Sydney, I Love You - article by Filmink Magazine's Cara Nash
We spoke to Tropfest founder John Polson about his latest project, ‘Sydney, I Love You’ – a feature comprising a dozen shorts compiled by some of our best talent.
"I want to say this: this is not an Opera House and Harbour Bridge movie," John Polson tells us over the phone from his New York home. "If those two icons appear very little or at all, that wouldn't bother me in the slightest. This is about the real Sydney."
A director and producer in his own right, but perhaps best known as founder of Tropfest, Polson is talking to us about the feature he's set produce with Gary Hamilton, Sydney, I Love You. Taking its inspiration from the similarly themed New York I Love You and Paris Je T'aime - cinematic love letters to their respective cities - this will see some of Australia's biggest and brightest names direct and star in twelve shorts with each one to be set in Sydney during a different month of the year.
While Polson largely divides his time between New York and Australia (he's been back recently as he's currently working on the screen adaptation of Peter Temple's novel Truth, which is set to shoot in Melbourne), he was born and bred in Sydney and cites the city as being very close to his heart. "For a long time, we've had incredible talent, whether it be directors, writers, actors or producers, making it big either at home or overseas. This feels like a great opportunity to pull some of that talent together for one project and showcase one of the world's most beautiful cities."
Another motivation between Polson and Hamilton's idea was that it would provide an easier path for those looking to work on home turf again. "You hear a lot of people lamenting the fact that they haven't made a film in Australia since they hit it big overseas," Polson explains. "It's hard to find the time and the schedule once you're in that world, but this can be the chance to do it where it's not a massive commitment for any one person."
While Polson remains tight-lipped about any talent involved as of yet, he told us that the initial response to the project has been a warm one and he anticipates that all the directing talent will be home grown - a difference to New York I Love You (which among its New York directors also featured the likes of Fatih Atkin, Wen Jiang and others) and Paris Je T'aime (which among its French directorial talent also recruited the Coen Brothers, Gus Van Sant and others).
"Well, I think with the directors, there's so much talent out of Australia already that it would be crazy to look elsewhere," Polson explains. "That said, there are no rules about it. If we find someone who's obsessed and has a great idea, we'll consider it, but at this point, I don't think we'll be looking outside Australians. I really hope this is going to be a showcase of Australia's best directors."
A successful film director in his own right (with Swimfan, Hide And Seek and Tenderness to his credit), Polson hasn't ruled out the possibility of directing one of the shorts himself, but insists his main role will be that of producer - ensuring the right people are selected for the job. "I like to find the best people and then give them freedom to tell the stories they want to tell and in that sense, it's a trust game," he explains. "Obviously you want to be there as a creative sounding board but I'm very much about the director's vision."
While the style and genre of the shorts will be left entirely in the hands of the directors, Polson admits he already has "hundreds of ideas" about how the shorts will come together to ensure that the film plays as a whole. "It's not an easy thing to do, but I feel like I've got a couple of tricks up my sleeve. The composer and the DOP are going to be the same throughout.
"I also think that's a cool idea to have characters reappear if it's done in an organic way," Polson continues. "The other connection is the months of the year and it will be interesting to see which directors want to jump on which month. I think a geographical throughline might be very interesting as well - if each film starts where the last film left off. But I'm aware that the biggest creative force in this film is going to come from the directors and I want to make sure we're not making any rules just because it's cool and gimmicky."
While the story is obviously at the forefront, Polson is not shying away from the fact that he hopes this film "on a secondary level" will serve as an opportunity to showcase our talent, locations and resources. "If this film works the way I hope, then I think people around the world, including people in the film industry, will see Sydney in a different way to how they see it now," Polson says. "Everyone knows Sydney as being beautiful, having beaches and friendly people, but they don't necessarily know it's a bit of a hub for film productions."
In the end, Polson really just wants to show off the city he calls home. "I can tell you living in America for eleven years, nothing breaks my heart more than hearing people just talk about the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge," he sighs. "There's so much more going on in the city and I like to think that these twelve stories will dig deeper as to what's really beautiful about Sydney."
Production is set to commence on Sydney, I Love You in 2012.
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