World’s largest short film festival Tropfest returns to Sydney in 2026 after six-year hiatus

The world’s largest short film festival returns to Sydney in 2026 after a six-year hiatus. Tropfest founder John Polson told media the free event that draws crowds of about 100,000 people would be held at its Centennial Park home on February 22. “It’s a gift not just to Sydneysiders, really anybody from NSW who wants to come in. We often have people come in from interstate or even from around the world,” he said. “We’re very excited to have Tropfest back.” Mr Polson said people told him there’d been a real hole in the industry in the six years Tropfest had been gone, “I’m not saying we’re coming here to save the day, but I think a lot of people have used Tropfest as a bit of a leg-up in the industry, and the proof is in the pudding,” he said. “There’s a laundry list of names, and people are doing incredible work around the world and around Australia that have come through Tropfest, and that’s why we’re here.” The film festival has launched the careers of many well-known Australian actors and directors such as Nash and Joel Edgerton, Sam Worthington, Rebel Wilson, Paul Fenech and Emma Freeman. The event stopped in 2015 because of what Polson claimed at the time was “financial mismanagement” but was rescued by CGU Insurance the following year and ran until 2019. Mr Polson said the NSW government was one of the first organisations to come back to the party and wanted the event to be held annually. “And that’s what we’re doing, so February here we come, and we’re planning to be here forever,” he said. Event organisers have established a new not-for-profit foundation, which is being chaired by Sarah Murdoch with support from board members including Peter V’landys, Brian Brown, Richard Weinberg and Mr Polson, to oversee the festival. Premier Chris Minns said Tropfest was a gift for Sydney and a homegrown film festival the government wanted back. “Sydney needs Tropfest, and we’re so happy and over the moon that the festival is returning for two primary reasons,” he said. “Firstly, it’s a great creative outlet for young filmmakers who are coming through the industry to get exposure, to learn their craft, to tell their story on a massive canvas because Tropfest is known not just in Australia but around the world. “Secondly, it’s a great event for Sydney. “It’s free and with so much being so expensive, this is an annual event that means that families can get together with their friends and celebrate a great cultural institution.” Mr Minns said Tropfest would continue to run as an annual event into the future. “For so many years, since its very beginning, people have said in the film and television industry that they got their start in Tropfest and that’s going to continue into the future,” he said. “I can’t wait to see the stories that will be created as a result of this annual competition, and in the years ahead, those stories will reflect what life was like in Sydney in 2025.” Arts Minister John Graham said the announcement created a great deal of excitement and was great news for Sydney and the NSW film industry. “Tropfest was a big part of the culture of Sydney, and central to providing that culture was free events where the community could gather,” he said. “We’ve lost a bit of that over the years, so to have Tropfest back and to have that culture back is hugely important, particularly as people are under a bit of financial pressure. “We’ve invested $380m in the last state budget into the screen industry, that’s important because NSW is such an important centre for the screen industry. “When film production happens in Australia, half the time it happens here in NSW and we’re determined to keep that a strength.”