“Lemonade Stand” wins Tropfest Australia

20 February, 2012

“Lemonade Stand” wins Tropfest Australia

“Lemonade Stand” directed by Alethea Jones has been the winner of the Movie Extra Tropfest Australia 2012 short film competition.

Lemonade Stand was among the 16 short film finalists in the Australian competition which screened at the TSB Bowl of Brooklands in New Plymouth last night to launch the New Zealand Tropfest competition.

The Australian panel of judges included Asher Keddie, Toni Collette, Geoffrey Rush, Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman. The judges also awarded Second Prize to “Boo”, directed by Rupert Reid which also took out the Telstra Crowd Pleaser Award.

Third Prize when to “Photo Booth”, directed by Michael Noonan. Best Male Actor was awarded to Don Reid, the lead in “Boo”, and Kate McNamara won Best Female Actor her role in “Kitchen Sink Drama”.

Marie Patane took out the Moet & Chandon Women in Film Award, and Jason van Genderen won First Place in the Telstra Mobile Masterpeices competition with his film “The 53rd Hour”.

The finalist films screened to outdoor audiences right around Australia, as well as to a 1,500 strong audience at New Plymouth’s Bowl of Brooklands who enjoyed a perfect summer’s evening for the free, outdoor cinematic event.

This screening also launched the Tropfest New Zealand competition being run by the Taranaki Arts Festival Trust. In the New Zealand competition, the mandatory “Tropfest Signature Item” Kiwi filmmakers can creatively use in any way they like in a short film is a “gumboot”.

With entries now open via www.tropfest.co.nz filmmakers must complete and enter their film by October 31, 2012, and follow five simple criteria.

Their short film must have been made specifically for Tropfest, Tropfest will be its first public screening, the short must be no longer than seven minutes including titles and credits, the entrants must be New Zealand citizens, and the film must contain the Tropfest Signature Item – a gumboot!

Following the closure of entries at the end of October, a secret panel of industry experts will judge the films and the finalists will be announced.

Along the lines of the huge outdoor screening events in Australia for Tropfest films, finalists will then be screened at an outdoor cinema event at the TSB Bowl of Brooklands in New Plymouth at a date to set in late January or February, 2013.

ENDS