By Benjamin Millar
Kingsville filmmaker Rory Kelly suddenly has plenty to celebrate.
In the same week as becoming a proud new father, Kelly has discovered his latest short film has been selected as a finalist in Tropfest, the world’s largest short film festival.
Kelly is the writer and director of comedy Comican’t, which follows the adventures of Steve as he sets his sights on winning the best dressed award at a comic convention.
“The story is about two best friends who want to win the competition, but might not make it to the convention after they miss the bus,” Kelly said.
“So they have to set out on an epic journey across the city and meet all these colourful characters along the way – it feels like three hours worth of adventures pared down into seven minutes.”
The idea for the film came from a real life experience of lead actor Andrew Tresidder, who is involved in the Rollercoaster Theatre Company of performers with disabilities.
The actor was caught in the city in a French maid’s outfit after attending a comic convention in Melbourne.
Kelly said he thoroughly enjoyed working with the company to create the film, marking the first foray into the format for almost all involved.
“Everyone’s just really excited that the film will be getting a wider audience – that’s one of the things I really loved about everyone involved.”
Kelly has racked up a number of stage credits as an actor, appearing in productions such as Cosi and A Winter’s Tale, but his first love was always making films.
The 16 Tropfest finalist films will premiere at Parramatta Park in Sydney this Saturday.
