Tropfest

Tropfest
Location Australia
Founded 1993
Language English
Website tropfest.com
Tropfest in Sydney, February 2011

Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival. It has also become known as the world's first global film festival.

Founded by actor/director John Polson, Tropfest began in 1993 as a screening for 200 people at the 'Tropicana Caffe' in Darlinghurst, Sydney, Australia, but has since become the largest platform for short films in the world. Tropfest Australia usually takes place in December each year in Sydney and is broadcast live to various cities around Australia to an audience of approximately 150,000. Sydney Tropfest 2015 was cancelled less than a month before it was scheduled to run. After much support on social media, Tropfest founder Polson announced in early December 2015 that extra funding had been sourced, and the festival took place in Centennial Park on Sunday, 14 February 2016. In August 2016 it was announced that from February 2017 Sydney's Tropfest would be held in Parramatta in western Sydney.

Entry Requirements

Tropfest differs from other cinema events by being a "content generation" platform, rather than an exhibition platform. Filmmakers are required to create new works for the festival which must include an item, known as the "Tropfest Signature Item" (TSI) and which changes each year. The films must be less than 7 minutes (including titles and credits) and be world premieres at the Tropfest event.

History

The festival's name is derived from the first year's location—the Tropicana Caffe in Darlinghurst, an inner-eastern suburb of Sydney.[1] Created by Australian-born filmmaker John Polson, the first festival was held in 1993 and was originally called the Tropicana Short Film Festival.

The support and involvement of film personalities from around the world has become one of the trademarks of the festival. Selection of the winning Tropfest film takes place live on the night of the festival by a panel of high profile industry and celebrity judges, in addition to the previous year's winner. Past judges have included Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Naomi Watts, Toni Collette, Rose Byrne, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, John Woo, Samuel L. Jackson, Baz Luhrmann, Keanu Reeves, Sam Neill, Ewan McGregor, Jane Campion, Salma Hayek, George Miller and Gabriel Byrne. Corporate supporters have included Intel, Sony, Qantas, Cointreau and MadFish Wines. Movie Extra used to be the primary sponsor of Tropfest Australia.

The festival attracts a wide degree of media coverage but it is the casual, grassroots nature of the event, rather than its high profile, which ensures the continued support of its patrons and guests. Notable alumni include filmmakers such as Alister Grierson, Rowan Woods, Clayton Jacobson, Joel Edgerton, Nash Edgerton, Peter Carstairs, Rob Carlton, Sam Worthington, Robert Connolly, Leon Ford, Justin Drape, Tim Bullock and Elissa Down.

Other Tropfest programs include:

Locations

The main event from 1993 to 2016 took place in Sydney[2] but live satellite events are also staged in Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart, Perth and other cities. The event is broadcast live on television by SBS Two and webcast to viewers around Australia and the world. In August 2016 it was announced that, beginning in February 2017, the venue would be moved to Parramatta in western Sydney.[3]

Tropfest has expanded to locations around the world including Japan, Turkey, Africa, Abu Dhabi, London, Berlin, Toronto, Bangkok, and New York City. The inaugural Tropfest Arabia, encompassing approximately 33 countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa, took place in Abu Dhabi in November 2011. Tropfest launched into the United States in June 2012, with a weekend-long event in Las Vegas and a fully-fledged Tropfest New York competition in New York on 23 June 2012 at Manhattan's Bryant Park. Tropfest New Zealand launched in 2013 and Tropfest South East Asia at Penang, Malaysia in 2014.

Festival

Tropfest 2009 at MadFish Winery Margaret River, Western Australia

In 2006 there were over 700 entrants and every year 16 finalists are screened in public parks and cafes around Australia. Sydney's annual audience of around 100,000 people attended The Domain to watch the finalists on three large video screens. Over 150,000 people attend Australia-wide.

The Sydney screening of Tropfest 2006 was abandoned after 13 films due to severe electrical storms. Screenings in other cities were not affected. With the judges located in Sydney it was necessary to announce the winners two days later at a press conference.

Each film must be no longer than seven minutes, have never been shown publicly before and contain the "Tropfest Signature Item", which changes each year, to show that the film was made specifically for the festival.

In April 2007, Tropfest formed a partnership with PBL Media which would see festival content archived and screened across various PBL properties and brands.[4]

For Tropfest 2009, pay television channel Movie Extra replaced Sony as the naming rights sponsor for the next seven years. A new feature in 2009 was the live national broadcast of Tropfest and screening of the finalist films on the Movie Extra channel.[5]

Tropfest Australia 2011 was the largest Tropfest ever staged, and reached a national audience of approximately 1,000,000 people (not including the internet).

Prior to the first full Tropfest New York competition in June 2012, Tropfest held annual New York screenings between 2006 and 2008. Signature items were a manhole cover, a slice, and a sunflower respectively. In November 2011, ahead of the 2012 competition, filmmakers were invited to "grab a camera, start shooting and tell their story through film", using the Tropfest NY 2012 Signature Item of "Bagel".

