We once again ask filmmakers to get out there and start making short films for the world's largest short film festival. There are two competitions: Tropfest; and Trop Jr which is for filmmakers aged 15 and under at the date of the event.

As always films can be about anything but need to include the annual Tropfest Signature Item (TSI), which for 2019 is “CANDLE”, for Tropfest entries and "PIZZA" for Trop Jr entries.

Tropfest is about great stories, told well.

All films must follow the Tropfest Guidelines & Rules for submission: they must be made specifically for Tropfest, not be seen in public beforehand and be a world premiere, (including on-line), include the TSI and not be longer than 7 minutes in total.

Tropfest was established to encourage production, not just exhibition. Our event is not just about ‘showing’ films – it’s about ‘making’ them. We aim to provide you with the opportunity to showcase your work to as wide an audience as possible, not only with the fantastic premiere your film will receive if selected for Tropfest Australia 2019 but also by utilising a variety of distribution outlets following the festival.

Our event takes place on Saturday 9 February 2019 in Sydney, Australia and there will be a series of events surrounding the main screening, including a live broadcast, TropFair the Tropfest Craft Awards and the Trop Jr screening and Awards.

The winner of Tropfest Australia 2019 will take home a fabulous prize package, including a brand new Holden vehicle worth more than $30,000, a return trip to Los Angeles for a film immersion course and meetings with screen industry executives, courtesy of the MPA, $10,000 cash and membership to the Australian Director's Guild.

Tropfest Jury members who determine the award winners have included Susan Sarandon, Rachel Griffiths, Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Mel Gibson, Toni Colette, Ewan McGregor, Salma Hayek, Baz Luhrmann, Samuel L Jackson, Elijah Wood, Rose Byrne, George Miller and many other screen industry luminaries.

AWARDS for Tropfest and Trop Jr:

1st Place Winner
Prizes include $10,000 cash, a brand new Holden Equinox car, a return trip to Los Angeles, USA, for a film immersion course and a membership to the Australian Directors Guild.
2nd Place runner up
3rd Place runner
Best Actor
Best Actress

Plus the Tropfest Craft Awards which recognise excellence a range of film craft areas such as Cinematography, Editing, VFX, Design, Composing, Screenwriting and Production Design etc. are awarded at Tropfest 27.

ALL FILMMAKERS MUST ADHERE TO THE FOLLOWING RULES & GUIDELINES:

• Your film must be made specifically for Tropfest Australia 2019
• Your film must never have been seen in public (including on-line)
• Your film must be no longer than 7 minutes (including titles and credits)
• Your film must contain the 2019 Tropfest Signature Item (TSI) of "CANDLE" or "PIZZA" for Trop Jr.
• Your film must be in 16:9 ratio and PAL format
• Your film must be uploaded by midnight AEST (24:00 Australian Eastern Standard Time) on Friday 4 January 2019.
• You must agree to ALL terms and conditions of entry as specified in the Terms & Conditions on our website.

You can download a Filmmaker Entry Kit at www.tropfest.org.au which has more details and lots of information for first-time entrants and filmmakers.

**IMPORTANT**

** PLEASE COMPLETE ALL FIELDS IN THE SUBMISSION FORM, INCLUDING THE SPECIAL QUESTIONS AT THE END.

If your film is chosen for shortlisting or as a finalist we will also need the following materials, that you can upload at the time of submission so they are there. if you have them, ready if we need them:

1. Electronic Press Kit (EPK) - including synopsis, director's biography, cast and crew lists and other information about the film.
2. Film Stills - 4 stills, including at least 1 hero image (the one we would use for any publicity and programming) and at least 1 Behind the Scenes (BTS) image. Your hero image should be landscape format and 470 wide x 265 high pixels.
3. Director's headshot - portrait and 265 wide x 265 high pixels.

You MUST include a contact name, email address and phone number, suburb, state and postcode with your entry.