This year, Tropfest is celebrating it’s 25th anniversary.
The world’s largest short film festival was founded by actor and director John Polson in 1993, and offered a screening for 200 people at the ‘Tropicana Caffe’ in Darlinghurst.
Today, Tropfest offers biggest platform for short films on earth, and boasts an audience of more than 150,000.
Historically, the festival has taken place in Sydney’s The Domain, and last year it took place in Centennial Park after complications with funding.
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But this year, Sydney’s Tropfest will be held at Parramatta Park in Sydney’s West on Saturday February 11.
The judging panel will be headed by Rose Byrne, who joins a number of notable past judges including Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Samuel L. Jackson, Russell Crowe and Geoffrey Rush.
But that’s not even the most exciting part.
For the first time in the festival’s history, half of the finalists happen to be women.
Last year, of the 16 films, only one was directed by a woman, and only one featured a female protagonist.
According to the Tropfest website, an "eclectic range of films will be on show, ranging from thrillers and comedies to documentaries, romances and dramas," and the signature item for this year's festival will be a pineapple.
Amongst the films this year are Can’t I Sh#t in Peace?, which explores the life of a working mother and the lengths she will go to to achieve a moment of quiet, Diary of a Youtuber, which depicts the rise and fall of a famous Youtuber and the subject of online bullying, and The Birth (trailer featured above) which grapples with the reality of home births.
All 16 films will stream nationally on free-to-air channel Eleven.
Top Comments
Here's hoping the range for female representation is wider than two films about motherhood and one on popularity on social media....