Tropfest has launched a new creative platform and brand identity, ‘Dream Small’, created in partnership with creative agency BMF.
The new creative platform invites Australia’s best storytellers to bring their short films to the big screen.
The platform launches following the NSW Government’s three-year, multi-million-dollar commitment to the festival. In February 2026, Tropfest received more than 700 submissions and tens of thousands of people came along to watch the 16 finalist films.
Next year’s Tropfest returns to its spiritual home in Sydney’s Domain.
Founded by filmmaker and actor John Polson in 1993 as a screening for friends in a Darlinghurst cafe, Tropfest has grown into the world’s largest short film festival and one of a few genuine entry points into the Australian screen industry.
Alumni include Sam Worthington, Rebel Wilson, Mia Wasikowska, David Wenham, Joel and Nash Edgerton, Murray Bartlett, Harriet Dyer, Patrick Brammall, Bruna Papandrea, Robert Connolly, Genevieve Clay-Smith and Damon Gameau.
John Polson, Founder and Festival Director of Tropfest, said: “When I screened my short film for friends at the Tropicana Caffe back in 1993, I had no idea it would lead to any of this. There’s so much focus on ambition and “dreaming big” these days, but at Tropfest we celebrate the little (short) things — by definition. From those little things, big things grow,” Polson said.
“That’s the whole idea behind Tropfest, and it’s exactly what Dream Small is all about. You don’t need permission. You just need an idea, the commitment to get it made, and the nerve to show it to an audience. Thirty-three years on, that’s still the heart of the festival.”
‘Dream Small’ positions Tropfest as the place where short stories go a long way, championing bold, original work. The platform spans the February festival and Tropfest’s year-round programs, including Trop Jr, Roughcut and Tropfest Runways, and rolls out across film, OOH and social.
Tropfest executive director Britt Wickes said: “The night in The Domain is the heart of Tropfest, and the opportunity now is everything around it. More than 95 per cent of the people who watched our 2026 finalist films on YouTube were outside Australia, so the appetite for Australian short film is already global and already there. We’re building a brand that connects the festival, that audience and our year-round filmmaker programs into something our partners can be part of all year.”
BMF creative director Casey Schweikert added: “We love that ‘Dream Small’ inverts the advice every creative person has been given since they first picked up a camera.”
Adds Rees Steel, creative director, BMF: “Great art, towering emotions and Hollywood careers don’t always start with visions of grandeur. They start with a bit of daring, seven minutes, a phone in your pocket and a ‘yeah, why not’.”
The 2027 festival moves moves to a Saturday night for the first time in 34 years. Tropfest is free to attend, presented by CommBank and streamed globally on YouTube.
Credits
Client: TROPFEST
Creative Agency: BMF
Branding and Design: BMF
Media Agency: Bolster
