Damon Gameau wins Tropfest

WTF?? How did this bad music clip win?

How is this a meaningful short story?

What a joke!

unimpressed I be

Yes Old Tropfest…. I was going to just write the word POO with a a variety of Crayon’s and film it for three minutes and send it in…but somebody said I’d probably win..so I decided not to.

“Whole cosmogonies will be created out of some forgotten personal resentment, complete epics written in private languages, the daubs of schoolchildren ranked above the greatest masterpieces.

Idealism will be replaced by Materialism. Life after death will be an eternal dinner party where all the guests are 20 years old… Justice will be replaced by Pity as the cardinal human virtue, and all fear of retribution will vanish… The New Aristocracy will consist exclusively of hermits, bums and permanent invalids.

The Rough Diamond, the Consumptive Whore, the bandit who is good to his mother, the epileptic girl who has a way with animals will be the heroes and heroines of the New Age, when the general, the statesman, and the philosopher have become the butt of every farce and satire.”

FOR THE TIME BEING: A Christmas Oratorio

W.H Auden

interesting to read this, given i have seen this mentioned elsewhere as being very similar to another youtube video on another blog…

http://www.standanddeliver.blogs.com/

(and the video in question can be viewed directly here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q4bPD8AnaU&feature=player_embedded)

Hilarious that this might actually be detrimental to this guys career…

I am changing my name to Dan Wyllie so I can win next year’s Tropfest

I think this film winning has damaged the integrity of the festival. A sad day for the Australian industry.

I actually think it’s a good result. It’s something raw versus the overproduced, pretentious shorts with famous actors creeping in over recent years. Tropfest isn’t a serious short film festival; it’s a bit of light fun open to anyone and with a neat prize. This win will inspire genuine up and coming filmmakers who don’t have much money. Well done Damon Gameau!

Carl- Wouldn’t those prizes have been better distributed to those that are genuine up and coming filmmakers who don’t have much money? Not some quasi-famous actor with connections to boot.. snivelling under his doona with a flashlight, glue stick, scissors and a music sampler giggling to himself that “he’s gonna take Tropfest by storm” with the most puerile film I have ever seen win a major award at an international film ..anywhere. I’d have a little more respect for Damon Gameau if he split the prize with the filmmaker he thought should have won it. I MEAN SERIOUSLY DUDE C’MON…its a F$%CKING JOKE and even he knows it…what a shocker!

(And by overproduced..do you mean that they actually wrote a script and cast actors? I know compared to butchering a National Geographic of all its pretty animals and playing with paste that this is a bit pretentious)

Watch out for my film called POO..it’ll be hand drawn..with colored crayons and just to be zany I might even sample Rodney Rude…and I’ll light it with a strobe ..just to amp up the drama…just you wait Tropfest…I’ll show you!!

I guess I don’t take Tropfest very seriously and I reckon Gameau must have thought he had buckley’s chance going in. But it it’s an entertaining little film and gave me more laughs than any comedy at Tropfest in the last few years. You should make Poo (the film, I mean). You just never know…

There’s the issue…nobody takes anything all that seriously when it comes to Tropfest, so its a B grade festival made for farts and giggles…nothing wrong with that. They should just let aspiring filmmakers know so they don’t waste their time and maybe focus on other festivals that actually respect the craft a little more…or maybe Tropfest should align themselves with Play School..if its still going..or maybe Marty The Monster can present the prizes..You can Produce Poo (no pun intended) but you have to except the award if we win….which is a certainty..actually Tropfest should just award the 2012 prize to me now..its a shoe in. Or they should just award it to an actor right now…or we can share the award. Actually maybe we can just present it to the star..a sniggering turd

Can someone tell me who won Trop fest this year? I was travelling and missed the results. There seems to be an ongoing conspiracy amongst all the media outlet’s..

Did someone swap the tapes from Tropfest Junior?

Tropfest lost me a while ago and seeing this reassured me that it was better spendiing my time by being elsewhere.

And Carl I’d agree with your line “Tropfest isn’t a serious short film festival; it’s a bit of light fun open to anyone and with a neat prize.” if it wasn’t for Tropfest’s PR and budget. A bit of light fun could be done a lot cheaper and the resources (public and private) currently sucked up by it could be directed elsewhere.

