Tropfest

Tropfest Australia, commonly referred to simply as Tropfest, is the world’s largest short film festival. It has been held in Sydney, Australia every year since 1993. Tropfest stands out among other film festivals because it showcases only films that were made specifically for the festival.

Tropfest was founded by the Australian actor and director John Polson who is probably best known for his role as Greg in The Sum of Us. The first edition of the festival was a film screening at the Tropicana Cafe in Darlinghurst, a suburb of Sydney. The event was originally called the Tropicana Short Film Festival.

The inaugural festival attracted only 200 attendees, but it has grown over time to become one of the most significant film events in Australia. Tropfest Australia attracts about 100,000 attendees in Sydney and is broadcast live to several cities around Australia to an audience of approximately 150,000. The festival has a number of spin-off events including Tropfest South East Asia, Tropfest New Zealand, Tropfest USA, and Tropfest Arabia.

Tropfest is a content generation platform rather than an exhibition platform. It is open only to new works which filmmakers have created specifically for the festival. Entries must include a particular signature item which changes every year to ensure that they comply with the festival’s main requirement. There are two more requirement: all entries must be world premieres and be no more than 7 minutes long (including titles and credits).

Tropfest is a competitive festival. Winner is chosen by the jury that comprises high profile film industry professionals. The winner of the previous edition of Tropfest is also on the jury panel. Past celebrity judges have included Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Rose Byrne, Toni Colette, Russel Crowe, Geoffrey Rush, John Woo, Baz Luhrmann, Samuel L. Jackson, Keanu Reeves, Ewan McGregor, Sam Neill, Jane Campion, George Miller, Salma Hayek, and Gabriel Byrne.

Although Tropfest is a high-profile event that features A-list celebrities and attracts a wide degree of media coverage, it is most famous for its casual atmosphere. Films are screened in Sydney’s Parramatta Park (previous venues have included The Domain and Centennial Park). Parallel screenings take place in public parks and cafes in various cities around the country including Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, and others.

Tropfest used to take place in December, at the very beginning of summer in Australia. However, the 2015 edition was canceled due to financial reasons and Tropfest 2016 was moved to February.