Tropfest 2015 | Gold Coast | Australia

And no, unfortunately that isn"t as dirty as it sounds. The world"s largest short film festival, the Movie Extra Tropfest, is on again this weekend and by some beautiful sign from the Gods, it"s coming to the Gold Coast. I know what you"re thinking; `so what? I don"t live on the Gold Coast." But for those of us who call the cultural vacuum home, having an event like this each year is a glorious reminder that yes, there is artistic expression and free-thinking individuals somewhere. Rejoice!

The festival is one of Australia"s most iconic cultural events and has grown from humble beginnings in the early nineties at the Tropicana Café in Sydney, to what is now the largest outdoor short film festival globally. Out of thousands of films that entered, the 16 finalists will be screened on Sunday night with the 14 finalists in the Trop Jr category playing in the afternoon.

The finalists are broadcast nationally to a live audience of more than 150,000 via simultaneous satellite broadcast in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart, Canberra, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Perth. A fantastic opportunity for up and coming filmmakers, the top entrants compete for prizes worth $150,000 across several categories.

Tropfest festival director John Polson, who also directed the Russel Crowe-starring film Tenderness (for those of you playing at home)
Festival director and founder John Polson says watching the entries is the best part of his job, but choosing the final 16 is the "the toughest"".
"This year"s line-up encompasses an incredible, entertaining and thought-provoking mix of comedy, drama, animation, documentary and even mocumentary,"" he says.
"There are some familiar faces amongst the 16 finalists, including some past Tropfest finalists, but it"s also great to be able to showcase some of Australia"s best, new filmmaking talent.""

The flick I"m, er, rooting for is Testicle, an animated short film from a duo in Queensland about a baby born with one testicle. You"ve got to admit, it"s pretty ballsy *insert face slap here*. The festival highlights will also be broadcast live on the Movie Extra Channel. If you feel like you"re missing out, never fear because Tropfest is a global event and the New York leg is one of the biggest so I suggest check out the website here for all the details on a Tropfest near you.

VIA «The Largest Outdoor Short Film Festival — Tropfest 2015» by Jane Storm