# 2007 Tropfest finalists

The Tropfest short film festival is held in Sydney, Australia each year. This is the list of 2007's short-listed films and winners.
There was controversy regarding the winning film An Imaginary Life due to similarities to the American television series Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.

## The Story of Ned

    Synopsis: John Doyle, as the omnipotent yet not altogether totally reliable narrator, tells the tragic tale of Ned, a little story with a detective yarn for a father and a children's fable for a mother. But in this animation, Ned has a problem: he is a story without an ending.
    Director: Simon Weaving
    Producer: Simon Weaving
    Writer: Simon Weaving
    Cinematographer: Dan Miller
    Sound design: Mark Webber
    Composer: Troy Hambly
    Editor: Dan Miller Key
    Key Cast: John Doyle, Tony Turner
    Length: 6' 50"

## The Grey Cloud

    Synopsis: This noirish film, set in a crime-ridden city, opens with a man walking a woman down an alley. Nearby is a mysterious piano bar, a place where the music can simply take you away.
    Director: Matt Peek, Cam Ford
    Producer: Matt Peek, Cam Ford
    Writer: Matt Peek
    Cinematographer: Cam Ford
    Sound design: John Kassab
    Composer: Craig Bryant
    Editor: Cam Ford
    Key Cast: Mick Preston, Katie Astrinakis, John Richards, Brett Cartlidge
    Length: 7'
    Shot On: Super 16mm
    Tropfest Awards: Best Cinematography - Cam Ford

## An Imaginary Life (First Prize)

    Synopsis: What happens to an imaginary friend once they're forgotten? Where do they go? How do they live? And can their lives ever have any meaning again? For one such imaginary friend, life has been empty. That is, until he finds a potential answer to the one question that's been consuming him this whole time.
    Director: Steve Baker
    Producer: Steve Baker
    Writer: Steve Baker
    Sound design: Steve Baker
    Composer: Steve Baker
    Editor: Steve Baker
    Key Cast: Andrew Baker, Steve Baker
    Length: 4' 55"
    Shot On: Animation
    Tropfest Awards: First Prize

## Being Boston

    Synopsis: When Jeff is dumped by his girlfriend, he buys a cute boxer puppy called Boston to keep him company. But the weeks, then months prove lonely and difficult. Jeff's unpredictable behaviour means it could be some time before Boston makes this man his best friend.
    Director: Justin Drape
    Producer: Justin Drape
    Writer: Justin Drape
    Cinematographer: Timothy Laffey
    Sound design: Simon Kane
    Editor: Simon Njoo
    Key Cast: Sean Lynch, Felicity Hopkins, Ashlie Fellow
    Length: 5' 4"
    Shot On: DV/HD

## Between The Flags

    Synopsis: How many rioters does it take to start a riot? When two guys from opposing sides of conflict are the first arrivals for a beach riot, they are initially unsure of the accepted etiquette.
    Director: Jayce White
    Producer: Jayce White
    Writer: Jayce White
    Cinematographer: Ian Nicholson
    Sound design: Jayce White
    Editor: Jayce White
    Key Cast: Dan Feuerrigel, Matuse
    Length: 7' 4"
    Shot On: DV/HD
    Tropfest Awards: Best Comedy, Best Actor (Matuse)

## Road Rage (Second Prize)

    Synopsis: On a busy morning on the roads, there's a near traffic accident. One driver, shaken and angry, watches as the offending car speeds away without its driver acknowledging or apologising for the near miss. He decides to chase him down in a quest for revenge, cornering the offender in a nearby street.
    Director: Mark Bellamy
    Producer: Mark Bellamy, Lyndal Mebberson
    Writer: Mark Bellamy
    Cinematographer: Simon Harding
    Sound design: Rohan Charlton
    Composer: Simon Bailey
    Editor: Laurie Hughes
    Key Cast: Paul Kelman, Alan Flower, Scott Johnson, Freddy Talib
    Length: 7'
    Shot On: HD
    Tropfest Awards: Second Prize; Audience Prize

## Yellow

    Synopsis: When a well-dressed man climbs into a taxi one night, the tired driver settles in for another boring ride in silence. But things change quickly when the passenger starts talking earnestly about the troubling purpose of the journey. The driver finds himself parked outside a strange house, fearing for his life.
    Director: William Allert
    Producer: William Allert
    Writer: William Allert
    Cinematographer: Craig Jackson
    Composer: Andy Scott
    Editor: Brad Hurt
    Key Cast: Nathan O'Keefe, William Allert
    Length: 5' 50"
    Shot On: HD
    Tropfest Awards: Best Screenplay - William Allert

## Pig Latin

    Synopsis: Two cops startle a woman working in the garden. That's the start of a story about two guys who remember that lucky kid from school who has the pool, the trampoline, the Atari and all that other cool stuff. It's been years since they've seen him, but they still want to play.
    Director: Nathaniel Kiwi
    Producer: Nathaniel Kiwi
    Writer: Nathaniel Kiwi
    Cinematographer: Stuart Simpson
    Sound design: Andrew Neil
    Composer: Mark Farrel
    Editor: Nathaniel Kiwi
    Key Cast: Stephen Curry, Steven Stagg, Diana Greentree, Charlie Clausen
    Length: 5' 40"
    Shot On: DVCAM

