Tropfest 2005

From its famed humble beginnings in Darlinghurst's Tropicana Caffe 13 years ago, Tropfest is now trumpeted as the world's biggest short film festival. Way back in 1992, John Polson asked the permission of the local Tropicana cafe owner to screen his first short film Surry Hills, 902 Spring Roll.

And as they say, the rest is history. Australians love the idea of egalitarianism and any Joe Bloggs on the street seemingly has just as much chance of being a Tropfest finalist as a seasoned professional director. All films are viewed without knowledge of the director's name so although it attracts its fair share of celebrity directors and cameo appearances, the essence of success remains in a good idea and an ability to capture the imagination of a short-attention-spanned-public.

The brief? Make a film under 7 minutes and include the Signature Tropfest Item (TSI). This ensures the film has been made in the given period with the gap between TSI announcement and submission deadline less than nine weeks(?!?!).

Comedies normally do well but dramas and animations are just as likely to succeed if they strike a chord with the viewers. Those that enter say the adrenalinin rush is phenomenal as the live audience feedback truly indicates the emotive and story-telling success of their film.


Sydney's Domain was packed with people. The 16 finalist films are broadcast live via satellite to venues around Australia.

The estimated audience was 130,000. Australians love a festival, love a picnic and any excuse to pack the Jatz, the TimTams and the ice-cold esky!

We, of course, packed a veritable feast.

L-R clockwise: AG's pesto pasta salad with olives, basil and feta; mascarpone-stuffed figs; sundried tomato tortilla wraps; blue cheese and crackers; French pate; bottles of chardonnay and verdelho; prosciutto; and AG's chorizo, cherry tomato, cucumber and rocket salad.
Oh and a free Sony inflatable pillow and lollypops too.

[And yes, there was a reason why I handily had chorizo and rocket in the fridge for my EoMEoTE!]


Sundried-tomato pita wrap with chorizo salad.


Cheers!


Live audience feeds entertained the crowd. The Harbour Bridge lies in the distance.


Free Lipton iced tea samples went down a treat.


And the free popcorn, fairyfloss and lollypops at the Sony Playstation tent were also popular. Sony also had a free jumping castle (pictured in the background).

Tropfest is also famed for its celebrity supporters. It's all about street-cred and "power to the plebs" eh?

Nick Giannopolous and Daniel MacPherson

Magda Szubanski and Geoffrey Rush

Congratulations to all the winners and all 792 entrants!

Tropfest takes place every summer with entries generally opening in late November, closing in late January and airing in late February.