Tropfest. Don't worry - it's not art.

If you were worried about the content of Tropfest 2009, these promo words from Jon Polson should have been of comfort:

Don’t worry. These are not arty films about some guy’s poetry

Now I KNOW you're trying to pull a mainstream crowd Jon. And I get that in order for the live telecast to fly you need thousands of screaming fans at the Domain, BUT ...

Is there not room for art in film making?

Is there not a place for poetry?

Wouldn't it be cool if you - as one of the more influential bods in Australia's film industry with a big voice and platform - could maybe NOT contribute to the nation wide suspicion of ART that we have going on in this country?

I don't mean you have to put on a festival filled with ARTy films.

I understand that's not what Tropfest is about.

Tropfest is about short, snappy, easy to consume films that make people giggle, laugh, sigh, cry, whoop, holler and cheer. Nice and loud now for the cameras!

And that's cool. The festival is what it is. It attracts the followers it attracts. But come on, film making is a big, weird and wonderful world.

There’s room for Art and Poetry, Jon. Rather than talk about them as if they are to film making whatsharks are to safety beaches, do like good marine biologists do and acknowledge their inherent beauty and value – as long as they are kept at a safe distance.

So that even if art and poetry remain strange, exotic and dangerous creatures to much of the mainstream public, at least they will start to see connections between:

art and cinema

poetry and story

artists and film makers.

And they’ll accept it because you said it and you and Tropfest are both way cool.

You don't need to feel threatened by Art, Jon. Or scared of a public that is. Instead, take them by the hand and guide them through a small section of uncharted waters.

Surely the world's biggest short film festival can manage that.

Let there be Art.