by FilmInk Staff
When actor turned director Damian Walshe-Howling’s partner, emerging filmmaker Georgia Walters, shared an intimate childhood memory with him over dinner just before Christmas last year, they had no idea it would be bringing a tear to so many people’s eyes, worldwide, just two months later.
“We’ve been blown away by the depth of emotional response to our little six minute Tropfest Wildcard film, Our Glass. It’s coming at us from the most unexpected places,” says Walshe-Howling, “The second that Georgia told me the story, I knew I wanted to produce someone else’s film for the first time in my life, and producing has been a ball!
Writer and director of Our Glass, Walters, who is best known as an actor in both Australian feature film The Spy Who Never Dies and beloved TV series Neighbours, says that “Damian had been really encouraging me to enter Tropfest, but I was honestly so terrified to jump in that I didn’t know where to start. With the deadline fast approaching it all felt impossible. But when I finally shared this story about my grandma with Damian, he jumped up and said ‘That’s it, that’s your film! Let’s make it. You write it and I’ll produce.’
Galvanised by Tropfest’s 2026 messaging about ‘an evolution in the kinds of cinema they want to showcase’, the pair then set about raising money and bringing together a killer cast and crew to bring Georgia’s first script to life, all within the space of three weeks. With this in mind, Damian asked Riley Sugar’s of Sugarland Productions, best known for his award-winning short Hatchback, to produce with him.
“I knew we could do it together, says Walshe-Howling. “This is where a time targeted platform like Tropfest brings ambition, fun and action alive in people. It’s like a chaotic beautiful firestorm. And even better, it’s encouraged Georgia and I to launch our first film company together, Cowboy Butter Productions. We both love cinema as a place to crawl inside raw, personal and unpredictable stories. We love that Tropfest, right from its beginning, has been a celebration of that communal cinema experience.”
Walter’s true creative drive, she says, comes in part from her unique upbringing. “Growing up without a TV, I can vividly remember the day my parents got a free Tropfest DVD of the finalists with the newspaper back in 2006! Those films have become family folklore and my sister and I still quote them all the time. So, when we were announced as a Tropfest Wild Card, I’m not going to lie, there was a lot of squealing, dancing and carrying on. It’s hard to grasp making it so far as a first time filmmaker. Although that’s definitely thanks to having such an incredible team around me. From our cinematographer Adam Howden to our incredible cast Debra Lawrance, 13-year-old Libby Segal and 8-year-old Audrey ‘O’Sullivan, I never felt anything but supported and encouraged. And I also, somehow, bullied our producer Damian Walshe-Howling into playing a role as the dad as well. How could he say no?”
Our Glass is currently showing on Tropfest’s YouTube Channel as one of ten Wild Card films with a chance to reach the Top 16 for the festival in two weeks’ time on Sunday the 22nd of February in Centennial Park, Sydney.
To vote click on the link below, watch the film, then like and comment, Tropfest are looking for meaningful engagement.
