News that will move to Western Sydney next year has drawn mixed reactions.
The free festival, which in recent years has attractedf as many as 150,000 people, had previously been held in Centennial Park and the Domain, both near Sydney’s CBD.
Founder John Polson said the decision to move the iconic festival to Paramatta was made after drawing inspiration from other film festivals, such as Cannes and Sundance.
“Moving Tropfest to Parramatta also puts us in the geographical heart of Sydney, which is the perfect place for the world’s most exciting and accessible film event,” Mr Polson said.
Moving the festival from the inner-city to the west sparked controversy. After Sydney filmmaker Adam St John told News Corp he wouldn’t “hop on the train and go to the middle of nowhere for it” many people took to Twitter to defend the move.
Hey film douches, if you're so incurious about the world that you can't handle a trip to Parramatta for Tropfest, you shouldn't be in film.
— Lisa Pryor (@pryorlisa) August 17, 2016
@angrybastard999 @emilyrose_white it is world heritage listed. Sorry to squash your dreams of bogan wasteland pic.twitter.com/nB4cqzikux
— aspectas (@aspectas) August 17, 2016
But reactions were mixed:
“It doesn’t make sense that they would move Tropfest to Parramatta,” said Mitch Wilson, 25, from Newtown. “It was working perfectly and then they move it to the west and make it really inaccessible to the regulars who go to Tropfest.”
“People have the perception that people in Western Sydney are all bogans, which is not true at all,” said Nick Long from Pennant Hills, “I think having Tropfest in Paramatta is a great idea. It’s a nice area and I think having it there will allow people to see what the area has to offer.”
Many young Sydneysiders acknowledged that many suburbs in Sydney have been stereotyped, not just Parramatta.
“I live in Newtown so everyone thinks I’m vegan and a bit of a hipster or that I’m just into the grunge, rock and roll lifestyle,” said Mr Wilson, “But look at Bond; it has that snob kind of feel and the west has a bogan stereotype. Every part of Sydney has its own stereotype.” – Ashleigh Cant
@JamColley suddenly distinctly remember being 14 and very upset with you for insulting Newtown
— Eve Beauregard (@Eve_Beauregard) August 17, 2016
Photo from Tropfest’s Twitter feed.
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