Over a weekend in June 2012, The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas celebrated Tropfest's 20th anniversary, culminating in a screening of the best 16 films from the past two decades in the Tropfest All Star Competition. With judges Toni Collette (President of the Jury), Tobey Maguire, Rebel Wilson, James Woods, Anthony LaPaglia, Trevor Groth and Charles Randolph presiding over the competition, The Story of Bubble Boy, directed by Sean Ascroft, ultimately took out the top prize.

A few weeks later, on 23 June 2012, Tropfest New York had its debut in Bryant Park. Hosted by Hugh Jackman and including musical performances by Alexi Murdoch and Milagres, the festival attracted a crowd of approximately 10,000. Judges Rose Byrne, Judah Friedlander, Jennifer Westfeldt, Scott Foundas and Ted Hope awarded the $20,000 first prize to director Josh Leake for his film Emptys. Tropfest NY 2013 festival was held on 22 June in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, with a bridge as the signature item. In 2014 Tropfest postponed its New York event. The festival has said a 2015 event will be held, using a kiss as the signature item, which was originally announced for 2014.

Tropfest has one of the most successful channels on YouTube, having attracted more than 31,000,000 video views for its films in a relatively short time period.

In February 2013 festival founder John Polson announced a change of date to 8 December and a change of venue from the Domain to Centennial Park.[6] We feel like we are changing gears, we are growing every year and Centennial Park is in some ways the emotional heart of Sydney

The winner of the December 2013 festival, Bamboozled, was accused of homophobia and transphobia.[7] It is a comedy in which a man sleeps with a man he believes to be his transitioned ex-girlfriend.[7]

2015 cancellation

On 11 November Polson announced that the 2015 Sydney Tropfest had been cancelled. He said "... I have been made aware that the company contracted to raise the funding and administer the Tropfest event is unable to move forward for financial reasons.".[8][9] CEO of Tropfest Festival Productions, Michael Laverty, has been unavailable for comment.[10][11]

Location Venue Date Notes
Tropfest Australia Centennial Parklands, Sydney 6 December 2015 Rescheduled for 14 February 2016[12]
Tropfest South East Asia The Esplanade, Penang 1 February 2015
Tropfest New Zealand TSB Bowl of Brooklands, New Plymouth 14 February 2015
Tropfest United States Prospect Park, New York City TBC
Tropfest Arabia TBC TBC

Financial difficulties

Polsons said he had discovered to his “surprise” Tropfest was facing a financial crisis and could not proceed due to a lack of funds.[13] It emerged the management company Polson had fallen out with over the alleged “mismanagement” of Tropfest funds was managed by Laverty, his long-time Tropfest partner and its managing director.

Over the following days it emerged suppliers and contracted partners of Tropfest have been experiencing payment delays for several months. As of 14 November Laverty was un-contactable for any comments.[14] Commercial entertainment services agency The Intersection, who was retained in 2014 by Tropfest issued a statement on Facebook stating its relationship with Tropfest ended in 2014 over a pay dispute.[14]

An outpouring of support for Tropfest quickly appeared over social media, including Twitter and Facebook, with calls for generous benefactors, state or federal government support, or crowd-funding.[15]

On 6 December Polson announced that the Sydney festival would be held in its intended venue, Centennial Park on Sunday, 14 February 2016. CGU Insurance is the source of the necessary extra funding.[12]

Awards

Tropfest's prize pool is one of the richest in the short film arena, and includes international trips to develop filmmaking careers and "work experience" with top filmmakers.

Legacy

Tropfest has become known as a launch pad for filmmaking careers, although to date this has been most notable in Australia, where many commercial and critical successes are directed by Tropfest alumni.

Signature item

Each year, Tropfest requires that entries include a particular "signature item" or action to ensure that they are unique and are made specifically for the festival. No TSI was required for the 1993 festival. The following are TSIs by year:[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Tropicana Cafe - History". Tropicana Cafe. 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  2. ↑ "Sydney Events". Sydney.com. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  3. ↑ "Parramatta to host Tropfest". ABC News u. ABC Australia. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  4. ↑ Bodey, Michael (19 April 2007). "PBL's long-term plan for Tropfest shorts". The Australian. Retrieved 2007-04-19.
  5. ↑ Tropfest loses Sony and gains Movie Extra - B&T Today, 7 Aug 2008 Archived 20 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ Hardie, Giles (17 February 2013). "It's time to leave home as Tropfest turns 21". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Tropfest winner Bamboozled accused of transphobia". News Corp Australia. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  8. ↑ "Tropfest short film festival cancelled over 'terrible mismanagement' of funds". ABC News. ABC. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "2015 Tropfest Cancelled". Facebook. Tropfest Pty Ltd. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  10. ↑ Twitter
  11. ↑ Smh.com.au
  12. 1 2 "Tropfest film festival set to return after securing financial lifeline, organisers say". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC. 6 December 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  13. ↑ 9news.com.au
  14. 1 2 The Daily Telegraph
  15. ↑ Abc.net.au
  16. ↑ "TSI". Tropfest. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
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