With Tropfest rolling out on Valentine’s day, John Polson’s recently rescued short film festival has announced its panel of judges, which include star of The Mentalist Simon Baker, who is also making his directorial debut with an adaptation of Tim Winton’s Breath, and popular actress Rebecca Gibney currently on screens in Wanted. They will be joined by director Jocelyn Moorhouse who recently had a huge hit with The Dressmaker (still in cinemas after 14 weeks!) and her cinematographer Don McAlpine, whose impressive credits also include Ender’s Game, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Moulin Rouge! and Romeo + Juliet.
With many relieved to see Tropfest up and running again after the event was abruptly cancelled last year, the festival recently launched a crowdfunding campaign via Pozible to ensure the event’s longevity. The campaign is aiming to raise $100,000 with funds to be used to hire financial advisors and re-examine the business model.
“For the first time in our history, I was forced to cancel the event and begin to understand what went wrong and how to get Tropfest back on the rails,” Mr Polson said on a YouTube video uploaded on Friday.
“Tropfest suffered a major blow,” Mr Polson said on a YouTube video uploaded last week. “For the first time in history we are asking you to make a financial contribution to help keep Tropfest alive.
“Running a festival this size, that’s free to attend, and relies almost entirely on grants and sponsorship, hasn’t always been easy.”
Tropfest will screen on Sunday, February 14 at eight venues across New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. Visit www.tropfest.com/au for all details.
Photo caption: John Polson and Simon Baker
