John Polson's blog

Watch "An Imaginary Life"

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 02:56:46 GMT

And the winner is...

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 04:58:04 GMT

Well, our 15th festival has come and gone - and it was a great one. We had a packed house in the Domain and great crowds at all other other capital city and regional venues. The vibe on the night was just incredible and fortunately for the Sydneysiders - it didn't rain!

As always, it was an incredible experience to watch as the audience got settled and grew quiet in anticipation as the sun went down, and then as it came alive with laughter and cheers as the the big screens lit up with our 16 finalist films. The crowd's response was remarkable - and a real testament to the talent, creativity and hardwork of our filmmakers.

The winning film was a brilliant and sensitive story called 'An Imaginary Life' by Queensland filmmaker, Steve Baker. It was Steve's third Tropfest film (the other 2 also made the finals), and the first animation ever to win Tropfest! We are all very proud of Steve's work and look forward to seeing where the Tropfest ride will take him!

We've got some great photos of the event posted up here - so have a look at the gallery. The finalist films are also available for download from the ninemsn Tropfest video portal, so if you haven't had a chance to see the films yet, please do - you're in for a treat! Check them out now.

Lastly, if you're thinking about making a Tropfest film - then now's the time to get started. The Tropfest Signature Item for 2008 is ' 8 ' - so be sure to include it somewhere/ somehow in your film! (Check www.tropfest.com for other entry guidelines.)

All the best

John Polson

Tropfest 2007 finalists have been chosen

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 01:10:04 GMT

Hey Everyone!

Less than two weeks now until the big day! First of all, I'd like to thank ALL the filmmakers who entered the festival this year. We received just over 600 entries - representing Australian filmmakers from all walks of life and from every state in the country - as well as a few international entrants. The quality of the films was fantastic which means preselection was no easy task as there were so many great stories and ideas.

After a lot of consideration, and a lot of help from preselectors, I'm very pleased to announce the 16 Finalists for Sony Tropfest 2007! From animations to gripping drama-thrillers, comedies and pieces on current events - there is something in this year's program for everyone in the audience. If you want a sneak peak at the finalists go to http://tropfest.ninemsn.com.au/

Congratulations to each of the 16 - and to everyone who made a film this year. I look forward to seeing you all at the festival and hope you enjoy it!

John P

Hi Everyone

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 00:15:34 GMT

When Tropfest began 15 years ago, it was just me and a few of my friends watching my first short film at the Tropicana Caffe in Sydney, Australia. Now, a national audience of more than 150,000 people comes together on one night, and 16 short films are selected from hundreds of entries each year.

Entries for the 2007 festival just closed, so we’ll all be very busy over the coming weeks watching the shortlisted films and choosing our next 16 Finalists. It’s one of my favourite parts of the job! I’m always so impressed by the quality of the ideas and am moved by the amount of passion and work that goes into making these films. I can assure you, choosing the finalists is never an easy decision! I hope you’ll all come down to Tropfest on February 18^th to check out the films. Please go to our website (www.tropfest.com) to see what venue is closest to you!

People often wonder what happens to filmmakers ‘after Tropfest’ and the answer is: lots. Many of our filmmakers go on to do great things in film and television. We recently began production on "September” - the first feature film to come through the Tropfest Feature Program. Peter Carstairs, who directed and co-wrote "September" was a 2006 Tropfest Finalist, and has done a wonderful job with his debut film. Check out the "photos" section for some shots taken during the filming of "September".

I am also in post-production on my next directing project called “Tenderness”. The cast includes Russell Crowe and Laura Dern and will be out later this year.

So, that’s it for now, thanks for visiting. I'm going to be updating this blog regularly so I hope you’ll touch base again soon. See you at Tropfest in February!

John Polson

Photo Album: "Tenderness"

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 15:59:40 GMT

"Tenderness"

Russell Crowe as Lieutenant Cristofuoro

Jon Foster as Eric Komenko

John Polson and Tom Stern

Russell Crowe and John Polson

Sophie Traub as Lori Cranston

Laura Dern and John Polson

Jon Foster and John Polson

Sophie Traub and Russell Crowe

Jon Foster, Russell Crowe and Sophie Traub

Photo Album: 2007 Sydney screening

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 06:26:48 GMT

2007 Sydney screening

Crowd

Festival Grounds 2

Festival Grounds 3

Festival Grounds 4

Hoyts La Premiere Area daytime view

Hoyts La Premiere Lounge Area

Man with hat

MC Adam Spencer

Mid Crowd Shot

Photo op

More Photos...

Photo Album: Tropfest

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 23:25:40 GMT

Tropfest

Sony Tropfest 2006 Domain Audience at Showtime

Adam Spencer presenting Rob and Alex with first prize

John Polson with 2006 Winners Alex Weinress and Rob Carlton

Sony Tropfest 2006 Afternoon Dip

Sony Tropfest 2006 Judge Phillip Noyce

Sony Tropfest 2006 Judge Toni Collette

Sony Tropfest 2006 VIP Peter Phelps

Sony Tropfest 2006 Winners

Tropfest 2006

Photo Album: "September"

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 23:23:17 GMT

"September"

John Polson

John Polson and Lynda House

John Polson and Peter Carstairs

Jules O'Loughlin

John Polson and Jules O'Loughlin

Peter Carstairs

John Polson

Peter Carstairs and Jules O'Loughlin

Custom List: Links

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 00:07:20 GMT

Links

Custom List: JP's top 9 films

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 23:46:00 GMT

JP's top 9 films

1. “Cool Hand Luke” (Stuart Rosenberg, 1967)
2. “The King Of Comedy” (Martin Scorsese, 1983)
3. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (Milos Forman, 1975)
4. “An Incident At Owl Creek Bridge” (short film, Robert Enrico, 1962)
5. “Duel” (Steven Spielberg, 1971)
6. “Sexy Beast” (Jonathan Glazer, 2000)
7. “City of God” (Fernando Meirelles, 2002)
8. “The Pianist” (Roman Polanski, 2002)
9. “Strangers On a Train” (Alfred Hitchcock, 1951)