title: 2007 Tropfest finalists
text: # 2007 Tropfest finalists
  
  The Tropfest short film festival is held in Sydney, Australia each year. This is the list of 2007's short-listed films and winners.
  
  There was controversy regarding the winning film An Imaginary Life due to similarities to the American television series Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.
  
  ## The Story of Ned
  
      Synopsis: John Doyle, as the omnipotent yet not altogether totally reliable narrator, tells the tragic tale of Ned, a little story with a detective yarn for a father and a children's fable for a mother. But in this animation, Ned has a problem: he is a story without an ending.
      Director: Simon Weaving
      Producer: Simon Weaving
      Writer: Simon Weaving
      Cinematographer: Dan Miller
      Sound design: Mark Webber
      Composer: Troy Hambly
      Editor: Dan Miller Key
      Key Cast: John Doyle, Tony Turner
      Length: 6' 50"
  
  ## The Grey Cloud
  
      Synopsis: This noirish film, set in a crime-ridden city, opens with a man walking a woman down an alley. Nearby is a mysterious piano bar, a place where the music can simply take you away.
      Director: Matt Peek, Cam Ford
      Producer: Matt Peek, Cam Ford
      Writer: Matt Peek
      Cinematographer: Cam Ford
      Sound design: John Kassab
      Composer: Craig Bryant
      Editor: Cam Ford
      Key Cast: Mick Preston, Katie Astrinakis, John Richards, Brett Cartlidge
      Length: 7'
      Shot On: Super 16mm
      Tropfest Awards: Best Cinematography - Cam Ford
  
  ## An Imaginary Life (First Prize)
  
      Synopsis: What happens to an imaginary friend once they're forgotten? Where do they go? How do they live? And can their lives ever have any meaning again? For one such imaginary friend, life has been empty. That is, until he finds a potential answer to the one question that's been consuming him this whole time.
      Director: Steve Baker
      Producer: Steve Baker
      Writer: Steve Baker
      Sound design: Steve Baker
      Composer: Steve Baker
      Editor: Steve Baker
      Key Cast: Andrew Baker, Steve Baker
      Length: 4' 55"
      Shot On: Animation
      Tropfest Awards: First Prize
  
  ## Being Boston
  
      Synopsis: When Jeff is dumped by his girlfriend, he buys a cute boxer puppy called Boston to keep him company. But the weeks, then months prove lonely and difficult. Jeff's unpredictable behaviour means it could be some time before Boston makes this man his best friend.
      Director: Justin Drape
      Producer: Justin Drape
      Writer: Justin Drape
      Cinematographer: Timothy Laffey
      Sound design: Simon Kane
      Editor: Simon Njoo
      Key Cast: Sean Lynch, Felicity Hopkins, Ashlie Fellow
      Length: 5' 4"
      Shot On: DV/HD
  
  ## Between The Flags
  
      Synopsis: How many rioters does it take to start a riot? When two guys from opposing sides of conflict are the first arrivals for a beach riot, they are initially unsure of the accepted etiquette.
      Director: Jayce White
      Producer: Jayce White
      Writer: Jayce White
      Cinematographer: Ian Nicholson
      Sound design: Jayce White
      Editor: Jayce White
      Key Cast: Dan Feuerrigel, Matuse
      Length: 7' 4"
      Shot On: DV/HD
      Tropfest Awards: Best Comedy, Best Actor (Matuse)
  
  ## Road Rage (Second Prize)
  
      Synopsis: On a busy morning on the roads, there's a near traffic accident. One driver, shaken and angry, watches as the offending car speeds away without its driver acknowledging or apologising for the near miss. He decides to chase him down in a quest for revenge, cornering the offender in a nearby street.
      Director: Mark Bellamy
      Producer: Mark Bellamy, Lyndal Mebberson
      Writer: Mark Bellamy
      Cinematographer: Simon Harding
      Sound design: Rohan Charlton
      Composer: Simon Bailey
      Editor: Laurie Hughes
      Key Cast: Paul Kelman, Alan Flower, Scott Johnson, Freddy Talib
      Length: 7'
      Shot On: HD
      Tropfest Awards: Second Prize; Audience Prize
  
  ## Yellow
  
      Synopsis: When a well-dressed man climbs into a taxi one night, the tired driver settles in for another boring ride in silence. But things change quickly when the passenger starts talking earnestly about the troubling purpose of the journey. The driver finds himself parked outside a strange house, fearing for his life.
      Director: William Allert
      Producer: William Allert
      Writer: William Allert
      Cinematographer: Craig Jackson
      Composer: Andy Scott
      Editor: Brad Hurt
      Key Cast: Nathan O'Keefe, William Allert
      Length: 5' 50"
      Shot On: HD
      Tropfest Awards: Best Screenplay - William Allert
  
  ## Pig Latin
  
      Synopsis: Two cops startle a woman working in the garden. That's the start of a story about two guys who remember that lucky kid from school who has the pool, the trampoline, the Atari and all that other cool stuff. It's been years since they've seen him, but they still want to play.
      Director: Nathaniel Kiwi
      Producer: Nathaniel Kiwi
      Writer: Nathaniel Kiwi
      Cinematographer: Stuart Simpson
      Sound design: Andrew Neil
      Composer: Mark Farrel
      Editor: Nathaniel Kiwi
      Key Cast: Stephen Curry, Steven Stagg, Diana Greentree, Charlie Clausen
      Length: 5' 40"
      Shot On: DVCAM
  
