Tropfest@Tribeca September 23, 2007 World Financial Center Plaza Written by Wendy R. Williams Opposite Photo Josh Lucas Photo Credit Janet Mayers PR Photos

It was a cool breezy Tribeca night for hot Australian import Tropfest, a celebration of short films and music. The evening started with musical performances by Haunt, Second Dan and DJ Shorty (see http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/tropfest-performers.html for bios). The evening was underwritten by Target (down to the seat cushions) and was free.

Then sixteen short films were presented which had been selected from a pool of one hundred and sixty-one entries. The jury panel included actor Rose Byrne, actor Miranda Otoo (Lord of the Rings), actor Brady Corbett (24), director Griffin Dunne (Practical Magic), director Bennett Miller (Capote), Tom McCarthy (Station Agent), Mary Harron (American Psycho), director Andrew Jarecki (Capturing the Friedmans), director Fred Schepisi (Empire Falls, Roxanne), NBC Chairman Ben Silverman, director Josh Marsten (Maria Full of Grace), Anne Jones and daughter designer Charlotte Ronson, Australian Ambassador Robert Hill, Tropfest founder John Polson, and Tribeca Film Festival co-founders Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff.

The films were fun and lively and all incorporated the concept of a slice interpreted as everything from an argument among some post-college slackers over the last slice of pizza (I Graduated But) to a documentary on the hawks who keep birds off the runway at JFK (Bird Strikes). The Target Filmmaker Award was presented to Belinda King's hysterical The Picnic (program description: The desperate acts of a crazed woman turn a friendly picnic into a day to remember).

According to the Tribeca press release, the Australian version of Tropfest (founded by John Polson) brings in a crowd of over 150,000. New York's Tropfest attracted a crowd of over seven thousand this year but I bet future Tropfest attendance will soon rival Australia's.

For more information on Tropfest, log onto: http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/t365-tropfest-feature

The Target Dog and Juror and Actress Rose Byrne
Photo Credit Janet Mayers/ PR Photos
(This is a very funny photo; they both look so morose.)