Tropfest 2011 winner Damon Gameau

First published on 16 Jan 2012. Updated on 19 Jan 2012.

Damon Gameau won Tropfest 2011 for his catchy, creature-filled, 2 minute, 42 second animation Animal Beatbox – an honour that still has him flabbergasted. “This time last year I was frantically trying to edit and hand it in with 10 minutes to go,” says Gameau, on the phone from India, where he’s part of the cast of the cricket comedy Save Your Legs with Brendan Cowell. “It was a bit of fun.” Gameau, a Sydney-based actor who had memorable part in the movie Balibo, won $5,000 cash, a digital camera and a trip to Los Angeles to meet with film executives. But the Tropfest win was quickly followed by a backlash, in the form of accusations of plagiarism. “The first couple of days were horrible. I guess I wasn’t expecting it and I was naïve… But if you want to make something and poke your head out, you’ve got to be prepared for people to cut it off.” Despite this there have been a lot more positives than negatives, he says: “It’s been bizarre; you just send this film out into the world. Now I think it has been to about 25 festivals.” These have included firebrand documentary maker Michael Moore’s own film festival, and Animal Beatbox even landed an award for raising awareness about the environment. “It’s the most abstract, bizarre thing and it is very inspiring because I did make it for $80 in three days in my mum’s spare bedroom. So it just goes to show if the idea’s there and the intention is right, it can spread far and wide.” 

Tropfest 2012 at The Domain, Sydney - Sun 19 Feb. FREE