Tropfest 2012 from Bryant Park New York

Event: Tropfest 2012

When: 23 June 2012 , 3 – 11pm

Where: Bryant Park, New York

Alexi Murdoch, Doveman, and local indie-rockers Milagres will be the musical performers at Tropfest New York’s main event June 23rd in Bryant Park.

The free event will be hosted by Hugh Jackman and will close the weekend-long celebration of the festival’s 20th anniversary, which will also feature the short film competition that night.

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

Tropfest began in 1993 as a screening for 200 people in a cafe in Sydney but has since become the largest platform for short films in the world. Tropfest Australia takes place in February each year in front of a live audience of approximately 150,000. The main event takes place in Sydney but live satellite events are also staged in Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart, Perth and other cities. The event is broadcast live on television and webcast to viewers around Australia and the world.

Increasingly, Tropfest events take place in cities around the world including Abu Dhabi, London, Berlin, Toronto, Bangkok, and New York. The inaugural Tropfest Arabia, encompassing approximately 33 countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa, took place in Abu Dhabi in November 2011.

Tropfest distinguishes itself from other events by being a 'content generation' platform, rather than merely 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.

Tropfest held annual New York screenings in 2006-2008. Signature items were a manhole cover, a slice, and a sunflower respectively. In November, 2011, it was announced that Tropfest was returning to New York in the Summer of 2012. Filmmakers were invited to 'grab a camera, start shooting and tell their story through film'.

After months of rumors regarding a possible Tropfest Las Vegas, it was finally announced Tropfest will collaborate with The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas to present Tropfest Las Vegas - described as 'a 20th birthday celebration including live indie-spirited music and an All Star Competition.'

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. As a result, Tropfest has become known as the undisputed premiere 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.