Australian Filmmaker John Polson actually lives multiple lives. Besides having started out being an actor since he was 17, and then a writer and director ("Hide and Seek" with Robert DeNiro and "Swimfan") he created the short movie festival, Tropfest, in Sydney. Now held there every year since 1993, finalists are screened via satellite to outdoor venues all over Australia.

As the creative director of what is now called Sony Tropfest, it has become the world's largest short film festival and an international one as well. With 2006's Tribeca Film Festival, Tropfest@Tribeca will debut offering eight original films and a selection of eight from the Down Under version. Among those judging the Tribeca Tropfest will be Darren Aronofsky, Matt Dillon and Naomi Watts. (April 28, at dusk)

Q: What are the origins of Tropfest and what is the Australian version like?

JP: It takes place on the last Sunday night of February each year (the Australian summer). it began as a cast and crew screening of a short film I made back in 1993. I was expecting 20 or so people at the Tropicana Cafe but around 200 showed up. I put the word out we were going to have a festival, nine people made films the next year and 1000 showed up. This year there were around 800 entries, all made specifically for the event (one rule is they have to include an item each year to show they were made for the event--e.g. a bubble, coffee bean, pickle, etc) and there were around 150,000 at the event--mostly in Sydney at the domain (our equivalent to Central Park), but also beamed via satellite to all other capital cities. A celebrity panel watches the 16 finalists on the night with the audience and judges them; past judges have been Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, Sam Jackson, Keanu Reeves, John Woo, Selma Hayek, Brian Singer, and more.

Q: What surprises have come from making a festival?

JP: The surprise with Tropfest in Australia was mostly about the enormous appetite people seem to have for short films made (mostly) by unknown filmmakers. From an audience the first year of around 200, to a audience in 2005 of something like 150,000, I never stop being surprised by how much interest there has been in the event.

Q: Has making a festival changed you as a filmmaker?

JP: Probably not. I still feel like I have the same passions as a filmmaker as I've always had, they're probably just a little more heightened now because of the inspiration of seeing other people following their own passions.

Q: Does being both a director and actor influence what you like in short films?

JP: I think sometimes it's more the other way around--I can't help but be influenced by some of the shorts I see as Tropfest entries or elsewhere. Often, since with short films there's little or no money at stake, filmmakers are able to take great risks--which many times pay off. From an acting point of view, though, yes; I usually try to be very conscious of strong performances because I think that is largely what makes up a strong film whether it be a long or short one.

Q: What drew to short films in the first place?

JP: Like many people, I was drawn to shorts out of necessity. I felt a great passion to make films--and knew that it was unlikely to get any chance to get a bigger project going without at least a few shorts up my sleeve. over the course of this, though, I fell in love with the short format in its own right.

Q: What shorts inspired you?

JP: Probably "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" [which had been on "The Twilight Zone"] has had the greatest influence on me. Someone told me the story maybe 10 years before I ever saw it, and yet the story stayed with me all of that time. I didn't even know the name of it all that time--just what the story was, and how much it had stayed with me. I now have a copy and pull it out every now and then for inspiration. But many other shorts, too, often those that have been entered into Tropfest, have inspired me. The great thing about short filmmakers is that they often have the courage to make their own rules--and when that happens, it can be very exciting to watch.

Q: Has making shorts been a big challenge to you?

JP: Yes. I think making shorts--where you're often working on very limited budgets, and sometimes with unpaid crews and casts--can be very taxing. But I've always felt, too, that when someone's not being paid to work on your film, you know they're only there for one reason; they want to be there. And that creates a great energy for your movie.

Q: What have you learned about the filmmaking world by creating a festival?

JP: Creating a film festival means you can't help but be more and more aware of other filmmakers' views of the world, other people's visions. you also learn a great deal about people management, which is an often overlooked--but enormous--part of being a filmmaker. You need to deal with sponsors--which is often like dealing with the financier of a movie--whether it's a studio or someone else. so there are a surprising number of similarities when it comes down to it.

Q: Is it different to reach out to a homegrown audience rather than an international one?

JP: I think it is, yes. with Tropfest@tribeca, we're very aware of keeping the roots of what the festival has been for many years in Australia, but keeping in mind that it will be a New York audience—an international audience. I think this will happen in part naturally because the entries we will get (and are already getting!) will come from the international short film community.

For more info please visit:
www.tribecafilmfestival.org/tropfest@tribeca   or   www.Tropfest.com

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