by Tom Farrelly
I attended the first Tropfest in seven years last night. After such a significant hiatus, there were always going to be lofty expectations upon its return. So, did it live up to the hype or did nerves get in the way?
As the sun went down on Sunday night, Centennial Park hummed with anticipation for the long-awaited return of the world’s largest short film festival. The BoM radar threatened a thunderstorm, and lightning could be seen on the horizon.
A reported 35,000+ participants attended the free event, and it certainly felt packed. The films started at 7:00pm and if you arrived after 6:30pm you were hard pressed to find a spot on the grass that didn’t come with an obstructed view and wasn’t in a pedestrian thoroughfare. Not a knock on Tropfest, just a really solid turnout!
Before the films started, we were introduced to our 2026 jury of judges. This year’s jury was stacked, and it raised the stakes considerably. Most notably, Michael Philippou, Taron Egerton, Sarah Snook and jury president Margot Robbie. All attending in person, their raised ‘jury tent’ drew a huge crowd at their feet. A fishbowl moment for the stars and incredible access for the spectator, but when the program kicked off, the gawking fans dissipated to their picnic blankets and the focus turned to the films.
The opening short was Frazier Brockett’s Communicate. A clever, comically intense police interrogation film based around the board game Articulate. Its twist is incredible and everything that follows is hilarious, unfortunately the twist just comes too late in the piece. It’s always tough going first and given Communicate’s lack of love from the judges, the first-up curse seemed to strike again.
Another snubbed highlight was Stephen Packer’s Unprompted. A screenwriter turns to AI for inspiration, then finds himself within the horror that the computer is writing for him. Sure, the premise is a bit obvious, but I still hadn’t seen it on screen before. It was tongue in cheek, the character design VFX were incredible for a short and its gimp suit villain delivered the biggest laugh of the night. Despite flawless execution, Unprompted also walked away empty handed.
By the time the awards were to be presented, the rain had arrived. The crowd thinned out considerably, but an army of rusted on diehards braved the conditions and the particularly drawn out jury deliberation, desperate to see who was taking out the big $50k prize.
Nicky Tyndale-Biscoe’s Silent Night won big – picking up two awards: the Pandora Women’s Brilliance Award, and third place (taking home $20K!). Silent Night is a poignant, simple short film about Christmas spirit and the Australian strand of DNA of helping our neighbour. It handles the weighty topic of domestic violence tenderly and is evidence that a simple script and a stripped back idea is often the optimal formula for a 7-minute film.
Jasper Sharpe’s We Don’t Take Breaks picked up second place and deservedly so, walking away with $30k. Sharpe takes a formula, screws it up and says ‘watch this’. The chicken-shop set thriller is stylistic, manic, dense with fleeting, impactful characters but somehow impeccably well balanced. Sharpe channels Guy Ritchie, Kevin Smith and Edgar Wright all without losing his own voice, cementing himself as a talent to watch.
Jury president Margot Robbie graced the stage to present the grand prize. It was worth the long, wet wait when she announced Lianne Mackessy’s Crescendo as the 1st prize winner.
Crescendo tells the story of a single mother and singer whose babysitting plans fall through on the morning of a career-defining audition. It explores the age-old quandary of family vs. career ambition and whilst you go with it in the moment, its final message feels muddled and less ‘neat’ than it thinks it is, once you’re left to mull it over. It was definitely a highlight and no one will be too upset that it took out the $50k prize.
All in all, Tropfest returned with a bang. Generally, it boasted a strong finalist program. The range of quality between the best and worst films did feel like a chasm at times, (animated entry Sydney Confidential used generative AI, so expect backlash) but as with all things, I’m left remembering the great films and they were great enough for me to look back on the whole evening fondly.
Sure, the production of the event itself lacked polish. As a spectator, you know it’s all a bit thrown together. Host, Myf Warhurst did her best, but it was obvious at times that she was battling a dodgy autocue and an unclear line in her earpiece. It was also apparent that award recipients and presenters got on the wines. It can be a tough watch at times but for a free event, these hiccups can be sold as endearing as the nature of the event oozes enough charm to compensate. It’s not the Short Film Oscars [maybe the Golden Globes?!] and nor should it be.
