CinefestOz has been handed $2.6 million through the 2026-27 State Budget, locking in funding for the South West film festival until 2029-30. The 2026 edition runs from August 29th to September 6th in regional Western Australia, with the long-term commitment giving the festival a little long-term certainty about where its funding is coming from.
The investment was announced yesterday by the Creative Industries Minister, Simone McGurk.
McGurk said, “CinefestOz connects our local creatives with national and international opportunities and inspires the next generation of storytellers to see a future for themselves in Western Australia.”
The $2.6 million is spread across four festival cycles, giving the organisation the runway to be more strategic with its future planning. That’s important for a festival that has been working off annual rolling funding. Long-term certainty means the festival can sign multi-year deals, plan industry programming further out, and grow the year-round side of the operation — which now includes the Cinesnaps School Program, an Industry Program, and Deadly Days community events.
The bigger screen industry play behind the funding
CinefestOz pulled more than 29,000 attendees last year across more than 200 screenings of 104 films. Those numbers are important to the South West tourism economy, but the State Government is also using the festival as part of its WA Screen Industry Strategy — pitching WA to producers, directors, and investors as a place where productions are actually shot, with the festival functioning as a shopfront.
South West Minister Don Punch said, “CinefestOz is a major driver of cultural activity, tourism and visitor spending in the South West, with last year’s festival attracting more than 29,000 people and delivering a strong boost to the regional economy.”
“This investment provides certainty for CinefestOz to continue growing, strengthening the region’s tourism offering while supporting local jobs, building skills, and creating new opportunities for Western Australians across the screen and creative industries.”
The funding sits within the broader Made in WA Plan, which targets economic diversification and the growth of creative industries; areas the State Government has been spending more on as it tries to widen WA’s economic base beyond resources.
