NSW filmmakers dominate Tropfest 2013 OF the 16 Tropfest finalists for 2013 there's a clear dominance by NSW filmmakers. Reisinger, the director, says the story was drawn from Dunn's experiences working at the Seven Network. "We've been collaborating for years now and every time we turn up for a writing session Adam bitches and moans and wails about what his day job is 'cause he has to dress up as the cash cow in a dodgy cow costume and dance like a douchebag," Reisinger told media at the Opera House on Tuesday. Dunn's daily stories about how much he hated being the Cash Cow became a running joke. When they wrote the short film using the real names of people from Seven, they were certain it would never make it to the screen. "There is a very confronting thing that happens with Kochie, and we were like 'There's no way he'll say yes to that'," Reisinger told AAP. According to Dunn, who also stars in the short, Koch and Doyle not only said yes but didn't ask for a single script change, staying back after work to film it. They were "brilliant" he said. Reisinger and Dunn's effort is among the 12 NSW entries selected (two of which were by NSW filmmakers but filmed overseas). The same rules apply for the film festival, which was founded 21 years ago by John Polson, with every film under seven minutes long and featuring a signature item - this year it's a balloon. The finalists will have their films screened before a live audience of about 150,000 in Sydney's Domain on Sunday, February 17, to be judged by a panel who in the past have included Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor and Geoffrey Rush. In case the weather turns sour like last year, there will also be a broadcast for the first time on free-to-air channel SBS. One finalist who is very familiar with the rules of the festival is NSW filmmaker Matt Bird. He's making history as the first person to make the finals three years in a row. Actor Rob Carlton, who introduced some of the filmmakers on Tuesday joked that Bird has "been a finalist I think every year since 1856." For Bird it wasn't a hard decision to go for a hat-trick at Tropfest. "After getting in two years I thought why not three in a row," he told AAP. Tropfest is obviously great exposure for emerging filmmakers so I thought I'd have another crack at it. After he wrote Taser, which was inspired by the controversy surrounding police and misuse of tasers, Bird sent it to actor Firass Dirani, who he'd met while working on a commercial. Fortuitously... He loved it and he came on board to play the lead," Bird said. The winner of Tropfest 2013 will receive a new car from Toyota, a $10,000 cash prize, a trip to Los Angeles and a Nikon D800 camera with $2000 worth of lenses and accessories. The three-day festival culminates in the main event on February 17, where the finalist films will screen in Sydney, Canberra, Surfers Paradise, Wollongong, Melbourne and Perth, as well as the live broadcast on SBS.