FTI Announces 2013 WA Screen Award Nominees; Ceremony Set for Aug 2

The Film & Television Institute (FTI) announced the successful 2013 nominees for the 25th annual WA Screen Awards (WASAs) at an exclusive event held tonight as part of the Revelation Perth International Film Festival at the Astor Theatre in Perth.

The WASAs, Western Australia's answer to the AACTAs and the Academy Awards, are the premier celebration of West Australian screen culture, celebrating excellence and achievements in feature film, short film, web series, music videos, television production, documentary and games.

Following a record 800 entries, a grand total of 104 nominees across 66 film projects are now in the running to win a WA Screen Award at the red carpet Gala Awards Ceremony on Friday 2 August 2013.

The nominees for the prestigious Central Institute of Technology Young Filmmaker of the Year award for 2013 are Tenille Kennedy, Cassandra Nguyen, David Vincent Smith and Keir Wilkins.

This year's most-nominated projects include LINK-produced short film Perished written and directed by Aaron McCann and Stefan Androv Radanovich, HyperLINK-produced short film George Jones & the Giant Squid written and directed by Vincenzo Perrella and Dan Osborn and TV documentary Desert War produced by Andrew Ogilvie, Andrew Quesnelle and Phil Craig, which received five nominations respectively.

Web series Henry & Aaron's 7 Steps to Superstardom produced by Henry Inglis, Aaron McCann and Lauren Elliott and feature film Blame produced byMelissa Kelly, Ryan Hodgson and Michael Robinson received four nominations respectively, and short films One Night Only produced by Michael Faceyand Bush Basher produced by Ross Hutchens and Tenille Kennedy, received three nominations respectively.

The 2013 ceremony will be bigger than ever with a grand total of $33,000 in cash prizes to be awarded on the night and celebrity guests including Rachael Blake (Sleeping Beauty, Lantana, The Straits) and Tony Martin (Wildside, Heartbreak High, Candy).

"FTI would like to thank the 60 industry judges who had the unenviable task of determining which of the 800 entries were the most deserving of recognition. As always, many worthy projects missed out. The competitive nature of this year's WASAs is an indicator of an increasingly vibrant WA Screen Sector. FTI congratulates all the nominees and wish them the very best of luck for the Gala Awards Ceremony on 2 August." said CEO of FTI, Paul Bodlovich.

The Curtin University People's Choice Award will be announced following audience votes at Cinefest Oz (21 - 25 August 2013) and the winner of theScreenWest Outstanding Contribution Award will be a West Australian who has enhanced the vibrancy of the screen sector through either bringing acclaim and profile to the sector via their own remarkable careers and achievements, or by working behind the scenes to the benefit of other screen practitioners.

"The WASAs are a chance to recognise talents of the local industry and besides being a proud sponsor of the event we are also pleased to be recognising an individual that has made a fantastic contribution to the screen industry." said CEO of ScreenWest, Ian Booth.

FTI encourages all lovers of film to come along and recognise the diverse range of content being produced in Western Australia at the WASA Gala Awards Ceremony on Friday 2 August. Tickets Go On sale to the public on Tuesday 9 July from the FTI website at www.fti.asn.au.

Pictured: Henry & Aaron's 7 Steps to Superstardom