Greta Nash announced as the winner of Tropfest 2018

Tropfest Greta NashTropfest Australia has announced 23 year old Victorian Greta Nash as the winner of this year’s prize for her film, Two Piece.

The short film was unanimously selected by an extraordinary panel of industry leaders including: Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon, Oscar-nominated actress Rachel Griffiths, Primetime Emmy-nominated filmmaker Garth Davis (Lion), BAFTA-nominated Aussie documentarian Jennifer Peedom (Mountain), and Logie award-winning actor Rob Collins (Cleverman).

Two Piece screened to a packed out audience in Parramatta Park, attracting over 45,000 Trop fans over the course of the day. The film was also live broadcast on ABC COMEDY, as well as on YouTube for audiences across the world to enjoy.

Greta’s film is a devastatingly tender coming-of-ager about every teenage girl’s worst nightmare – shopping for a bikini with her mum. Two Piece lead actress Freya Van Dyke was also awarded Best Female Actress for her nuanced performance.

“A huge congratulations to Greta on being crowned winner of Tropfest 2018, at just 23 years old! said Founder and Executive Chair John Polson. “The films we enjoyed this evening represented a great mix of diverse Australian narratives. It’s films like Two Piece that highlight what Tropfest is all about – sharing great stories that might not otherwise be told.”

Nick Baker and Tristan Klein (Petersham, NSW) took home Second Prize with Rock Bottom, and Third Prize went to Damian McLindon (Fitzroy North, VIC) for The Last Time I Saw You. Best Male Actor was awarded to Hugo Johnstone-Burt (Combination Fried Rice) for his role as a terrified delivery man. The $3,000 prize for each short film star was generously donated by Nicole Kidman.

Greta is the lucky recipient of a shiny new Holden Equinox LTZ valued at over $45,000 courtesy of Holden; $10,000 cash courtesy of Kennedy Miller Mitchell; and a film immersion course and ‘week of meetings’ in Los Angeles, with agents, studio executives and other industry professionals courtesy of the Motion Picture Association. She will also receive a Studio Filming Prize Package valued at $12,500 from Western Sydney University, a 12-month Event Cinemas Gold pass, and a trophy exclusively designed by Dinosaur Designs.

The winner of the 7 Second Film Competition was Ben Kumanovski (Brighton Le Sands, NSW) with his film In-Laws, about a defiant wife serving up fairy bread for lunch to the in-laws. Ben won a long weekend away in a Holden Equinox and a $2,000 prize. Judged by Tropfest juror Rachel Griffiths, Tropfest invited filmmakers to create a short film that encapsulates the theme of ‘nothing to prove’ in the shortest time – just 7 seconds.

The winners of the 2018 Tropfest Craft Awards were also announced, recognising excellence in seven vital fields. The winners are: Damian McLindon (The Last Time I Saw You) for screenwriting; Lachlan Thompson and Nick Ward (Boys Don’t Cry) for cinematography; Ben Joss (The Last Time I Saw You) for editing; Megan Carnes (I’m Still Here) for scoring; Elena Lyons-Dawson (The Last Time I Saw You) for design; Nick Baker and Tristan Klein (Rock Bottom) for VFX; and the team from The Last Time I Saw You for sound – Juan Pablo, Tom Day, Beth Bezzina, Greg Fitzgerald, and Andrew Miller.

As Tropfest 2018 came to an end, John Polson announced ‘candle’ as the Tropfest Signature Item (TSI) for 2019 – which filmmakers must include in their short films as literally or as subtly as they like. For more information, visit: www.tropfest.org.au for details.

Image: Greta Nash (supplied)