Troppo for Tropfest, Hannah felt destined to enter now she's vying for cinematic glory

A YOUNG Glebe filmmaker will be vying for cinematic glory at the final of the Tropfest short film festival on Sunday.

Hannah May Reily

A YOUNG Glebe filmmaker will be vying for cinematic glory when the final of the Tropfest short film festival takes place at the Domain on Sunday.

Hannah May Reilly, 20, whose film Great Day is one of 16 finalists, is one year younger than Tropfest itself and she said she felt destined to enter what has now become an internationally-recognised showcase for filmmakers.

"I have always been interested in film and television and Tropfest has always felt like such an initiation to that world," Reilly said.

"Tropfest has been around for 21 years and I am 20 so I feel like I have been following it my whole life.

"I remember it was always a summer tradition in my family to watch the Tropfest finalist films and decide which ones we thought should win.

"I have been studying media and art production at UTS for about three years now and I grew up with parents who were in show business so it seems like a natural progression for me to pursue this myself."

Reilly said Great Day developed from a story about a friend of a friend that was overheard at the pub.

"Without giving away the ending it's about an underdog who gets verbally abused by these guys on the street and he manages to get justice in a very creative way," she said.

"It involves thugs, a newspaper and a milkshake."

Reilly said she was thrilled the film, made on a shoestring budget and with a cast of her friends, had been well received.

"A lot of the characters were just my mates and some of them have never performed before," she said. "But when we got filming they all become so professional."