BALLOON ANIMALS, BONDI STEREOTYPES AND RUNAWAY BRIDES IN TROPFEST 2014 LINE-UP

Posted by Sas Lyon

Tropfest Finalists Revealed!

From runaway brides to clumsy butlers, chocoholic dentists to pizza-craving creatives – the cast of characters in the 16 finalist films for Tropfest 2014 bring some of the best comedic gold and most biting social commentary that the Festival has ever seen!

The world’s largest short film festival, held in Sydney, will kick off on Sunday December 7 when the selected finalist films will premiere live at Centennial Park, as well as at live sites around the nation, and broadcast on SBS 2.

As in previous years, the finalist films have each embraced the Tropfest Signature Item (TSI), with this year’s TSI being “MIRROR”. The finalists cover all kinds of genres and styles; from thrillers, dramas to documentaries and even a public service announcement thrown in there. However, the most popular genre this year by far is comedy, with some of the most laugh-out-loud, zany, and wickedly dark comedy shorts of any Tropfest in years past.

Many finalists cast a mirror onto the past, examining challenges or journeys made and how they have affected life in the present. There’s a young man who tries to win over his primary school crush at a reunion party. An Indigenous Australian family discovers long-kept secrets and an Australian-Vietnamese family travels back to Saigon to revisit the home of their grandfather after being separated for years following the end of the Vietnam War. This year, the past is certainly in full-focus.

This year’s finalists also manage to cast a mirror onto today’s society, shining a light onto some pretty questionable characters and making for a harsh reflection to face. Two friends win the lottery but it isn’t long before they start to realise that their big win might not be all it’s cracked up to be, and Bondi stereotypes are put under the microscope in an Eastern suburbs take on Little Britain, as Irish backpackers, cruel parking inspectors and a shallow upper-class housewife all collide in one manic day.

Those with keen eyes will also be able to spot some big name Aussie actors in this year’s finalist films. Keep an eye out for Steve Vizard as an overly sympathetic boss, Pia Miranda as the supportive wife to a troubled man played by Alan Dukes (recently appearing in The Little Death), Roy Billing as the patriarch of a stately family and Cassandra Magrath as a bridesmaid to a runaway bride. Shari Sebbens (The Sapphires) also makes a star turn in one of the films. This time round though, she’s swapped the sequins for a snuggie.

Tropfest Founder and Director, John Polson, said “It’s been twenty three years since Tropfest first began and every year the films entered into the competition remind me of why I started this in the first place – to raise the profile of creative filmmakers and to share stories that, without this platform, might not otherwise be told.”

“It is a privilege to see the work of such incredibly talented filmmakers enter our Festival, and this year is no exception. Tropfest audiences across the world are in for a really entertaining evening of film on December 7,” Polson said.

Deputy Premier, Minister for Tourism and Major Events and Minister for the Arts Troy Grant said, “I congratulate each of the sixteen finalists announced today, who will have their work shown at Australia’s most prestigious, and the world’s largest short film festival, Tropfest.”

“The NSW Government is proud to support Tropfest through our tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, as a highlight of Sydney’s Summer Events Calendar that attracts visitors from overseas and interstate and reinforces the city’s position as a creative industries hub,” he said.

The 16 finalist films will premiere live to a crowd of thousands in Sydney’s Centennial Park on December 7, as well as being simultaneously broadcast to outdoor screens across Australia. On top of this, an even bigger home audience will be tuning in to the free-to-air broadcast on SBS 2.

Filmmakers behind the finalist films will get to strut their stuff on the red carpet in Sydney alongside seasoned filmmakers, actors and other industry heavyweights. Past judges for Tropfest have included the likes of Nicole Kidman, Toni Collette, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, Samuel L. Jackson and Baz Luhrmann.

The judges will have the tough decision of picking the winner live on the Festival Night, with the First Prize-winning filmmaker to take home an incredible prize pack including: a brand new Toyota, $10,000 cash, a trip to Los Angeles for a week of meetings with film executives thanks to Motion Picture Association and the Australian Screen Association plus a Nikon D810 and DSLR cameras and $2,000 RRP worth of Nikkor lenses and accessories.

The winner of the Nikon DSLR Film Category will receive a brand new Nikon D610 and $3,000 RRP worth of lenses and accessories. All films entered into this category are also eligible to be selected for the big prize as one of the Official Finalists in the main competition.

Finalists for Tropscore were also revealed today with 14 contenders unveiled from around the country and New Zealand. The unique film score competition, in partnership with APRA AMCOS, asks musicians and composers to
score or sync an original song to a short film provided by Tropfest.

The Tropscore winner will walk away with $5000 in cash, courtesy of APRA AMCOS, and a once in a lifetime opportunity to perform their score LIVE at Tropfest in Sydney this December. Check out the finalists for this year’s TROPSCORE competition here: http://tropfest.com/au/apra-tropscore

As Tropfest reveals the finalists for this year’s competition, the Festival is also unveiling a brand new website, created by digital agency Lash Creative. Visit tropfest.com/au to see the new online home for Tropfest Australia.

The new website forms part of a renewed digital strategy which will see the creation of fresh digital spaces for Tropfest’s international events over the next twelve months. Also to follow is the launch of an exciting new platform designed to house all of Tropfest’s archived films in an intuitive and engaging online space.

Tropfest had humble beginnings at the Tropicana Café in Sydney’s Darlinghurst in 1993 where an eager crowd of 200 showed up to watch a short film screening that Tropfest founder John Polson had organised. Twenty-two years on, Tropfest attracts a live audience of around 150,000 in Australia and the Festival has grown internationally with standalone competitions in New Zealand, South East Asia, New York and the Middle East.