Margot Robbie, Sarah Snook join thousands as Tropfest returns
Updated ,first published
Ahead of Tropfest’s long-awaited return to Sydney’s bustling Centennial Park on Sunday night, jury president Margot Robbie said she was looking forward to seeing what the next generation of filmmakers had created.
“I get most excited when I feel like a different voice, a filmmaker, really has their own style or tone or something to say and that can come through,” he said.
In these conditions, Barbie And Wuthering Heights The star must have been impressed that short films had a strong year at Tropfest, which was held for the first time since 2019.
It has also been a strong year for high-profile names who gathered with thousands of fans at the festival, which has long been described as the world’s largest short film festival.
The jury included Sarah Snook, who had just won global trailblazer honors at the AACTA Awards. Rocket Man star Taron Egerton (who was in Sydney filming the Netflix action thriller) Top And I’ll be back soon to shoot another movie, Cockroachwith Chris Hemsworth), producer Bruna Papandrea (Last Anniversary) and writer-directors Danny Philippou (Bring It Back) and Dylan River (you will not steal).
avatar Director James Cameron was due to be at the park but remained in Los Angeles, so he reviewed the films remotely using YouTube’s global livestream of the event.
The winner, whom Robbie described as “absolutely perfect”, was Lianne Mackessy. CrescendoComedy drama about a young singer whose childcare arrangements chaotically fail as she prepares to be called back for a job.
An excited Mackessy said the idea for the film came about when Tropfest founder John Polson announced the festival’s return while she was three and a half months pregnant.
“I really felt like I had to rush back into everything after having the baby,” she said.
Mackessy has $50,000 in prize money from Tropfest, as well as eight-month-old Odeya, who plays a baby in the film. The star of the film, Laura Bunting, received the best actress award.
Second prize of $30,000 went to Jasper Sharpe We Don’t Take BreaksA hilarious thriller set in a takeaway shop, where the $20,000 third prize goes to Nicky Tyndale-Biscoe. Silent NightIt’s about a woman who takes action to help a struggling mother and her daughter, who share the same bus stop on Christmas Eve.
On a night when first the heat and then the rain reduced the crowd, directors George Miller, David Michod, Rachel Ward and Jennifer Peedom were among the VIP guests.
Robbie returning home after successful launch Wuthering HeightsHe said he was honored to be asked to be the jury president on the black carpet.
“I thought, ‘If there’s a way to do this so I can be home at that time, I definitely want to be a part of it,'” he said.
Snook said on the black carpet that she attended Tropfest as a “very green newbie” and was thrilled and overwhelmed by the experience.
“I really like the way you support emerging talent,” he said. “Imagine being a filmmaker and showing your movie in front of twenty or forty thousand people. It’s extraordinary.”
Afterwards Fears the festival cannot recover from Covid-19An influential alliance from business, sports and entertainment formed the nonprofit Tropfest Foundation last year to bring it back. Sarah Murdoch chairs the board. Festival founder John Polson, Peter V’landys, Richard Weinberg and Bryan Brown are board directors.
The little-known producers of the 16 finalists were the center of attraction at the park, all hoping for the kind of career boost that Tropfest has provided film and TV producers over the years.
Among those helped by the festival over the decades is Justin Kurzel (The Narrow Road to the Deep North), Emma Freeman (News Reader), Nash Edgerton (Mr. Arada), brother Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams), Alethea Jones (peaceful), Robert Connolly (Dry) and Daina Reid (The Handmaid’s Tale).
Tropfest also promoted major Australian acting talent including Sam Worthington, Rebel Wilson, David Wenham, Mia Wasikowska, Asher Keddie, Stephen Curry, Damon Herriman and Murray Bartlett.
Polson founded the festival in 1993 at the Tropicana Caffe in Darlinghurst.
Expanding from the cafe to the street outside and then to live events, it has attracted tens of thousands of fans at Rushcutters Bay Park, the Domain, Centennial Park and Parramatta Park. He returned to Centennial Park after a seven-year break.
In a nice touch, Tropicana Caffe is among venues across the country broadcasting the festival live on YouTube.
Polson, who said he often doubts whether Tropfest will come back, said the new festival focuses on promoting emerging talent throughout the year. This included two days of Roughcut talks on Friday and Saturday, a scholarship program to bring together mentors and film sessions for the two finalists, and the return of Trop Jnr for budding filmmakers aged 15 and under.
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