WA Screen Industry End of Year Wrap Up 2025
This year has been another fantastic one for the Western Australian screen industry. A number of productions were filmed across the State, keeping local crews busy and a slew of premium WA-made content hit the big and small screens.
This year has been another fantastic one for the Western Australian screen industry. A number of productions were filmed across the State, keeping local crews busy and a slew of premium WA-made content hit the big and small screens.
It was big year for documentary production. Some incredible series hit our screens. We saw the second season of Shipwreck Hunters Australia on Disney+, End Game with Tony Armstrong on ABC, West Coast Cops on Channel 9, Outback Crystal Hunters Australia – Season 2 on 7mate and the unstoppable Aussie Gold Hunters with its ninth season on Discovery Channel.
We also saw an impressive slate of factual projects in production including Hard As Puck, Hunting Outback Gold, Aussie Gold Hunters Season 10, The Hospital in the Deep End – Season 2 and Stuff the British Stole – Season 3.
Scripted productions premiered on both the big and small screens, with titles such as Invisible Boys, Scrublands: Silver, Kangaroo Beach – Season 3, The Twelve: Cape Rock Killer, The Travellers and The Surfer reaching audiences.
Several WA feature films kicked off production, among them Whale Shark Jack starring Abbie Cornish, Twice Over starring Mia Wasikowska and Charlie Heaton, The Engagement Party from writer/director Dacre Montgomery and West Coast Visions film End to End from local filmmaking duo, Tim Barretto and Melanie Filler.
WA First Nations filmmakers continued to develop, produce and release impressive work. We welcomed NITV to the State to produce Big Backyard Quiz, a cheeky quiz show presented by Narelda Jacobs and Steven Oliver. Our Medicine premiered on NITV and SBS to acclaim leading to a second season being commissioned, set to hit screens in 2026. Comedy series Warm Props was released on NITV and SBS in June.
During the year we partnered with BBC Studios Productions Australia, Warner Bros. International Television Productions Australia and BINGE resulting in three scripted series being produced in WA. Ghosts Australia for Paramount+, Reckless for NITV and SBS and RUN for BINGE. Ghosts Australia and Reckless are on screens now.
All three productions had a strong WA presence across creatives, Heads of Department, crew and cast. The creative vision behind Reckless was led by writer and Executive Producer Kodie Bedford, who returned home to WA to make the series. While on RUN, Western Australian Ben Young served as a director and an Executive Producer.
We continued our film friendly work and had a fantastic response to our Film Friendly WA workshops held in March and November. Over 41 shires and councils attended, including the Shire of Gingin who are certified Film Friendly as of 2025.
The WA digital games industry had another busy year with Inugrams, Zodiac Mountain, Red Swing, Monster Snap!, Covert Crew and Lunars all going into production and Misc. A Tiny Tale, Power Sink, The Last Werewolf, Me, You & Kaiju and Tether Brawl being released.
Screenwest-supported productions and practitioners received over 40 nominations at prestigious festivals and awards ceremonies this year. Some highlights include Celia Tait receiving the AIDC Southern Light Award which celebrates luminaries of the Australian documentary and factual industry and Terri Lamera receiving an APDG Award for her costume design on Runt. Congratulations to all winners and nominees!
In 2025, we expanded our support of the WA screen industry launching three new funds thanks to the generous support of Lotterywest and the WA Government: West Coast Visions – Documentary, the Matched Scripted Television Production Fund and the Screen Capacity Building Fund.
We also continued investing in WA screen practitioners. A number of initiatives were rolled out, among them West Coast Visions – Scripted, Bill Warnock Talent Accelerator, Producer Talent Accelerator, the First Nations VR Truth-Telling Documentary Initiative, Elevate, WA Reflections, the Brian Beaton Award, Feature Navigator and Tele-Navigator.
Over 40 below-the-line placements commenced during the year, and numerous workshops and masterclasses were delivered. These included Mentoring Skills for Senior Crew, On-Set Workflow Masterclass: Technical Roles & Tools in Action and Storytime Workshop presented by Emmy-winning director Geoffrey Smith.
Screen culture activities continued to roll out, with CinefestOZ South West, Revelation Perth International Film Festival and WA Made Film Festival all screening WA made content to festival goers.
None of this year’s achievements would have been possible without the ongoing support of our long-term partners – Lotterywest and the Government of Western Australia. Thank you. Your support has been critical to the industry’s progress and remains central to its future growth.
Thank you also to the production companies, distributors, crew and creatives for your incredible creative skills, dedication and hard work. It’s inspiring to see so many stories made right here in WA reaching audiences across the State, the country, and the globe.
We are excited about what is ahead for the sector and look forward to the opening of the Perth Film Studios next year. The future looks bright.
See you in 2026!
Images:
- End Game with Tony Armstrong – Smashing Films
- Whale Shark Jack – Cottesloe Pictures
- Reckless – BBC Studios Productions Australia
- Aussie Gold Hunters – Electric Pictures
- Shipwreck Hunters Australia – VAM Media
- Invisible Boys – Feisty Dame Productions
- Outback Crystal Hunters – Prospero Productions
- Prawn Curry Christmas – West Coast Visions 2026 recipient