Film lovers in Japan will be delighted to add another short film festival to the calendar this year as Tropfest, the worlds largest short film Festival, lands in Yokohama later this month.
The Australian Embassy Tokyo will be screening some of Tropfest’s most loved short films in Yokohama on Saturday 31 May 2014.
The free event will be held in the beautiful outdoor space of Yokohama Minato Mirai Grand Mall Park where a variety of Australian cuisine and wines will also be on offer.
Tropfest Founder and Director, John Polson, is thrilled to welcome Japanese film lovers to the global Tropfest community, “There is a growing global appetite for short film and I can’t wait for Japanese audiences to experience what Tropfest has to offer. I think they’re going to love it.”
Tropfest had humble beginnings at the Tropicana Café in Sydney’s Darlinghurst where an eager crowd of 200 showed up to watch a short film screening which John Polson had organised.
Twenty two years on, Tropfest attracts a live audience of around 150,000 in Australia and the Festival has grown internationally with standalone competitions in New Zealand, South East Asia, New York and the Middle East.
Date Saturday 31 May, 2014
Time 11:30am – 7:00pm
Opening Ceremony held at 2:00pm
Location Yokohama Minato Mirai Grand Mall Park
(in between the Yokohama Museum and shopping facility Mark Is)
About Tropfest
Tropfest is Australia’s most prestigious short film festival and one of its most iconic cultural events. It is also the largest short film festival in the world. Founded in 1993 by film director John Polson as a small screening for family and friends at Sydney’s Tropicana Café, the Festival now attracts a national event audience of around 150,000 people. The event is hosted in Sydney with a live national broadcast on SBS Two. The short film competition is unique in that every film must be made specifically for Tropfest, will premiere at Tropfest Australia and include the Tropfest Signature Item (TSI), which changes each year. 16 Finalists are selected from an average 650 entries. Tropfest has expanded internationally to include new competitions and festivals in North America, (New York), the Middle East, New Zealand and South East Asia.
Yokohama
The event will be co-hosted by Yokohama Minato Mirai 21 and supported by Yokohama City Culture and Tourism Bureau. Yokohama itself has a population of 3.7 million and can be reached by a 30 minute drive from central Tokyo. The “Creative City” has many art institutions and cultural events, including the famous Yokohama Art Triennale, the oldest international art festival in Japan. Yokohama is also one of the host cities of the Short Shorts Film Festival which will take place from 30 May to 15 June 2014 at Brillia Short shorts Theatre.