  ## Counter
  
      Synopsis: A troubled accountant inherits a mysterious counter from a relative, who says "it will make everything clear". But what does it count? Desperate to know the purpose of his inheritance, Neville begins to question everything he does in his daily routine, becoming drawn into an obsessive and life-changing search for meaning.
      Director: Michael Noonan (filmmaker)
      Producer: Michael Noonan, Carine Chai
      Writer: Michael Noonan
      Sound design: Michael Noonan
      Composer: Michael Noonan
      Editor: Michael Noonan
      Key Cast: Christopher Sommers, Kat Henry, Catherine Glavicic, Paul Bryan, Michael Carter
      Length: 6' 59"
      Shot On: HDV
  
  ## Real Thing
  
      Synopsis: A woman wakes up in bed. Beside her is the man who insists he is her husband. But is he really? She can't remember.
      Director: Rupert Glasson
      Producer: Hugo O'Conner, Rani Chaleyer
      Writer: Rupert Glasson
      Cinematographer: Ben Allen
      Sound design: Michael McMenomy
      Composer: John Gray
      Editor: Rani Chaleyer
      Key Cast: Slava Orel, Emma Jackson, Jean-Marc Russ
      Length: 5'
      Shot On: DVCAM
      Tropfest Awards: Best Original Score - John Gray
  
  ## The Von
  
      Synopsis: It is 1982 and a schoolboy Alex Vonzitzavitz—possessor of a cool jacket and superhero card collection—is about to face the most humiliating experience of his life. Remember that nightmare you had about turning up to school naked? This is worse. But don't panic! Superheroes like The Von always find a way to get out of trouble.
      Director: John Mavety
      Producer: Robyn Sinclair
      Writer: John Mavety
      Cinematographer: Glenn Hanns
      Sound design: Nathan Brand
      Composer: Tewe Hanare
      Editor: John Mavety, Adam Harley.
      Key Cast: Jacob Bicknell, Zeke Collins, Jaime Lee Parker, Gabrielle Desdoigts, Louis Desdoigts, April Hayes Dickson
      Length: 6' 59"
      Shot On: HD
      Tropfest Awards: Third Prize; Sony Foundation Young Talent Award - Jacob Bicknell
  
  ## Bad Yoghurt
  
      Synopsis: On a hot summer's day, a hot sexy woman sits by a pool. She eats some hot sexy yoghurt. But everything is not as perfect as it seems. The glamour fades when she realises the yoghurt is bad.
      Director: Shaun Beagley
      Producer: Shaun Beagley
      Writer: Shaun Beagley
      Cinematographer: Jonas McGuiggin
      Sound design: Stuart Welch
      Composer: Bernard Houston
      Editor: Kurt Royan
      Key Cast: Natalie Lynn
      Length: 5'
      Shot On: 16mm
      Tropfest Awards: The Tropicana Award
  
  ## Mere Oblivion
  
      Synopsis: The title, from Shakespeare, is a reference to growing old. Librarian Kenny Bunkport learns what it means when he takes his elderly grandmother to a swish restaurant.
      Director: Burleigh Smith
      Producer: Burleigh Smith
      Writer: Burleigh Smith
      Cinematographer: Jason Thomas
      Editor: Ross Farnsworth (i.e., Burleigh Smith)
      Key Cast: Burleigh Smith, Elizabeth Caiacob, Michael Su, Kate Ritchie
      Length: 7'
      Shot On: HDV
      Tropfest Awards: Best Female Actor - Elizabeth Caiacob
  
  ## A-Z
  
      Synopsis: Muz's doctor has bad news: "Your aorta's clogged with fat, all your vital parts are weak". In this animation, that means Muz has to stop eating meat. To break the habit, the doc prescribes a radical new cure that goes from A to Z.
      Director: Zenon Kohler
      Producer: Zenon Kohler
      Writer: Murray Hartin
      Still photographer: Greg Desmon
      Sound design: Ash Maklad
      Composer: Pat Drummond
      Editor: Zenon Kohler
      Length: 4' 40"
      Shot On: Computer generated on a Macintosh with digital stills
  
  ## Still
  
      Synopsis: When a man and a woman choose the paths they want to take in their relationship, their son is left aside. In this evocative film, there are three lives and two decisions on one still night.
      Director: Jayne Montague
      Producer: Jayne Montague
      Valentina Forno
      Assistant Director: Ashleigh Kate Brooks
      Writer: Nick Thompson
      Cinematographer: Shing Fung Cheung
      Sound design: David Stalley
      Composer: David Stalley
      Editor: Rolmar Baldonado
      Key Cast: Jodine Muir, Pete Walters, Giles Penfold,
      Length: 6' 41"
      Shot On: HD
  
  ## Fore!
  
      Synopsis: "Golf isn't a game," says Tiger Woods. "It's a choice that one makes with one's life." A man learns the truth of that statement when he heads to the driving range to hit a few balls.
      Director: Duane Fogwell
      Producer: Stewart Brown
      Writer: Duane Fogwell
      Cinematographer: Geoff Ellis
      Composer: Geir Brillan
      Editor: Duane Fogwell
      Key Cast: Daniel Bowden, Paul Moxey,
      Length: 6' 30"
      Shot On: 35mm
      Tropfest Awards: Best Editing - Duane Fogwell
  