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Still image from the film, The Furnace showing men and camels in a desert

Photo: Image: Kaushik Das, Ahmed Malek, Baykali Ganambarr, The Furnace, Hoover’s Gold Productions, credit Megan Lewis

  • The State Government, through Lotterywest, supports Perth Festival with grants totalling $7.3 million.
  • Festival season opens with Screenwest-funded production of The Furnace.
  • Grant funding to support core program costs and COVID-19 safety measures.
  • Festival season supports jobs and helps boost the local economy.

The Lotterywest grant will go towards core program costs of the 2021 Perth Festival to celebrate our place by connecting programs and audiences through the Bilya (river) theme.

The opening will be celebrated with the Australian premiere of the Screenwest-funded production, The Furnace which features screen legend David Wenham. It will run for one week as part of Lotterywest Films at UWA Somerville, before its national release on 10 December 2020.

This support mirrors the $6.3 million Lotterywest grant provided to Screenwest, plus an additional $1 million, which will support growth and success of the WA screen industry.

Highway to Hell, Perth Festival's closing event in 2020, was named a winner at the 2020 Australian Event Awards, with the upcoming festival a chance for art and film to again inspire unity. The full Perth Festival 2021 program runs from February 5-28, 2021.

The State Government, through Lotterywest, has been the principal source of funding for Perth Festival since 1991, and has supported the event with grants totalling more than $137 million.

Over the past 25 years, Lotterywest grants to Screenwest have totalled $125 million to support a range of local productions including The Furnace.

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Page reviewed 27 February 2023