The 2025 CinefestOZ Film Festival has revealed the four Australian features in the running for the country’s richest film award – the coveted $100,000 CinefestOZ Film Prize.
Announced today alongside the launch of Early Bird tickets, the lineup shows a diverse cross-section of Australian talent, including two films made in Western Australia where the festival is held.
This year’s contenders include a Tasmanian-set horror with ‘Star Wars’ star power, a sharp local comedy, an intimate documentary on creative resilience behind prison walls, and a riotous time-travel romcom – each set to premiere at CinefestOz this August and September.
The 2025 CinefestOZ Film Prize finalists are:
- We Bury The Dead – A haunting thriller from WA filmmaker Zak Hilditch, starring Star Wars’ Daisy Ridley.
- Birthright – A hilariously bleak WA-set family comedy by debut writer-director Zoe Pepper.
- Songs Inside – A poignant documentary on music-making in Adelaide Women’s Prison by Shalom Almond.
- One More Shot – A MIFF@CinefestOZ-selected romantic comedy with a temporal twist, led by Emily Browning.
CinefestOZ Board Chair Margaret Buswell described the shortlisted films as ‘distinctive Australian stories brought to life through clever and compelling storytelling and exceptional talent.’
‘We’re thrilled that all four films will have their WA premiere at CinefestOZ, where audiences can see them in the company of visiting filmmakers and our esteemed Film Prize jury,’ Buswell said. ‘The winner of the $100,000 Film Prize will be crowned during our Film Prize Celebration on Saturday 6 September.’
Western Australia’s Minister for Creative Industries, Simone McGurk, praised the Cook Government’s $620,750 support for the 2025 event.
‘This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase WA’s screen industry and promote the South West as a destination for world-class filmmaking,’ she said. ‘We’re committed to creating pathways for local talent, boosting screen production, and attracting international investment into our creative economy.’
Festivalgoers can now snap up Early Bird tickets, which include access to premiere screenings, filmmaker Q&As, afterparties, and the InConversation dining events – an offering that pairs celebrated films with the best of Busselton’s food and wine.
The full program will be announced on 17 July.
More about the 2025 CinefestOZ finalists:
We Bury The Dead
From 1922 and These Final Hours director Zak Hilditch comes a chilling thriller set in post-apocalyptic Tasmania. Daisy Ridley stars as Ava, a grieving woman who joins a corpse retrieval unit to find her missing husband – only to discover the dead don’t always stay buried. Brenton Thwaites and Mark Coles Smith co-star. The film had its world premiere earlier this year at SXSW.
Songs Inside
Winner of the Sydney Film Festival’s Documentary Australia Award, Songs Inside captures the transformative journey of incarcerated women in Adelaide Women’s Prison as they write and perform music with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Directed by Shalom Almond, the film is a testament to the healing power of creativity.
One More Shot
Set on a chaotic New Year’s Eve in 1999, this Melbourne-shot romcom stars Emily Browning as a heartbroken anaesthetist trapped in a tequila-fuelled time loop. Written by Alice Foulcher and Gregory Erdstein (That’s Not Me) and directed by Nicholas Clifford, the film was produced with support from the Melbourne International Film Festival Premiere Fund.
Birthright
In this black comedy, a down-on-his-luck couple move in with the in-laws, only to unleash chaos on the family home. Directed by WA’s Zoe Pepper, the film blends biting humour with surreal flourishes, earning acclaim at Tribeca and Sydney Film Festivals. Backed by Screenwest’s West Coast Visions initiative, it marks Pepper’s feature debut.
CinefestOZ 2025 is supported by DLGSC, the City of Busselton, Screenwest, Lotterywest and Screen Australia.
