Tropfest

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Good things, even cinema, come in small packages

The films may be short but Tropfest is one of the biggest film festivals in the world, and the organisers know how to throw a really big party. It's one that simultaneously celebrates short, sharp cinema in cities all around the country, but it's Sydney where Tropfest was born so the biggest event of all, complete with live entertainment and celebrity guests on the red carpet, occurs at Sydney's Domain, this year on Sunday 17 February. And it's all free.

The Festival
As a fledgling film festival in 1993 the "Tropicana Short Film Festival", as it was then known, played to about 200 enthusiastic film buffs in a small Darlinghurst cafe. Fast forward 21 years and Tropfest is now an important international film festival and the Australian event boasts a national viewing audience in excess of 150,000 people. From little things big things certainly do grow.

The Competition
Entries were invited from professional and amateur filmmakers around the world and judges have selected sixteen finalists in the main Tropfest competition and sixteen Trop Jr finalists in the competition for entrants aged under 15. Films must clock in at under seven minutes and contain the competition's Signature Item - 'balloon' for Tropfest, and 'jump' For Tropfest Jr.

Tropfest Jr finalists 2013. Image from Tropfest Jr website

The Finalists
Finalists, announced on 3 February, include "Better Than Sinatra" directed by Jefferson Grainger, "The Pledge for Mister Bunny" by Kevin Lim, Katie Wall's "Scene 16", and "We've All Been There", a film by Nicholas Clifford. You can view information about the 2013 finalists and their films here.

A still from Scene 16 by Katie Wall. Image from Tropfest website

The Event
Gates open for Tropfest at the Domain at 11am with Tropfest beginning at 12 noon and Trop Jr from 3pm. The live entertainment program runs from 3.30 pm and includes performances by Round the Corner, MEG Mac and Clubfeet. The winner of Tropscore (original scores written for the 2013 Tropscore Film) will be announded at 5.50pm. The paparazzi will be in a frenzy with the red carpet arrivals from 6pm followed by Kate Miller-Heidke at 7.15pm and finalists' films screening from 8pm on the big screen. Everyone will be holding their breath at 10.15 pm for the announcement of the winner and awards presentation ceremony.

Tropfest After Party
If all that cinematic and celebrity splendour hasn't satisfied your cravings then you'd better get along to the official after party at the Cake Wines Tropfest Pop Up Bar at 77 George St, The Rocks.

Sydney Entertainment Centre.. the Heartbeat of Sydney

Located right in the heart of Sydney – no matter which way and on what mode you travel, getting to the Sydney Entertainment Centre couldn’t be simpler!

The Sydney Entertainment Centre is a Sydney institution. Nestled between the bustle of Sydney’s vibrant Chinatown and the sparkling Darling Harbour precinct, the Sydney Entertainment Centre is the entertainment district’s heart and soul.

The Sydney Entertainment Centre is just a few minutes walk from the centre of Sydney; with the precinct offering a myriad of entertainment, dining, transport and accommodation options.
The Centre offers a multitude of transport options to suit any itinerary. 


Street Address
35 Harbour Street, Darling Harbour
GPS Coordinates - 33°52'42?S 151°12'10?E
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By Foot
The Sydney Entertainment Centre is within walking distance of most major locations around the central business district.

From Town Hall:
Head south along George Street for three blocks. Turn right at Goulburn Street and head to the bottom of the hill. The Sydney Entertainment Centre is at the cross roads of Harbour & Goulburn Streets.

From Darling Harbour:
Follow the signposts walking parallel with the Urban Stream where you will reach Tumbalong Park and directly after the Chinese Gardens to your left, the Sydney Exhibition Hall 1 to your right. The Sydney Entertainment Centre is directly ahead.


By Bus
For information on bus timetables and services contact Sydney Buses
Tel: 131 500
Web: Visit Website

By Car For detailed driving directions from your point of departure, we suggest you visit the mapping website of your choice and input the destination address:
Place: Sydney Entertainment Centre
Address: 35 Harbour Street, Darling Harbour

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click here for whereis

By Ferry
For information on ferry timetables and services contact Sydney Ferries
Tel: 131 500
Web: Visit Website 

By Rail
For information on train timetables and services contact City Rail
Alight Central Railway Station (approximately 8 minutes walk)
Take the Eddy Avenue exit from Central Station, turn left and walk to George Street. Turn right into George Street and take the second on your left into Hay Street. Walk until you reach the historic Paddy's Markets where you’ll find the Sydney Entertainment Centre sits on the other side of the light rail tracks.

Or alight Town Hall Station (Approximately 10 minutes walk)
Tel: 131 500
Web: Visit Website

By Monorail & Light Rail
Sydney Monorail – disembark at Paddy’s Market Station. The monorail runs every 3 – 5 minutes.
Tel: (02)  8584 5288
Web: Visit Website 
Sydney Light Rail – disembark at Haymarket Station (Located outside Paddy's Markets)
The Sydney Light Rail runs every 10 – 12 minutes.
Tel: (02)  8584 5288
Web: Visit Website

View the Offical Sydney Entertainment Centre Website

Alexander the Great

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www.alexandersydney.com.au

Haunting artifacts imbued with a strange spirit stare back at us from a distant time when the earth was still young and uncluttered. The collection (on loan from the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg) encompasses a limited number of items, but the best of their kind.

The mythological scenes depicted on amphorae capture quintessential passages from Greek classical literature (Achilles tying the corpse of Hector to his chariot for example). Some of the items on show predate the age of Alexander by a couple of centuries and come from places as far away as the Caspian Sea (Russia) – all bear witness to incredible levels of sophistication that one finds hard to reconcile with such remote pasts, the jewellery for example. Most of the items, pottery, jewellery, coinage, architectural samples such as cornices of once inhabited houses, fall squarely within the age of Alexander and hark back to exotically named places such as Corinth, Ephesus, Antioch, Smyrna, Tyre, Persepolis and dozens other place names from Greek colonised Asia Minor.

