'Be My Brother' steals the show at Tropfest
Tropfest winners Genevieve Clay
& Gerard O’Dwyer
Genevieve Clay was awarded first prize at Movie Extra Tropfest 2009 by a panel of celebrity judges for 'Be My Brother,' a short film about a young man whose charm and charisma challenges the prejudices of a stranger waiting at a bus stop.
On receiving her award, Genevieve said, “I am thrilled to win this award. My mother and grandmother know how hard I’ve worked to win this. I’d like to thank my film star, Gerard Odwyer who also won best actor tonight, which he thoroughly deserved.”
Audiences of over 150,000 were transfixed as the 16 finalist films were beamed live via satellite to venues in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, Hobart, Adelaide, Gold Coast and Brisbane on Sunday 22 February 2009. ‘Be My Brother’ won the crowd over with lead actor Gerard O’Dwyer's award winning performance resonating the film’s powerful and heartfelt story through the massive crowd in Sydney’s domain, the Australia wide satellite venues and around the globe via Movie Extra’s live broadcast.
Genevieve has been involved in a number of arts and disability projects, which have helped craft her understanding and sensitivity of the issues associated with disability. This included the Mixed Abilities Ensemble (MAE) training program, an initiative of Accessible Arts and the Powerhouse Youth Theatre in Fairfield, that offered skills development opportunities in the performing arts for people with and without disability. 'Be My Brother' Camera Assistant Tracie Sammut and Unit Manager Georgia Cranko also participated in this skills development training.
Genevieve will receive a prize package worth $100,000 including a Qantas Scholarship Program with a trip for two to Los Angeles, 6 nights accommodation, and a tailored program of meetings with agents, executives and industry valued at $10,000.
A complimentary copy of the 16 finalist films will be available with the Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday 28 February 2009.