## Counter

    Synopsis: A troubled accountant inherits a mysterious counter from a relative, who says "it will make everything clear". But what does it count? Desperate to know the purpose of his inheritance, Neville begins to question everything he does in his daily routine, becoming drawn into an obsessive and life-changing search for meaning.
    Director: Michael Noonan (filmmaker)
    Producer: Michael Noonan, Carine Chai
    Writer: Michael Noonan
    Sound design: Michael Noonan
    Composer: Michael Noonan
    Editor: Michael Noonan
    Key Cast: Christopher Sommers, Kat Henry, Catherine Glavicic, Paul Bryan, Michael Carter
    Length: 6' 59"
    Shot On: HDV

## Real Thing

    Synopsis: A woman wakes up in bed. Beside her is the man who insists he is her husband. But is he really? She can't remember.
    Director: Rupert Glasson
    Producer: Hugo O'Conner, Rani Chaleyer
    Writer: Rupert Glasson
    Cinematographer: Ben Allen
    Sound design: Michael McMenomy
    Composer: John Gray
    Editor: Rani Chaleyer
    Key Cast: Slava Orel, Emma Jackson, Jean-Marc Russ
    Length: 5'
    Shot On: DVCAM
    Tropfest Awards: Best Original Score - John Gray

## The Von

    Synopsis: It is 1982 and a schoolboy Alex Vonzitzavitz—possessor of a cool jacket and superhero card collection—is about to face the most humiliating experience of his life. Remember that nightmare you had about turning up to school naked? This is worse. But don't panic! Superheroes like The Von always find a way to get out of trouble.
    Director: John Mavety
    Producer: Robyn Sinclair
    Writer: John Mavety
    Cinematographer: Glenn Hanns
    Sound design: Nathan Brand
    Composer: Tewe Hanare
    Editor: John Mavety, Adam Harley.
    Key Cast: Jacob Bicknell, Zeke Collins, Jaime Lee Parker, Gabrielle Desdoigts, Louis Desdoigts, April Hayes Dickson
    Length: 6' 59"
    Shot On: HD
    Tropfest Awards: Third Prize; Sony Foundation Young Talent Award - Jacob Bicknell

## Bad Yoghurt

    Synopsis: On a hot summer's day, a hot sexy woman sits by a pool. She eats some hot sexy yoghurt. But everything is not as perfect as it seems. The glamour fades when she realises the yoghurt is bad.
    Director: Shaun Beagley
    Producer: Shaun Beagley
    Writer: Shaun Beagley
    Cinematographer: Jonas McGuiggin
    Sound design: Stuart Welch
    Composer: Bernard Houston
    Editor: Kurt Royan
    Key Cast: Natalie Lynn
    Length: 5'
    Shot On: 16mm
    Tropfest Awards: The Tropicana Award

## Mere Oblivion

    Synopsis: The title, from Shakespeare, is a reference to growing old. Librarian Kenny Bunkport learns what it means when he takes his elderly grandmother to a swish restaurant.
    Director: Burleigh Smith
    Producer: Burleigh Smith
    Writer: Burleigh Smith
    Cinematographer: Jason Thomas
    Editor: Ross Farnsworth (i.e., Burleigh Smith)
    Key Cast: Burleigh Smith, Elizabeth Caiacob, Michael Su, Kate Ritchie
    Length: 7'
    Shot On: HDV
    Tropfest Awards: Best Female Actor - Elizabeth Caiacob

## A-Z

    Synopsis: Muz's doctor has bad news: "Your aorta's clogged with fat, all your vital parts are weak". In this animation, that means Muz has to stop eating meat. To break the habit, the doc prescribes a radical new cure that goes from A to Z.
    Director: Zenon Kohler
    Producer: Zenon Kohler
    Writer: Murray Hartin
    Still photographer: Greg Desmon
    Sound design: Ash Maklad
    Composer: Pat Drummond
    Editor: Zenon Kohler
    Length: 4' 40"
    Shot On: Computer generated on a Macintosh with digital stills

## Still

    Synopsis: When a man and a woman choose the paths they want to take in their relationship, their son is left aside. In this evocative film, there are three lives and two decisions on one still night.
    Director: Jayne Montague
    Producer: Jayne Montague
    Valentina Forno
    Assistant Director: Ashleigh Kate Brooks
    Writer: Nick Thompson
    Cinematographer: Shing Fung Cheung
    Sound design: David Stalley
    Composer: David Stalley
    Editor: Rolmar Baldonado
    Key Cast: Jodine Muir, Pete Walters, Giles Penfold,
    Length: 6' 41"
    Shot On: HD

## Fore!

    Synopsis: "Golf isn't a game," says Tiger Woods. "It's a choice that one makes with one's life." A man learns the truth of that statement when he heads to the driving range to hit a few balls.
    Director: Duane Fogwell
    Producer: Stewart Brown
    Writer: Duane Fogwell
    Cinematographer: Geoff Ellis
    Composer: Geir Brillan
    Editor: Duane Fogwell
    Key Cast: Daniel Bowden, Paul Moxey,
    Length: 6' 30"
    Shot On: 35mm
    Tropfest Awards: Best Editing - Duane Fogwell