Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Tropfest
Organisers of Australia’s most prestigious short film festival, Tropfest, are calling filmmakers as entries officially open for the 2014 Festival. Heading to Sydney’s Centennial Park for the second time and with a sunny December date, Tropfest Australia 2014 is planned to be bigger than ever.
The Tropfest Signature Item (TSI) this year is ‘MIRROR’, and has already led to some interesting interpretations.
One entrant for this year, Director and Writer David Boulton has been working on a dark-comedy about the notorious Sydney drug scene. He plans to tell the story of what goes on behind closed doors and the personal encounters dealers face. The film stars Melbourne comedian Ronny Chieng, who has appeared at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and has worked alongside US comedian Dave Chappelle.
Boulton plans to make a unique and interesting interpretation of this year’s TSI, through one of many different angles that audiences are sure to see on December 7.
Another entrant, musical theatre teacher and filmmaker Dianna Nixon, plans to integrate the issue of homelessness and displacement through the collaboration of music and art in her entry. Set on a winter day in Canberra, the musical is expected to have a strong community involvement.
“We start filming with a ‘concert scene’ that will involve a 30 voice five–part choir, five musicians, up to 400 in the audience, plus film crew and support team – probably 500 people altogether,” Nixon says.
“This year’s TSI is an interesting one and it will be great to see how filmmakers incorporate it creatively,” says John Polson, Festival Founder and Director. “We’re expecting to see some incredible stories.”
Entries for this year’s Tropfest open on August 13 and will close on October 2, 2014. Films must be no longer than seven minutes and must include this year’s Tropfest Signature Item (TSI): “MIRROR”. It is completely up to entrants as to how they interpret and include the TSI in their film and filmmakers are encouraged to be as creative or as literal as they like.
This year’s Festival is expected to be Tropfest’s biggest yet with scores of filmmakers around the country competing for the chance to be one of the 16 finalists whose short films will premiere live to a national audience of around 150,000, as well as broadcast free-to-air on SBS 2 to an even bigger home audience.
A panel of industry and celebrity judges will select a 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 D800 + $2,000 RRP worth of lenses and accessories.
Filmmaking is no longer only for those with a foot in the industry’s door. DSLR cameras, which have long been a staple for photographers, are fast becoming the most popular way for emerging and established filmmakers to shoot films.
Designed to give filmmakers an accessible outlet to express their creativity, the Nikon DSLR Film Category will showcase the versatility and capabilities of video recording technology in DSLR cameras. Currently around 50% of Tropfest entries are shot on DSLR, with Tropfest anticipating this figure to continue increasing.
The winner of the Nikon DSLR Film Category will receive a brand new Nikon D610 and $3000 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.
Tropfest Australia also recently launched its inaugural #TROPVINE Competition, which is open to entrants all over the globe and is the first official Vine competition in Australia. The competition has proved to be a great platform for people to brainstorm and have fun with the TSI.
The six second Vine film competition runs over eight weeks with entries open until midnight on September 21, 2014. The shortlist will be unveiled on September 22 and the winner will be announced on September 27 with some great prizes up for grabs. Visit tropfest.com/au/tropvine for details.
Tropfest had humble beginnings at the Tropicana Café in Sydney’s Darlinghurst 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.
For festival details, screening venues and regular updates on all things Trop visit:
Website: www.tropfest.com/au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/tropfest
Twitter: www.twitter.com/TROPFEST
Instagram: www.instagram.com/tropfest
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/TROPFEST
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