John Polson On Tropfest And The Short Film Empire's Big Comeback

It's been 25 years since John Polson launched Tropfest in a cafe in Sydney's Darlinghurst. But in that quarter of a century — during which the event has grown to be the largest of its type in the world — it's the past 14 months that stand out for the Aussie actor turned short film impresario. "I can honestly say that we've had our highest highs and lowest lows in the past year or so," Polson explains. "It's been a nightmare and a dream, but going through that took a toll. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, to be honest."

The story of Tropfest's tumultuous, year-long roller-coaster ride would not be out of place, appropriately enough, in the pages of a film script. It's a tale of adversity, tenacity and the kind of underdog comeback that Hollywood producers salivate over.

In November 2015, just weeks before the event was scheduled to open, Polson was suddenly forced to announce the cancellation of Tropfest due to a financial implosion. Disgruntled and out of pocket contractors went public with stories of unpaid invoices, to the tune of almost half a million dollars, and reports of a major schism between Polson and his long-time Tropfest partner Michael Laverty, the man behind the disastrously bungled budgets, added the sting of a scandal to the incident. Faced with insurmountable debt, an absconded business partner and no means of meeting the shortfall, Polson's only option was to pull the plug.

"It's been a nightmare and a dream, but going through that took a toll."

As film-worthy as this synopsis sounds, the reality was a deeply traumatic experience for Polson. After helming the festival for two-and-a-half decades, he had built the Tropfest brand into an internationally respected franchise, with sister events in New Zealand, South East Asia and the US. From his perspective within the now fractured organisation, however, those years of endeavour seemed to be in tatters. Calling off the festival was not only a loss for Australia's filmgoers, it was a great personal failure for Polson, one from which recovery was by no means certain. "That was obviously the lowest of low points for me. I was put in the position of what I called, at the time, 'postponing' the festival, but I really believed in my heart of hearts that that was it. We were cancelling permanently; Tropfest was dead."

Fortunately, 2015's catastrophe was not the funeral knell Polson anticipated. "It seemed like the entire idea of Tropfest was basically in the gutter, but then there was this incredible groundswell of support, within hours of the announcement. I thought, 'Okay, well that will last for an hour or two.' But it just kept building and building, for days and then weeks," Polson recalls. "Then the phones started to ring with offers of support."

Most notably, CGU Insurance approached Polson to become a major partner, eventually underwriting a revived 2016 event last February and resuscitating the all but flat-lined business. Relocating to Parramatta — a move that prompted grumbles from some inner-city Tropfest fans put out by the schlep to the Western suburbs — Tropfest's filmmakers-first essence was preserved, while its administrative ethos got a much-needed shot in the arm.

Getting the accounts in order was only part of Tropfest's reincarnation. "We've rebuilt the brand and the business from the ground up, inch by inch," Polson shares. "We're now a not-for-profit company, with a great board and the sort of governance and transparency that comes along with that. I won't say I'm happy about what happened, because I'd be lying through my teeth, but I will say we've found a pretty major silver lining, in re-examining literally every single decision that goes into running this event."

It's not just financial backers who have shown faith in Tropfest. Heavyweights of Australian cinema, such as Mad Max creator George Miller, a member of the newly appointed Tropfest board, and A-lister Rose Byrne, a leading member of the judging panel, have stood firm with Polson to realise this latest chapter in the festival's history. "Fame isn't the reason we want these kinds of people involved. We want people who are talented, and a lot of times, because they're talented, they're also famous," Polson candidly notes. "George is a great example — he's a fucking genius in my opinion, and he's supported us since the beginning. I mean, he was literally sitting on the curb outside the Tropicana Cafe in 1994 telling me this was the greatest thing he'd ever seen. When you get people of that sort of calibre working with you, it does attract publicity, but they bring so much more than that to the table."

Tropfest 2017 is 7 — 11 Feb in Parramatta Park.