MEDIA RELEASE 19 December, 2011
Growing film industry support for Tropfest New Zealand
Film director Vincent Ward and producer Catherine Fitzgerald are among industry professionals coming out in support of
screening Tropfest Australia short film finalists in an outdoor screening event at the TSB Bowl of Brooklands in New
Plymouth scheduled for Sunday, February 19, 2012.
Both Vincent Ward and Catherine Fitzgerald have made numerous short films and consider shorts the ideal opportunity to
learning the craft of film making and showcase talent.
“Feature film production is a difficult industry to succeed in, yet short films are an achievable and fun way for anyone
to get involved in film making,” says Vincent.
“I come from the ‘falling on your face school of filmmaking’, and I think that rolling up your sleeves and actually
doing film work means you find your own style. Short film explorations allow you to do this credibly with modest
resources.”
Meanwhile, Catherine Fitzgerald sees short films as a wonderful story telling form in their own right.
“Short films offer directors an opportunity to find their own voice,” explains Catherine. “And in the process of making
short films, they can also develop the relationships to go on to make features.”
Short film buffs will be able to watch the 16 finalists in Tropfest Australia in an outdoor screening event at the TSB
Bowl of Brooklands in New Plymouth scheduled for Sunday, February 19, 2012. The screening will coincide with the
finalist screening in Sydney and the announcement of the Australian winner.
The free outdoor event will be run by the Taranaki Arts Festival Trust (TAFT) and will be a showcase of the best short
films from the more than 700 entries expected for the 2012 Australian competition, says TAFT’s Chief Executive, Suzanne
Porter.
“Tropfest Australia is the world’s largest short film festival with the finalists showing an incredible creativity in
film making,” says Ms. Porter.
“The TSB Bowl of Brooklands is an ideal venue for film lovers to set up a picnic hamper and enjoy an evening of very
entertaining – and diverse films.”
The New Plymouth screening event will coincide with the screening of the 16 finalists’ films in Australia which reaches
a live audience of more than 150,000 at outdoor screenings in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, Hobart, Surfers
Paradise, Brisbane, and Adelaide. The event is also broadcast live on television across Australia.
Tropfest was started in Sydney 20 years ago by acclaimed film maker John Polson as a screening in a café for 200 people.
It is now Australia’s most prestigious short film competition with the finals screened to a live audience of more than
150,000 at outdoor screenings in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, Hobart, Surfers Paradise, Brisbane, Adelaide – and
now New Plymouth. The event is also broadcast live on television across Australia.
Tropfest is also now the largest international short film event with a new competition set for New York in 2012; an
Arabian competition open to film makers across the Middle East and North Africa; and imminent plans to launch in a
number of other territories including London and China.
The competition is open to anyone and attracts talented and emerging film makers as well as experienced production
teams. Each film can be no more than seven minutes, must be made specifically for Tropfest, and contain the Tropfest
Signature Item which this year is ‘a light bulb’.
As the first of what is planned to be an annual Tropfest screening at the TSB Bowl of Brooklands, the focus of the New
Plymouth event will be to create an entertaining night of films, music and celebrity guests.
Ends