An Imaginary Life, the Tropfest Winning film by Steve Baker has been nominated for Best Short Animation in the L’Oreal Paris 2007 AFI Awards.
Steve’s heart-felt animated tale of a cast-off imaginary friend who wonders what has happened to the boy who dreamt him up was a standout hit with both audiences and judges alike.
Tropfest Founder and Festival Director John Polson said, ‘We couldn’t be more excited about Steve’s nomination for his remarkable animated short, An Imaginary Life. For the AFI to acknowledge Steve’s work in this way is a great achievement for him. As the festival that first brought him to the attention of wider audiences, we’re immensely proud that he continues to receive recognition for his brilliant work.’
The Queensland filmmaker has had numerous successes with his work to date. He was a Tropfest finalist twice before almost claiming the top prize in 2004 with his worldwide hit Confessions of an Animation, and has had over 60 screenings in festivals such as the HBO US Comedy Arts Festival, Manhattan Short Film Festival, The Worldwide Short Film Festival, International Short Film Festival of Berlin, and a special screening at the American Cinematheque. Steve has also completed work on his first animated TV series for the ABC 2 Network called Did You Know? and is in the process of finishing off his first AFC funded short film Dog With Electric Collar.
‘I’m really looking forward to seeing the other nominees films. They all sound so unique,’ said Baker. ‘It’s great that the AFI mix it up’.
The other nominees in the Best Short Animation category are:
* The Bat and the Butterfly (Dust Echoes 2) – Michael Wagner, Dave Jones
* The Girl Who Swallowed Bees – Justine Kerrigan, Paul McDermott
* The Goat That Ate Time ? Lucinda Schreiber
The nominees were selected by juries of industry professionals and will screen as part of the AFI Australian Screenings, where AFI members vote to select the winners.
The AFI Australian Screenings will be held nationally from 17 August to 16 September 2007. Further details on the Australian Screenings will be available in the August edition of the AFI E-News and from the AFI website www.afi.org.au/
Nominations in all categories will be announced in late October with the winners presented at the L’Oréal Paris 2007 AFI Awards in Melbourne.
The 2008 Tropfest short film festival will take place on Sunday 17th February 2008.
Entries to the competition must be no longer than 7 minutes, not have had any public screenings prior to Tropfest, and include the Tropfest Signature Item, ‘8’. Entries close on Thursday 10th January 2008 (no exceptions). Further entry details, terms and conditions will be posted in www.tropfest.com in the coming months.
[release from Spin Communications]