FROM the prevalence of prominent actors making the Tropfest finals as directors, it could seem as if every thespian in Australia believes they've got a Tropfest film in them.
Joel Edgerton (Animal Kingdom, King Arthur) and Damon Gameau (Balibo, Underbelly) were among the 15 finalists announced yesterday for the world's biggest short-film festival, along with David Collins, half of the physical comedy duo the Umbilical Brothers.
What's more, the winning director of last year's Tropfest was an actor, Abe Forsythe, and the 19-year-old festival was started by an actor, John Polson.
Gameau, who made the finals for the second consecutive year with a stop-motion animation on jungle wildlife, Animal Beatbox, said yesterday that directing provided a welcome change from acting.
''As an actor you feel like a puppet sometimes,'' he said. ''You really feel like you're at the mercy of other people's creative expressions … and sometimes you're saying dialogue that you don't agree with as a person.
''So I got to a point of instead of whingeing about it and being cynical, going: well, actually do something, mate - make something.''
Polson believed actors tended to make good directors - ''think about people like Clint Eastwood'' - and it was often a logical next step. Tropfest also provided a chance to try a different role, he said.
From this year, instead of judges choosing 16 finalists as usual, they picked 15 and the public will decide the 16th. A shortlist of 10 for the spot will be streamed onto Tropfest's YouTube website and viewers will vote for the winner.
NSW filmmakers took the lion's share of the 15 finalist places with 11. One, Focus, was from South Africa.
Polson noticed ''a lot of films about sexuality'' among about 700 entries nationally.
For Edgerton, turning director for Monkey's, a comedy about how two men deal with having the same haircut, allowed him to follow the Tropfest ethos and create something less polished than his usual projects.
''I have a lot of experience in front of the camera and a little bit of experience behind the camera, but to make a film for Tropfest, I wanted to make it in the spirit of being very rough and ready,'' Edgerton said from Atlanta, where he is shooting the film The Odd Life of Timothy Green.
''I didn't want to be having too much pressure or spending too much money or gathering hordes of people. I kind of wanted to see how few people we could get together to make a movie.''
He said his brother Nash - a former Tropfest winner - had ''kind of bullied me into getting started''.
with Clare Morgan Who made the grade?A Desperate Deed A father sets off to commit a crime.A Family Affair Mockumentary giving newmeaning to ‘‘keeping it in the family’’.Animal Beatbox A stop-motion call to natureDen Sista Galaxonaut Focuses on Sven Larsson, the ‘‘first man on the moon’’.Flight A man finds his wings to fly fromhis life.Focus Finding something unexpected in someone you love.Missing Her What happens if you lose the one thing you can’t leave behind?Monkey’s ‘‘Two men, one haircut’’.Silencer Nobody hears this assassin’s shots.The Applicant A job interview with a twist.The Maestro A derelict takes an unusual musical device.The Unspoken A son’s effort to reach his dying father.Things To Do A night with a couple and the questions it raises.Transparency Who’s story is the story behind a photograph?Y2GAY A man frets over gay marriage.
