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| Anthony Lapaglia |
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| Abbie Cornish |
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| James Woods & Anthony Lapaglia |
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| Toni Collette & Tobey |
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| Tobey Maguire |
On
Sunday, June 3, the world's largest short film festival, Tropfest, wrapped up
its first festival in Las Vegas. The
festival served as a celebration of Tropfest’s 20th official birthday during a
weekend (June 1 – 3) of free, mostly outdoor events at The Cosmopolitan of Las
Vegas.
Tropfest’s
“All-Star Competition” on Sunday night (June 3) began with a frenzy of activity
as the competition’s celebrity attendees made their arrival via a black
carpet. Those in attendance included the
competition’s host Rob Corddry (The Daily Show, Hot Tub Time Machine, Childrens
Hospital), President of the Jury Toni Collette (Jesus Henry Christ, United
States of Tara), jurors Rebel Wilson (Bridesmaids, What To Expect When You’re
Expecting), Anthony LaPaglia (Without a Trace, Happy Feet), Griffin Dunne
(House of Lies, An American Werewolf in London), Charles Randolph
(writer/producer, Love And Other Drugs, The Interpreter) and Trevor Groth
(Sundance Director of Programming). Also
in attendance at the festival was actor Tobey Maguire, James Woods, Jason Gann
(Wilfred) and Abbie Cornish (Somersault, Sucker Punch).
16
films representing some of the best Tropfest entries of the past two decades
vied for the top prize at the “All-Star Competition.” The films, each less than
seven minutes in length, were hand-picked by Tropfest founder and acclaimed director
John Polson (Hide & Seek, Tenderness) and represented a wide cross section
of work. In the end, “The Story of
Bubble Boy” directed by Sean Ascroft was declared the winner of the inaugural
competition. The film, which features a
sad outcast wrestling with his demons, is about being trapped by the past and
redeemed by the future.
Singer-songwriter-artist
LP closed out the “All-Star Competition” with a spirited performance
highlighted by ear-catching vocals.
The
festivities kicked off on Friday, June 1 with a Tropfest welcome party and
musical performance by R&B / Soul artist Allen Stone at casino floor
hotspot Book & Stage. Stone’s
expertly crafted, evocative songs and fresh, smooth, soul-filled voice got the
capacity crowd moving and excited for the weekend ahead.
Saturday
night (June 2) saw Tropfest’s 20th Birthday Party at the Boulevard Pool, an
intimate outdoor venue perched high above the heart of the Las Vegas
Strip. The party began with a special
“Road to Vegas” screening featuring films submitted by amateur short film
makers centering on the theme of traveling to Las Vegas. The top six entries were shown, including the
first prize submission by Rakitha Perera, who won a three-night stay at The Cosmopolitan
and VIP entrance to Tropfest Las Vegas.
The
party continued with screenings of specially curated short film content that
gave festival goers a taste of Tropfest’s rich 20 year history, including
celebrated filmmaker Nash Edgerton’s award-winning short films “Spider” and
sequel, “Bear.” Indie-spirited Delta
Spirit, who are set to play Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza this summer, took to the
stage following the screenings and continued the party late into the night.
About
Tropfest
Tropfest
is the world's largest short film festival. It began in a Sydney café (‘The
Tropicana’) 20 years ago with a single $100 short film and an audience of 200
people. Today the Australian FREE event is attended
annually by a live audience of over 150,000 film-lovers and hundreds of
thousands more watching via its national, live TV broadcast and other
platforms. Tropfest has recently launched in New Zealand,
Arabia, and other territories, with China, South East Asia and more in planning
stages. In
the past two decades, Tropfest has become known as one of the world's most exciting launch-pads for
emerging filmmakers. Tropfest is also known for securing the support of some of
the biggest names in the international film community.
In
2012, the global expansion continues with the launch into the USA with Tropfest
Las Vegas and Tropfest New York. Tropfest USA’s Official Ambassadors include
Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Geoffrey Rush,
Charles Randolph and Anthony Lapaglia. The
Tropfest YouTube Channel has had over 11 million video views, with around 40%
of those coming from the United States. The Channel provides film enthusiasts
the chance to watch the top films from past festivals at: www.youtube.com/tropfest.
Tropfest's stated ambition is to propel talented filmmakers to great heights in
their chosen career, regardless of their financial constraints, and to
simultaneously bring quality, short film content to the masses. The vast
majority of access to all Tropfest's global events is FREE for audiences.
Images
Credit: © Erik Kabik/ erikkabik.com
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