I feel sorry for the guys who spend heaps on their films, call in favours and bust their chops to get something decent made. Brian, I have to agree with you – I lost interest in the froth and hype of Tropfest yonks ago. Here’s hoping John Polson doesn’t f*ck up Peter Temple’s ‘Truth’.

Actually John Polson isn’t a bad director…but he’s totally and utterly f@#cked up Tropfest by awarding this passing after thought anything more than a melting choc-top. I mean really Damon Gameau, if you had the smallest amount of respect for yourself you’d split the prize with the film you thought should have won….this is just sad sad reflection of the “bread and circuses” mentality that is sweeping this nation…mind numbing in the extreme “Love your Kingdom”? WTF. There are those out there that think Tropfest has done some serious damage to the film industry, after seeing this slop I tend to agree. I could slap on something half decent from Youtube whilst blindfolded and it’d still be better. I wonder if he’ll shop this around on his showreel? Hardly

Bondi actor and filmmaker Damon Gameau said he was “still stunned” this week after his self-described “creative vomit” won the Tropfest short film festival on Sunday.

“People said it was really different and didn’t quite fit the mold so I think that’s the best compliment because taking something creative to a new level that people have never seen before is something I strive for,” he said. “There should be some weird and wild stuff coming through next year, I hope it shows people that they don’t have to go out and get a big crew and fancy cameras, they’ve just got to have a good idea.”

what an utter wanker…

it’s not damon’ s fault his film got the biggest audience reaction (by far) on the night of tropfest and then took out the top prize.

“those out there that think tropfest has done some serious damage to the film industry” have probably forgotten what tropfest is for in the first place… entertainment.

doug – to call damon an “utter wanker” for encouraging people to go out there and do it themselves is quite sad.

just because people pay crew, call in favours, and spend lots of their hard earned time and money on films doesn’t mean they will hold up to a massive crowd. this is what damon’s film did. if any of you were amongst the audience on the night you might see things a little differently.

I agree with the last post. The Oscars always cop a great deal of criticism, but is anyone going to bag the makers of the movie that wins Best Film? Whatever anyone thinks of Tropfest, I can’t understand why anyone would have a go at the winner for, well, winning.

I was there…I was the guy vomiting with boredom induced nausea. You see “Dude” you’re simplifying what we’re saying here

“just because people pay crew, call in favours, and spend lots of their hard earned time and money on films doesn’t mean they will hold up to a massive crowd. this is what damon’s film did”

What we’re saying is that its shameful…that something so friggin puerile and is obviously ripped off from Youtube ( I mean c’mon, he’s ripped the idea..I get it its the post modern age..but its a blatant steal) or the like can be called anything but “Creative Vomit”, quoting Damon himself here..and for doing so..yeah he’s a…wait for it…an “Utter Wanker”. I mean if he had’ve go up there and said “thanks a lot ..but really I’d like to split this prize with another aspiring filmmaker who I thought did a great job..because lets face it I was “inspired” by the work of another”..full respect..how original.. the accolades would have flooded in..but no he took the gong ,for what is just so boring, repetitive and uninspired..a reflection of the current home grown slop we see across our TV’s ( not all of it, some of it can be good)…I’m sure Damon is having a big fat laugh at our expense..
For sure people can pay a crew and make a load of nothing..but Damon made a load of nothing and was awarded the top prize at the worlds “Biggest” film festival…I mean try and get that noticed at any other festival…you’d get laughed at. The joke at the end of the day is on him and on Tropfest.
The Hurt Locker…total bollocks..lots of people thought so…even the guy who the film was based upon..so Carl..do some friggin research.
A very light weight argument from you both..now get back to the sand and surf of Bondi

Hey Doug. Did you have a film entered in Tropfest this year?

Don’t make me friggin laugh..are you serious?

I don’t believe he did rip it off. And if he did he would be a fucking idiot to think he could get away with it and Damon certainly doesn’t come across that way.

And Doug – if you were there on the night you must have been one of the only people in the crowd not laughing. I’m sorry to hear about your vomiting – you should probably get that looked at. Along with your propensity for bitterness.

