Joe.
PETALING JAYA: What do Hugh Jackman (y’know, the Aussie lead in the Australian-directed Australia), Sam Worthington (he of Avatar fame), and George Town Festival director Joe Sidek have in common?
All three are linked to Tropfest, the world’s largest short film festival!
Jackman got his start in the independent film scene Down Under and hosted the Tropfest’s 20th anniversary in New York this year, while Worthington won the festival’s Best Actor Award back in 2001.
Now, the Johor-born Joe has brought the regional edition of the festival to our shores.
“Short film festivals in Malaysia are usually very heavy and academic, and they’re really only for people who love film, arts and culture. But I think films are for everyone!” said the Tropfest SouthEast Asia (SEA) managing director at a screening recently.
His efforts have always been driven by one question: what is the road map for the arts in Malaysia?
“We have the best talent and the best potential, but where are we going? Singapore is 20 years ahead of us because they have strategy, road maps, and the desire to build a cultural hub and center,” he shared.
Since none could tell him the answer, Joe is on a one-man mission to inject some direction into the local arts scene.
A piece of the puzzle fit into place when his own encounter with 15 Tropfest films at the Australian High Commissioner’s residence three years ago led to the finalists’ work being screened at George Town Festival.
At Tropfest's invitation, Joe went to Sydney a year later, where he was seated four feet away from the likes of Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush.
"And nobody cared a whit about their presence!" said Joe of the moment when he realised that Tropfest was not based on big names, but built on a bedrock of passion and sincerity for films.
That sparked his idea of a SouthEast Asia edition, which was well-received by Michael Laverty, the international managing director of Tropfest.
Once Laverty’s agreement was secured, Joe needed to convince Tropfest founder John Polson.
“I called Polson, who is now based in New York, and spoke to him for two hours on the phone. I flew there to meet him, and for two mornings, that busy man shared his time with me,” said Joe of the award-winning Australian film director.
Though Tropfest had been in negotiations with Singapore and Thailand, Joe won the rights to the SouthEast Asia franchise despite being “just a person who ran three festivals with no media company”.
While he may have wrested hosting rights from flashier bidders, it is yet to be seen whether Tropfest SEA will remain in Malaysia beyond 2014.
“Please help me keep it here. I love Malaysia, I love what we can do. We can be a focal point and take the lead in the Asean region,” he said.
At the recent Asia on the Edge forum in Hong Kong, he had shared the stage with well known speakers, and explained how Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia needed support: “Singapore and Hong Kong already have machinery, structure, formulas, and government backing. We have talent, and we need a big brother to help us.”
“I chose SouthEast Asia because we have one billion people here. We should have one voice. As the next big growth area, we are a power to be reckoned with - look at how much talent is in the region!” Joe explained, citing those such as Filipino director Brillante Mendoza.
“But if you’re a famous singer in Indonesia, someone in Manila may not know you. Why are we looking at K-pop stars? What’s our shared cultural thread, and why shouldn’t we connect or exchange?” he mused.
Having just returned from Manila and Indonesia, where the Tropfest SEA team went from school to school and spoke to filmmakers, Joe was struck by their passion to make films despite being “so poor that they can’t even afford the RM50 entry fee”.
“To encourage participation, the fee is waived for the first 30 entries from each country. We’re not charging the sum to make money, but to make you commit to the project,” he said.
Asked if the competition had received many entries Joe said that only a few had come in so far and referenced the case of Tropfest Arabia, which saw no submissions until a week before the closing date.
While Joe remains confident that entries from Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Cambodia are forthcoming, he harbours hopes for a “very strong Malaysian presence”.
“It’d be so sad for me to have brought this contest here and have no finalist from Malaysia. Why be the best director in Malaysia among only 26 million, when you can be the best among one billion?” he said of the exciting opportunity.
While many feel the need to create something big - “with one ambulance and sixteen people!” - to win, Joe feels filmmakers should not be afraid to keep it simple as a good story is merely “your story”.
One example was an quirky winning effort called Animal Beatbox, which animated freeze frames to speak a simple message: love your animal.
“The key word is storytelling. A lot of short films fail because they’re pretentious or trying to show off. But if you have felt it and completed that story on the screen - the audience will realise it,” he advised.
Short films are also a safe bet in the natural progression towards full-length features.
“If you don’t win, nobody will know you. You don’t need to be ashamed. Be brave, do the first one and see where it gets you. After you let it go, you can do better,” he said.
On the flip side, he believes that a film should be watched by many people, not by “a jury of 12 and an audience of one hundred”.
In Tropfest SEA, not only will the winning entry be awarded US$10,000 (RM31,655), but the winner will also enjoy a five-day film industry immersion trip to Los Angeles, California, sponsored by the Motion Picture Association Of America.
“Previous Tropfest winners have become prolific film directors because they get noticed,” he said of the exposure.
He urged film students in particular to use available resources in their learning environment - supportive tutors, filming equipment, and editing software - to produce quality entries.
“Tonight, we screened what won in New Zealand, Australia and the United States, but it’s their storytelling. We have a different humour, a special wit. We should tell our own stories and make it uniquely beautiful,” he said of the event.
And when an attendee asked if any production cost ceiling was in place, Joe was quick to clarify that a winning entry is not about “size or scale”.
“Cappuccino Tango (Tropfest New Zealand 2013 winner) cost USD50 (RM158) to make, and another one shot his film on a phone! Anything goes here,” he said.
"A short film does not have to cost millions to be seen by millions."
The Tropfest SEA 2014 deadline for contest submissions is by 6pm on Oct 28, 2013. The seven-minute Tropfest film can be made in any language, and anyone residing in Asean is eligible. The festival will be held in Esplanade, Penang from January 24-25 2014, and admission is free. For more information, visit http://tropfest.com/sea/
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