The CinefestOZ Podcast

Zoe Pepper is known for her big hearted, dark and irreverent stories, with credits such as the web series 'The Big Spaghetti' , the TV Show 'Lift' , and her debut feature film 'Birthright' . Growing up in Denmark and living in Fremantle, WA is close to Zoe's heart. So having her first step into feature films be in competition for the CinefestOZ Film Prize down in the south west feels like a full c...

With a thick ticket of credits under his name and awards that weigh down the shelf, Travis Jeffery is a CinefestOZ veteran, 2025 being his 8th time at the festival. Alex and Travis spend their time in the studio reminiscing on the festival's past, favourite projects to work on and the love for the process of filmmaking big and small. Hosted and Produced by Alex Williams Starring Richard Roxburgh R...

Alex is joined by Shari Sebbens, an incredible theatre actor and director, known for her work on Australia Day , Black Comedy and Thor: Ragnarok. In 2025 she had the pleasure of being in the seat of one of the Film Prize Jury, rightfully earned after a decade in the industry. In this episode Shari shares with us her experience with Western Australia, the film selection process for the festival, he...

In this 'In Conversation' Alex is joined by award winning actor and filmmaker Richard Roxburgh. His filmography stretching from 2001's ' Moulin Rouge!' to 2022's 'Elvis', working with some of the greatest talent in the industry over the years. Richard walks us through his love for the medium of film and his experience of being on the jury board of CinefestOZ's 2022 festival, as well as his connect...

Nathalie Morris is a film, television and stage actor from Canberra. Performing across a stretch of high level roles such as Binge's 'The Twelve' , Stan's 'Bump' , and feature film 'We Were Dangerous' . Last year at CinefestOZ, Nathalie held one the honorary positions as a Film Prize Jury Member, alongside Francis O'Connor, Wayne Blair, Shari Sebbens and Johnathan Page. In this episode, Nathalie g...

Yasmin Kassim is a writer, actor and comedian. She has acted in various high level international projects; One Perfect Match, Human Error, Neighbours and of course Jungle (which is how Joel and her first met!), all while touring internationally as a comedian. Yasmin has cowritten a pilot with Hanna Stein that was acquired by 3 Arts and two time Emmy award winner Michael Rotenberg is set to produce...

Jack Byrnes is a Melbourne director and creative visiting CinefestOz with his insanely brilliant action packed short film, “Unstoppable.” The first ever Australian action flick with the leading man kicking ass and taking names in a wheelchair. Jack and Joel sit down to discuss the creation process of wanting to create an unknown entity in the action genre, a chair bound action hero who not on...

Renee Webster captured the attentions of Australia like none other recently with her feature, “How to Please A Woman,” stealing box office limelight and the hearts of the country, and deservedly so. Her experience as a writer and director with a growing list of exceptional credits tells a story of a creative on a mission and in the booth, we discuss just that. How do you champion your voice across...

Honny is the fearless, intelligent, brilliant and creative leader of the CinefestOz 2024 Short Film Program. The individual responsible for ticking that box that makes sure your short film screens at the best festival in the West. Joel’s intention to get her into the booth was to ensure we heard about the selection process for all budding filmmakers to get a better understanding of how it all unfo...

“Sundowners”, writer, co-director, producer, star (Jay), Bailey co-director and producer join the booth to chat about their nominated Best WA Short Film. We chat everything from low budget filmmaking, creating on the fly, their creative process as long time collaborators and how to find the perfect unknown lead. The film is a raw, unfiltered and honest depiction of sleeping rough and surviving thr...

This short film is not for the faint of heart, because my friends it’s bound to steal it. The colour, comedy and raw empathy that filmmakers Travis Jeffery, Shannon Ryan, Jeremy Lindsay-Taylor and executive producer Ari Haralambis (all in the booth) turn out for this short is incredible. There’s no question as to why it was nominated for Best Script, Best Short Film and Best Direction at the Cinef...

Alex Williams is a fellow CinefestOz ambassador and student of the mini series biopic having played more factual individuals than fictional characters in his lifetime as an Australian heartthrob. Alex’s ingenuity, creative curiosity and sheer intelligence has seen him wrangle the podcast world creating “They Might be the Giants,” the much loved and fan favourite deep diving podcast sharing the his...

Travis Jeffrey may just be Australia’s hardest working character actor. From country Victoria to the sound stages of Disney epics, Travis’ work ethic has seen him brush shoulders with some of the most elite filmmakers, actors and directors in the industry. In the CinefestOz podcast booth, Travis and Joel discuss auditioning for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, how acting in a Disney epic differs...

Audrey is primed to set the world on fire! The film was one of the four features vying for the coveted $100,000film prize this year at CinefestOz 2024 and the scale, madness, hilarity, sexuality, joy and brilliance of the film truly set it apart. It’s already sold out audiences internationally and will surely tickle more than just your fancy but your heartstrings too. In the booth for this episode...

For eight survivors of childhood sexual abuse, a ground breaking program turns into a journey of recovery, transformation and friendship. Left, Write, Hook is a life changing physical, mental and emotional 8 week writing and boxing program, it’s also a book and now it’s a stunning documentary from director Shannon Owen and creator Donna Lyon, who is also joined by participant Nikki in the Cinefest...

You need to see this film. Hands down one of Australia’s most exciting new directors, David Vincent-Smith has written and directed an absolute heart stomper. His deftness of touch through subtle semiotic storytelling and the brilliance of all cast and crew absolutely shines through in what is a truly unique film that covers two of the toughest topics to depict; family and addiction. In the booth j...