J.

Dear Jamie- since when has trying to raise the bar of what might be considered worthy of a prize for the worlds “Biggest” Film festival (whatever the fuck that means?) be considered bitter? I’m not bitter, I’m simply pointing out, what the vast majority of people actually think about Tropfest..its a film festival not to dissimilar to a “banging outdoor rave”..that fine…just pop your happy pills and reach for the lasers..still if it was me that had won with this blatant rip-off..I’d split the prize..but hey that’s just me WTF do I know about morals..I agree with you about the “fucking idiot” tag…and he wouldn’t be the first one to think he could get away with it.

Holy friggin hell…I just watched some of that free Tropfest DVD that came with todays Newspapers….it was all shite..and Animal Beatbox was right up there with the best of the shite..that festival has slid into the gutter…just boring..nothing else to be said. The Scottish incest flick..what can I say? A shocker.

I just watched them all, too. I thought the best, by far, was Silencer, then Monkeys (great punchline, but slow going). If the rest of the finalists stood out from all the submissions, I feel very sorry for the selection commitee. Animal Beatbox was irratating the second time round.

I think Tropfest should run some screenwriting classes before the 2012 competition..woeful in the extreme. It might be the biggest film festival in the world..but it doesn’t encourage quality filmmaking..that much is sure.

A friend pointed out this website, just to let me know that Damon Gameau won Tropfest 2011. I must say, it is in fact a cute little film and I enjoyed watching it. Reading through these comments, I can’t help but wonder if Doug and the Sheep actually have life… I mean, seriously, all that bitterness can’t be caused by something as insignificant as this. There are many moe important things in life to be bitter about. So what if the dude won Tropfest with a film that didn’t make you laugh…….. (makes one wonder what in fact DOES make you laugh…). Anyway, well done Damon, congrats to you!

Endie your an idiot! If you dont see passion infront of you and intelligent disscussion and find things like that entertaining no wonder crap rules the waves.

Endie…My god..this is what I’m talking about, this sad sad sycophantic polishing of the moronic. Oh Endie… if you simply could stop reading what you want to read and move beyond wheeling out the old bitter tag (since when is having an informed opinion bitter?)..that tag is worn and tired and totally unoriginal, but that’s fine. If you would care to read what others have also written here, we’re simply saying that maybe the prize should be split and that Tropfest should maybe put more into the prize pool and spend less on marketing a festival that has slid into the gutter in terms of watchable content. I mean come the f%@K on…this might be the biggest festival…but it was also the most boring and if Damon actually gave a stuff about the filmmaking community he would have admitted two things

His film was creative vomit and a total rip-off (quoting himself here)
And that other films had spent more time and money and were probably just as worthy…and then maybe kept the cheque and given away the camera stuff

Most people I know and a lot of people here are saying that the film was a rip-off and that it was the most boring, puerile cut and paste nothing with some absurd slap on title at the end. Now this might appeal to the bread and circuses mentality that is currently sweeping the nation and that’s fine..but I can tell you with all my passion for quality filmmaking that has at its core, the desire to push the filmmaker to practice the art of filmmaker with real actors or a well thought out script or both…that I am not friggin bitter and I am so so so glad that I didn’t make this butchered National Geographic sampled nonsense…and if I did…I’d be utterly embarrassed about being awarded a prize for it. I mean take a tour of Vimeo…there are kids out there making amazing and highly original stuff with nothing…and this utter ripoff is awarded the national prize at the world biggest film festival…I mean come on..its a joke…maybe try and see the punchline…its called Tropfest

Nice to see some suck-ass wannabe “patrons of the arts” and “creators of contests” following in the rorting, rigged footsteps of the wanktards behind the equally rigged Doritos Contests.

If condoning and exhorting plagiarism is what’s happening here, then Tropfest and the people running tropfest would be profiting from plagiarism if they get sponsored by any business in Dubai.

It would also mean that by default, Dubai would be happy to have cronyism and plagiarism win in the so-called independent film world.

I don’t know many people willing to spend thousands of dollars on a trip to a place which does that.