Born 20 years ago in a cafe (‘The Tropicana’) in Sydney, Australia, Tropfest is now the world’s largest short film festival. It is supported by some of the biggest names in the international film community and has received thousands of submissions for its film festivals in Australia, Tropfest Arabia in Abu Dhabi and elsewhere. Tropfest in Australia attracts a live national audience of more than 150,000 people on a single night with live satellite links to outdoor locations in major cities around the country. See highlights from the Tropfest in Australia earlier this year.
Now Tropfest is launching into the US with Tropfest Las Vegas and Tropfest New York. Emerging American filmmakers and others have the opportunity to take part in this global phenomenon. If selected as a finalist, they will see their short film screened in front of a massive live and online audience for a chance to win $20,000 cash, a screening on Starz Cinema nationally, and ‘a week of meetings’ with some of Hollywood’s decision-makers. Tropfest USA is being supported by official Ambassadors Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman,, Nicole Kidman, Anthony Lapaglia, Charles Randolph, Geoffrey Rush, and Liev Schreiber.
There are a few simple guidelines Tropfest entrants must follow: all entries must be made specifically for the event and have their premiere at Tropfest New York; films cannot exceed seven minutes, including titles and credits; and each film must contain the Tropfest Signature Item (TSI), which changes each year and is different in each Tropfest territory. For Tropfest New York 2012, the TSI is a staple of New York culinary culture: “Bagel”. In Tropfest tradition, filmmakers are welcome to include “Bagel” in their films in any manner they choose. There are no budget restrictions, and films can be shot on any format – even a mobile phone. The Tropfest premise advocates strength of idea over ‘slickness’ or technical merit. For some inspiration, visit some of our favorite films from the past twenty years here. Many of the films you see here cost just a few dollars and some are even made in just a couple of hours!
Tropfest New York, which is open to the public and FREE to attend, will take place on Saturday June 23, 2012 at New York City’s spectacular Bryant Park, located in midtown on Sixth Avenue between West 4oth and West 42nd Street. Space is limited so if you want to guarantee a place we recommend you get your FREE tickets here. An industry and celebrity panel will judge the selected short film finalists – each made specifically for the event – live and under the stars. During the final awards ceremony, the panel will announce the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners and well as awards for Best Actor and Best Actress. Tropfest judges traditionally aren’t announced until the night, but previous panels have included some of the biggest names in the international film community including Australians Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Naomi Watts, Russell Crowe and Geoffrey Rush, as well as Julianne Moore, Darren Aronofsky, Liev Schreiber, Bryan Singer, Samuel L. Jackson and many more.
John Polson started the ‘Tropicana Short Film Festival’ (as it was originally known) as an informal short film screening for cast, crew and friends at the Tropicana Cafe in Sydney’s Darlinghurst. More than 200 people showed up for that first screening. Inspired by the turn out, John decided that a full-fledged short film festival was the next step (please see early footage here).
Truly an innovative concept and platform for filmmakers of diverse backgrounds to gain exposure and experience, Tropfest has become one of the world’s best springboards for emerging talent. Scores of films made for and screened at Tropfest have gone on to gain commercial distribution (eg. the hit US TV series “Wilfred” on FX began life as a 2002 Tropfest short film!) And literally dozens of Tropfest filmmakers have had local and international careers launched as a result of their work being seen in front of thousands of people.
Festival alumni include: Sam Worthington (Avatar); Joel Edgerton (The Great Gatsby, Warrior, Animal Kingdom); Alister Grierson (director of the James Cameron-produced Sanctum); Nash Edgerton (director of “Spider”, “Lucky”, “The Square” and “Bear”) and many more.
The Tropfest mission is to continue to develop the most exciting forum in the world for audiences to come together and celebrate premium short films; and to continue to offer filmmakers – regardless of their financial constraints – a bigger and better platform from which to launch their professional careers. Tropfest will be held in New York City on June 23 2012. Other discussions are underway in territories around the world including China, Singapore, Paris, London and more.
