Comedian Claire Hooper to Host 26TH ANNUAL WA SCREEN AWARDS

FTI is thrilled to announce that comedienne Claire Hooper (Good News Week, Rove Live, The Great Debate, Melbourne International Comedy Festival) will be hosting the 26th annual WA Screen Awards (WASAs) at the stunning Heath Ledger Theatre in the State Theatre Centre of WA as a grand finale event to the Revelation Perth International Film Festival on Monday 14 July 2014.

The WA Screen Awards (WASAs) is the premier celebration of West Australian screen culture, celebrating excellence and achievements in feature film, short film, web series, music videos, television production, documentary and games.

The 2014 red carpet gala awards ceremony will feature VIP guests, world-class service, delicious canapés, premium beverages and live entertainment.

Over 500 film industry leaders, Western Australian screen practitioners, media, sponsors and government officials are anticipated to attend.

"We are delighted that Claire is coming home to Perth to host the 26th WA Screen Awards in the beautiful Heath Ledger Theatre. With the Western Australian screen sector growing in leaps and bounds, a homegrown success story such as Claire is the perfect choice to help us celebrate the last twelve months of screen storytelling excellence in our state." said FTI CEO, Paul Bodlovich.

Former WASA winners include some of Australia's most prominent screen artists including Nelson Woss (Red Dog), writer/director Elissa Down (The Black Balloon) and writer/director Zak Hilditch, whose feature film These Final Hours was recently selected for the Director's Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival 2014, as well as outstanding young talent including actress Olivia DeJonge, who recently secured her debut lead role in the yet-to-be announced M.Night Shyamalan Hollywood feature film.

Entries for the 2014 WASAs have now closed and FTI was pleased to receive a grand total of 448 entries from 172 entrants across 143 screen projects. Judging is now taking place and the 2014 nominees will be announced at an exclusive Nominee Announcement Event in June.

FTI enhances the vibrancy of the WA Screen Sector by providing skills and career development, facilitating professional networking opportunities, and production development and support. The WASAs connect audiences with WA screen content and WA screen practitioners with each other.

The 26th annual WASAs are proudly supported by major partner ScreenWest and presented in conjunction with the Revelation Perth International Film Festival (3 - 13 July 2014).

Claire Hooper images courtesy of Token Artists