne Wyatt; and award-winning producer, showrunner and writer Tony Ayres.
Together the panel will decide which of the four short-listed films – Seriously Red, MIFF@CinefestOZ films Of An Age and Sweet As, or Transfusion – will take home the title of Film Prize Winner.
CinefestOz Film Prizes
The Film Prize Award will be announced at the Gala Night on Saturday 27 August at Orana Cinemas Busselton and presented by Deputy Premier, the Hon Roger Cook MLA on behalf of the WA State Government. The Screen Legend award will also be presented.
CinefestOZ Chair Margaret Buswell said “We are very fortunate that Richard, Adam, Emma, Melissa, Meyne and Tony are joining us at CinefestOZ this year – generously giving their time as panel members to award the winner of the highly sought-after Film Prize.”
“The CinefestOZ Film Prize was established in 2014 to recognise excellence in Australian filmmaking, and we know that our six-member industry jury will again have a tough decision with this year’s finalists.”
WA Deputy Premier and Tourism Minister Roger Cook said “This is a really interesting and accomplished jury panel.”
“WA has so much amazing creative talent – and Emma, Melissa, Meyne and Tony represent the full spectrum of that talent.
“I look forward to meeting them at the awards, as well as Adam, who does such great work with Sundance.”
About the Film Prize Jury Panel
Richard Roxburgh – Richard has won acclaim for his performances in over 73 films and television series such as; Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis and Moulin Rouge!; Rake; The Crown; H is for Happiness; Go!; Breath; Fires; Hacksaw Ridge; Van Helsing; and Mission: Impossible 2. Writer, director and star of Rake (2010-2018) – the award winning TV series that is still streaming globally – Richard has been nominated for 28 international film and TV awards, with 13 wins including ACCTA winner for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama in Rake, AFI Best Director for Romulus, My Father and Most Outstanding Actor Logie winner for Rake.
Adam Piron (Kiowa/Mohawk) – is a filmmaker and curator based in Southern California. Adam currently serves as Director of Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program where he oversees the Institute’s investment and support of Indigenous artists internationally. He has served on the Sundance Film Festival’s short film team since 2013. Piron is also a co-founder of COUSIN, a collective supporting Indigenous artists expanding the form of film. From 2018-2020, he was the Film Curator for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). His film work focuses on collaborative reflections of Indigenous communities navigating time, image, and control as meditations on the generative possibilities of Indigenous perspective. Piron’s films have played in MOCA, MoMA Doc Fortnight, True/False Film Festival, the New Yorker’s Documentary series, and ESPN’s 30 for 30 series.
Emma Booth – is a patron of CinefestOZ and has been a long-time guest and supporter of the Festival. The Western Australian born actress, best known for the TV series Glitch and The Gloaming, became an international success after starring in Clubland, which was screened at the Sundance Film Festival and introduced her to global audiences. Her acting credits include Once Upon a Time, Cloudstreet, Underbelly and Hounds of Love, for which she won the 2017 AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She also starred in the WA-made feature film H Is For Happiness, which won the $100,000 CinefestOZ Film Prize in 2019.
Melissa Kelly – has worked in the Australian screen industry for over 25 years and has developed and produced scripted TV comedy, drama and feature films. Recent credits include the Iggy&Ace comedy series for SBS Digital Originals, the documentary series Laura’s Choice for ABC TV, and the AACTA award-winning comedy/drama series Upright for Lingo Pictures, Foxtel and Sky UK starring Tim Minchin. Melissa produced the feature film I Met A Girl in collaboration with Monsoon Pictures which stars Brenton Thwaites and Lily Sullivan. In 2016 Melissa produced the international award-winning feature film Hounds Of Love by writer/director Ben Young (Venice Film Festival).
Meyne Wyatt – is an award-winning Wongutha-Yamatji performer, writer, artist and director from Kalgoorlie, WA. Meyne’s debut play City Of Gold, which he also starred in, received rave reviews and sold out theatres across Australia. Shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and the NSW Premier’s Literary Award, and nominated for Best New Australian Work at the Sydney Theatre Awards, for which Meyne won Best Male Actor, City of Gold is currently being developed for television. A graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Meyne also has many theatre, television and film credits, such as Redfern Now – for which he won an AACTA Award; Neighbours (making history as the first Indigenous actor in the main cast), Mystery Road, Les Norton, The Sapphires, The Turning, and Strangerland opposite Nicole Kidman and Hugo Weaving. Meyne has also won the Packing Room Prize in the Archibald Prize, and has published his first children’s book, MAKU.
Tony Ayres – Tony Ayres is an award-winning showrunner, writer and director. He was executive producer (EP), showrunner and co-creator of hit Netflix miniseries Clickbait, and EP, showrunner and creator of acclaimed series The Slap and Nowhere Boys. Additionally, he executive produced and co-created Fires, Stateless, and Glitch. He was also EP of Creamerie, The Devil’s Playground, Wanted, The Family Law, Underground: The Julian Assange Story, The Straits, and Bogan Pride and produced miniseries Barracuda and Seven Types of Ambiguity. Tony has written three critically acclaimed feature films, Walking on Water, The Home Song Stories, and Cut Snake and directed the award-winning TV movie Saved.
Previous year’s Film Prize winners include Nitram (2021), H is for Happiness (2019), Jirga (2018), Ali’s Wedding (2017), Girl Asleep (2016), Putuparri and the Rainmakers (2015), and Paper Planes (2014).
Australia’s largest destination film festival 2022 program features an epic 270 film screenings and events and celebrates its 15th year. The six-day festival will be held from 23-28 August across 35 locations in Western Australia’s South West and will provide festival-goers with the opportunity to see some of Australia’s best new films first, and connect with filmmakers and visiting talent at the region’s cinemas, wineries, restaurants, boutique breweries, small bars and galleries in Augusta, Bunbury, Busselton and Margaret River. Download the official CinefestOZ app to search session times, book tickets and build your calendar of events during the festival.
CinefestOZ would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we live and work on, and pay our respect to the Elders past, present and future.
CinefestOZ thanks Presenting Partner Tourism WA, Premium Partners Screenwest and City of Busselton and Community Partner Rio Tinto. The festival acknowledges its strong support from Lotterywest and Screen Australia.
