Lightbulb moments at 2012 Tropfest smorgasbord

There’s something magical about sitting outside watching movies under the summer sky, it’s guaranteed to make my heart sing. For me Movie Extra Tropfest, held annually at Fremantles Bohemia Outdoor Cinema, is the pinnacle. As soon as the screening date is announced it’s in my diary.

This years smorgasbord of 16 short films included: a clown being questioned; a magical photo booth found in a war-torn location; Byron Bay’s dancing man Tommy Franklin; a misplaced kitchen proposal; a solution for colourblindness and a mobile phone inserted where it shouldn’t be … just to name a few. Each feature had to include the Tropfest Signature Item (TSI), which this year was a lightblub. I didn’t envy the judges Geoffrey Rush, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette and Asher Keddie.

The winner was the Lemonade Stand by Melbourne’s Alethea Jones, which married homemade lemonade and a pair of old socks with the consequences of misreading people’s intentions. The films producer Julian Vincent is a Perth boy, currently working at Fremantle Media in Melbourne. You can see the film here Lemonade Stand

Boo by Rupert Reid took out second place along with the Telstra Crowd Pleaser Award. Featuring an elderly couples unique approach to death, where each staged death results in tears of laughter until … It should definitely come with a Don’t Try This at Home warning.

This years show also began with the Telstra Mobile Masterpieces, remarkable short pieces filmed on mobile phones. They had me pondering once again my immense shortsightedness of relying on my phone as a communication device, only.

If you happen to be in Margaret River over the March long weekend there’ll be two special Tropfest screenings at Mad Fish Winery. Otherwise the 2013 countdown clock is already showing 11 months 28 days and 17 hours. With the signature item of a balloon for 2013, it already has me pondering what I might see …