Tropfest movie filming at Sydney car wash mistaken for public beheading

A SYDNEYSIDER got the fright of their life after mistaking a scene being filmed for a new Tropfest flick as a public beheading. The film crew also got a surprise when the cops showed up sirens blaring.

Filming a scene for Tropfest entry, Windscreens: The Australian Dream, which a passer-by mistook for a public beheading. Photo: Melvyn Knipe

A SYDNEYSIDER got the fright of their life after mistaking a scene being filmed for a new Tropfest flick as a public beheading.

The crew of Windscreens: The Australian Dream were filming a scene on Monday morning in which the main character, an intersection window cleaner, is kidnapped by a Condell Park car wash.

But the passer-by’s heart skipped a beat when they mistook the sequence as a public beheading and called triple-zero.

Co-producer Michael Papaeleftheriou said the crew was surprised when they saw two police cars rushing toward the set.

“It was just one character in shot, the rest were crew,” he said.

On set at a car wash in Condell Park. Photo: Melvyn Knipe

He said the officers quickly laughed it off once they realised the mix-up.

Mr Papaeleftheriou said the movie, which will be entered in Sydney’s prestigious short film festival Tropfest, was meant to be a comedy.

“It’s basically about a windscreen cleaner at an intersection with homemade traffic lights,” he said.

“He’s got a really innocent mind and it’s basically about his sort of comedic struggle with his customers and people that are on his turf, like the car wash owner.”

A NSW Police spokeswoman confirmed two car crews attended the film set to investigate the report, but quickly left once they realised the mix-up.

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