The collection stretches in geographical space from the Balkans to India and everywhere and in everything, from not so tiny but flawlessly executed cameos of later rulers, to statues of the Buddha, one sees clearly the explosive impact of Helene culture on local forms and practices.

A selection of armoury from helmets to shin guards reveals human statures whose dimensions cannot have been very different from our own; a fairly substantial fragment of horse harness belonging to the battle charger of an officer from the army of Darius shows, embossed in the leather, five golden lions walking in Indian file, a surfeit of art wherever the human eye falls, evoking the almost unbelievable wealth and style of such time and places, while a fragment of tapestry with colours long faded, displays complex and intricate patterns.

Along the walls of the exhibition space, organised in a spiral layout of rooms and alcoves, perhaps to reflect the complexity of its central theme – the life of Alexander – citations taken from diverse historians converge and clash in their accounts of the main events, while other art objects from much closer centuries – from 17th Century French paintings celebrating the reign of Louis XIV (the 'Sun King'), to ornate Italian Renaissance armours - are inserted in the display to reveal and ponder the transcendent impact of Alexander's legend on history and time.

Yet, from the biographical detail of such meteoric rise to wealth, power and position, and of the paranoias, suspicions, rivalries, jealousies, conflicts and falling-outs which inevitably accompany such ambitions, one comes away feeling that Alexander's conquest of 'the world' may have been no more than a hugely successful business enterprise… though looking at the funerary effigies in terracotta of humbler original tomb owners, one is left wondering at the 'immortal coil in the frail and mortal frame' that would drive even ordinary folks to such statements of megalomania.

More likely, the impact of Alexander on world history may have been the realisation that with tools and technique, any man could conquer the innocent world.

Well, perhaps not any man! The legend endures, as large numbers of visitors attest, passing through the exhibition space, on even this ordinary Monday afternoon.

A must while it lasts!

Slither into the Year of the Snake Chinese New Year at Darling Harbour Metro Apartments

 

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Slither into the Year of the Snake

In February 2013 don your best red outfit, adorn yourself with a bloodstone, find your inner schemer and slither your way into the Year of the Snake at one of Sydney's favourite festivals. Sydney Chinese New Year Festival kicks off with a festive bang on Friday 8 February and closes with the splash of dragon boat racing on Sunday 24 February. And in between you'll find everything from art exhibits, film festivals and markets to lunar feasts at top Sydney restaurants and of course, the ever popular Chinese New Year Twilight Parade.

The Year of the Snake. Image from Sydney Chinese New Year website.

Sydney's festival lays claim to the title of the biggest Chinese New Year Festival outside mainland China. There's so much happening that Sydney needs more than two weeks to fit it all in. For full details of the more than eighty events and activities on offer - many of them free - see the website here, but below is a summary of the festival's not-to-be-missed highlights.

Highlights

Chinese New Year Markets

The festival begins with the authentic sights, sounds, smells and tastes of a Chinese marketplace, transforming Sydney's Belmore Park into a little piece of China. The festival's opening weekend serves up food stalls, Chinese arts and crafts, entertainment, and the Chinese New Year AYAM Kitchen where former Master Chef favourites, Adam Liaw and Alvin Quah, will be giving cooking demonstrations and tips.

Image from Sydney Chinese New Year website.

When: Friday 8 February from 4pm to 10pm, Saturday 9 February from 11am to 7pm, Sunday 10 February from 11am to 5pm.
Where: Belmore Park, Eddy Avenue, Sydney (opposite Central Station).
Cost:Free


Festival Launch
In addition to the Friday night markets, there will be lion dances, firecrackers to scare away the last of the previous year's problems, and entertainment from the crew at SBS PopAsia, to celebrate the festival's official launch.

Image for Sydney Chinese New Year Festival website.

When: Friday 8 February from 6pm to 8pm
Where: Belmore Park, Eddy Avenue, Sydney (opposite Central Station).
Cost: Free


Twilight Parade

The magical, annual procession of floats, lanterns, acrobats and dancers will once again make its way from Sydney Town Hall to Harbour Street, to the backdrop of Sydney's beautifully illuminated buildings. There's also pre-parade entertainment and post-parade fireworks at Cockle Bay.

Image from Sydney Chinese New Year Festival website.

When and Where: Sunday 17 February. The evening begins at Sydney Town Hall at 7pm, with the parade from 8pm and festivities conclude with the Cockle Bay fireworks.
Cost: Free. There is also limited VIP seating available for $66 per person. Call 02 9265 9333 for information and to book.


Lunar Feasts
This year's festival introduces Lunar Feasts, where some of Sydney's top Asian restaurants will be offering set price meals to celebrate the new year. You can experience everything from vegan yum cha or an eight course lunch banquet to "Food of Tasteful Pleasure' or a premium deluxe banquet. These specials will be available throughout the festival, but bookings are essential and ensure you read the fine print (some conditions apply). You can find the list of participating restaurants and details of their specials here.

Image from Sydney Chinese New Year Festival website

When: From 8 to 24 February 2013
Where: Participating restaurants
Cost: Ranges from $20 to $50 per person.


Dragon Boat Races



See the powerful yet poetic spectacle of dragon boat racing on the last weekend of the festival. The 12 metre long boats seat twenty paddlers along with a sweep and a drummer. Competition will be fierce and exciting at Darling Harbour.

Image from Sydney Chinese New Year Festival website.

large image

When: Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 February 2013.
Where: Cockle Bay, Darling Harbour
Cost: Free