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| Firass Dirani in Taser. |
Bird’s involvement in Tropfest is nothing new. His drama, Taser, is his third consecutive film to
make it to the finals. With the first two not quiet managing to get top prize,
why is it an event he keeps coming back to? “Tropfest is great exposure to emerging
film makers…why not try for a third time in a row?”
With the Tropfest Signature Item of a Balloon only being
announced at the beginning of October, Bird didn’t even write his script for Taser until late Novemeber. And he wrote
it with one man in mind to be the lead … Firass Dirani. With Dirani already
relatively known among an Australian audience, playing leads in Underbelly and
House Husbands, Bird speaks of him highly, saying, “Everything he brings to a performance for an
actor is spot on for that role and I think he really nailed his performance.”
After writing a script for a particular actor without even
knowing if Firass was on board, Bird says that became the test of whether he
was going to compete in Tropfest for another year. “If he (Firass) was
interested then I was going to really do it and if not then I would think twice
about it.”
After working with Bird (or the Birdman as Firass refers to
him) a few years ago, Firass knew he wanted to work with him again, saying
about Taser, “I thought it was a
clever script. Exploring peoples pre-conceptions / notions / judgements. I knew
that Matt wanted it stylised and that really interested me … he knows what he
wants and that’s always good for an actor.”
After previously making his name known amongst Tropfest
organisers, the young director was also asked to create the film for Tropscore.
Having already directed several music videos for the likes of Bliss N Eso
amongst others, Bird describes himself as having pretty strong ideas about
music in film. Which is great because he is also on the judging panel for
Tropscore. When asked about writing a film without any music Bird says it felt
like he was handing in something that wasn’t completed. Saying, “It was a
really interesting experience to come up with a film idea. I wanted to make
something that really leant itself to score composition and would provide a
great canvas to write for.”
Matt Bird is not afraid to admit that comedy is generally a
favoured genre at Tropfest. But he still has no temptation to sway from his
drama roots. But that doesn’t mean a drama can’t win, saying, “It’s only when
you are truly there with that live audience that you get a real sense of what
sort of film resinates with the audience.”
Tropfest is a free event that takes place at the Domain on Sunday February 17th.
Gates open at 11am, Finalist Screenings start from 8pm.
Will you be attending Tropfest tomorrow?
Rachel xx
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