TROPFEST

Mother Nature’s wild ways and a touch of celebrity make for an interesting amalgamation of films at this year’s Tropfest. One of the two finalists in the Telstra Mobile Masterpieces category shot his film in the midst of the devastating Queensland floods while the other, a seasoned filmmaker had an unexpected encounter with wild weather when a lightning strike hit her external hardrive rendering hours of edited footage completely useless. The story of course has a happy ending with both films making it to the finals of the mobile phone film category. Each stand a chance to win $5000 in cash, and a VIP trip to the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. In the main category, Tropfest seems to have attracted not just new filmmakers but Aussie celebs giving the celluloid comp a go. Enter last year’s hottest Aussie star Joel Edgerton, one half of the Umbilical Brother David Collins and Underbelly alumnus Damon Gamaeu (pictured). Take it away Troppo. (KS)

Feb 20, Royal Botanical Gardens, Domain, free, tropfest.com/au