KUALA LUMPUR: The second edition of Tropfest Southeast Asia, a celebrated platform for short films, aims to make an even bigger splash, targeting a wider network of existing and emerging filmmakers across the region. Tropfest SEA is scheduled to be held in Penang on Feb 1 next year.
Last year, 12 films were selected from over 180 short-film entries from nine Southeast Asian countries.
"We are eager to engage with the abundance of talent in the region, and to encourage film production at an accelerated pace," said Tropfest SEA managing director Joe Sidek.
"We believe Tropfest provides the perfect platform for the discovery of a new generation of filmmakers as evidenced by the number of short film directors who have graduated to full-length films."
Short film entries for Tropfest SEA 2015 will be open on July 1 and closes on Sept 30 this year. "We were pleasantly surprised by the incredible pool of young talent that took part in the Tropfest SEA 2014 competition," said Tropfest International managing director Michael Laverty.
"Tropfest is all about fostering creative storytelling and there is still an enormous amount of stories to come out of this region."
Festival Night, the free-to-attend public event on Feb 1 next year, will feature the finalists' film screenings, live judging, music, red carpet arrivals, and public catering.
Some of the top-tier film directors working in the industry today got their first break with short films, including Oscar-winning animation director Adam Elliott and Robert Luketic, who were special guests at Tropfest SEA 2014 earlier this year.
Sidek added that The Journey, a Malaysian production, raked in more than RM12.92 million at the local box office, making it the highest-grossing film ever in Malaysia."
Motion Picture Association, a global supporter of Tropfest, returns as a partner and a sponsor of the "money can't buy" five-day industry-immersion trip to Los Angeles to be awarded as part of the first prize.
Principal sponsor Sime Darby Foundation (SDF) is excited at the prospect of supporting Tropfest SEA 2015 in celebrating the rising talents of the region's young filmmakers.
The Foundation's sponsorship for Tropfest includes the winner's cash prize of US$12,000 (RM38,600), cash prizes for finalists, and sponsorship of trips to other Tropfest locations.
Tropfest SEA is endorsed by the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) and Malaysia Major Events (MME), a division of Malaysia Exhibition and Convention Bureau under the Tourism and Culture Ministry.
Tropfest was established 22 years ago in Sydney, Australia, as a means to encourage the production and exhibition of short films, foster creative story-telling, and offer an opportunity for talented filmmakers to share their stories with an enormous live audience.
For more information, visit www.tropfest.com/sea.