| Here Out West | |
| Music: | Amanda Brown |
| Cinematography: | Tania Lambert |
| Editing: | Martin Connor |
| Country: | Australia |
| Runtime: | 100 minutes |
Here Out West is a 2021 Australian anthology film set in culturally diverse Western Sydney. It is made up of eight stories from eight writers and features nine languages. The film has been praised for its positive portrayal of the diversity of Western Sydney. It was the opening film for the 68th Sydney Film Festival.
The film consists of eight loosely connected sections, each following different characters in Western Sydney.
Nancy (Genevieve Lemon) is unexpectedly left to babysit her neighbour Amirah (Mia-Lore Bayeh). She visits her imprisoned daughter in the hospital where she had just given birth to a baby named Grace, and kidnaps the baby.
Jorge (Christian Ravello), a security guard in the hospital's carpark who has a fraught relationship with his son, writes poetry in Spanish while working. Nancy tries to leave the hospital with Grace, and as Jorge runs after her, his son stumbles across Jorge’s notebook, reading one of his poems.
Three friends—Dino (Thuso Lekwape), Rashid (Rahel Romahn) and Robi (Arka Das)—get into a fight. They see a man get hit by a car (driven by Nancy, who flees), and carry him to the hospital. The segment ends with Ashmita (Leah Vandenberg) approaching Robi.
Ashmita is at the hospital visiting her dying father. He reverts to speaking only his native Bengali, so Ashmita asks Robi to interpret. Ashmita sings the song "Mama Chitte" and her father has a moment of lucidity.
A Kurdish bağlama-maker tries to find work in Australia to support his family.
Tom returns to his old neighbourhood.
A Filipina nurse works a long shift at the hospital, during which she witnesses Nancy kidnapping the baby.
A mother and daughter work together on the closing night of their restaurant.
Each subsection of the film was written by an emerging writer, all from different backgrounds. The film includes dialogue in ten languages: Tagalog, Bengali, Arabic, Kurdish, Spanish, Turkish, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Kurmanji, and English.[1]
The food docu-series 8 Nights Out West was inspired by the movie, hosted by Here Out West writer and actor Arka Das. Each episode features a member of the cast or crew showcasing and discussing food from their cultural background. The docu-series aired in anticipation of the launch of Here Out West on the ABC's streaming service.
Tania Lambert, writing in The Conversation, considers that "the film while imperfect in that some stories are stronger than others, is a nuanced examination of race and class." The Guardian
Reviewing for The Sydney Morning Herald, Paul Byrne awards the film 4 stars finishing "It’s a clever construction, and it helps that there is only one editor, Martin Connor, keeping the tone consistent throughout." Also in The Sydney Morning Herald, Debi Enker gives it 4 1/2 stars, stating: "Getting the tone, pace and balance right on an anthology isn’t easy. This inventive and insightful production nails it."
|-|rowspan="3"|2022|rowspan="3"|12th AACTA Awards|Best Film|Here Out West – Co-curious and Emerald Productions||rowspan="3"||-|Best Costume Design|Wendy Cork||-|Audience Choice Award for Best Actor|Christian Ravello||-|2023|Logie Awards of 2023|Most Outstanding Supporting Actor|Arka Das||