‘Here out West’ to open Festival

Groundbreaking Sydney movie ‘Here out West’ will open the 68th Sydney Film Festival on November 3 at the State Theatre.

The film intertwines stories from eight talented Western Sydney writers to explore themes such as assimilation, racism, aspiration and family. The film beautifully and authentically captures the richness and complexity of a modern Australian community.

The movie starts with Nancy visiting her daughter, who has just given birth in hospital. The grandchild is to be taken away by the authorities, and in an impetuous decision, Nancy steals the baby and flees the hospital. Over the course of a dramatic day, Nancy’s flight sets off a chain of events that brings together complete strangers.

Nisrine Amine, Bina Bhattacharya, Matias Bolla, Claire Cao, Arka Das, Dee Dogan, Vonne Patiag and Tien Tran are emerging writers and creatives from Western Sydney. They were selected via a highly competitive process to develop their screenplays for ‘Here Out West’. Directors Fadia Abboud, Lucy Gaffy, Julie Kalceff, Ana Kokkinos and Leah Purcell joined the creative collaboration to bring the writers’ unique stories to the screen.

Big congratulations to everyone involved in bringing this to the screen. Tickets for opening night have sold out, but the Sydney Film Festival runs until 21 November and has a full program of great movies and film related events.