Tropfest winner is the third to be accused of plagiarism in six years THE third Tropfest festival winner in six years has been accused of plagiarism. Nicholas Clifford's winning short film, We've All Been There, is accused of imitating the 1999 country music video for Clay Walker's The Chain of Love. A web page, tropfail.com, compares the two films and social media has buzzed with the comparison. "It just feels a bit damaging because of how we did it, we did everything right with the best intentions," said Clifford yesterday. It's a real shame that it's come to this. Clifford's film, which won on Sunday night, stars Penne Hackforth-Jones as a stranded driver helped by a stranger who later leaves a pregnant waitress an extravagant tip with the note, "We've all been there." Clifford's film begins with the credit "based on the short story What Goes Around Comes Around by Anon." The hokey tale of the karmic consequences of charity is an internet favourite that is believed to have first emerged as a short story written by Ronnie Barnett and Rory Lee Feek, The Chain of Love. Clifford said the story was "everywhere" across the internet and he'd fallen in love with it. He couldn't name the precise source and lawyers suggested the story was public domain. Walker's video by Michael Cargile reached No 3 on the Billboard country chart. Clifford is the third winner accused of plagiarism in six years. In 2011, Damon Gameau's Animal Beatbox was accused of plagiarism by YouTube user Eustus Comedy, the maker of a film called Dog Cat. At the time, Tropfest founder John Polson responded: "In the age of YouTube, it's possible to find almost anything on the internet." In 2007, The Sydney Morning Herald accused Steve Baker's An Imaginary Life of plagiarising a US television show. Polson stood by Baker's film.