Tropefest is a fun night out with competitions, drinks and of course, short horror flicks. Photo: Sam Hosking.
When you think of popular film settings, places like New York, Paris, London or Tokyo come to mind … now it’s Canberra’s turn!
A Canberra videographer is inviting Canberra filmmakers to produce their own scary flicks with a twist.
Now in its fourth year, Tropefest, held at bar Fun Time Pony in the city, challenges filmmakers to create original horror stories using as many genre tropes as possible.
Event organiser Sam Hosking says the idea creates some interesting stories.
“The idea is that filmmakers create a seven-minute horror film, but the challenge is that they have to include as many horror tropes as possible while creating an original story,” Sam explains.
“The challenge is helpful in a way. Sometimes a creative restriction like that can push you in an unexpected direction, and we’ve seen some amazing original films.”
Filmmakers use horror tropes as a guiding light, aiming to hit as many clichés as possible: being home alone, a phone running out of battery, cursed items, found footage and, of course, jump scares.
The largely amateur directors often choose Canberra as their setting.
“It’s really fun seeing how filmmakers make Canberra scary. You just don’t think of Canberra that way, but they get really creative in giving it a sense of menace,” Sam says.
Organisers say this year’s festival has a diversity of films, with a broad gamut of beloved horror genres covered.
“A lot of them are quite scary, but there are a lot of horror-comedy submissions. We get a lot of slashers, psychological horrors, dramas and monster horror,” Sam says.
“We receive a lot of submissions from university students, which is great to see because we really want to encourage people to get out there and make more films.”
This year’s Tropefest is hosted at Fun Time Pony bar, and filmgoers will experience the scary flicks in a chill, laid-back environment.
“It’s always fun watching horror movies in a crowd, getting scared together, laughing together. It’s a lot of fun,” Sam says.
“We wanted to avoid the stuffiness that some film screenings have; we want people to enjoy themselves, have a few drinks, get a bite to eat and enjoy the movies.”
Fun and light-heartedness go hand in hand with terror at Tropefest. A costume competition really gets people in the spirit, with prizes on offer for the most heart-stopping get-up.
“It’s a really fun night out. People really get to enjoy themselves, whether they want to dress up or just check out the great films. It’s a great way to celebrate Halloween,” Sam says.
Tropefest will be held at Fun Time Pony at 2/122 Alinga St in Canberra City on Thursday, 30 October, from 6 pm. Tickets are available from OzTix.
