Biggest Short Film Festival in the World Comes to Prospect Park

This summer, Prospect Park hosts Tropfest, the world's biggest short film festival. Aspiring film makers, celebrity judges, movie lovers and Liev Schrieber will take the park by storm on June 22. Last year's festival at Bryant Park drew 10,000 people so, expect a shit ton of people, especially if the weather is nice.

Founder John Polson began Tropfest 21 years ago at a small cafe in Sydney, Australia. The years that followed saw Tropfest become a full fledged worldwide festival that has launched careers of filmmakers and actors. Alumni include Sam Worthington, Joel Edgerton and Elijah Wood's FX series, "Wilfred." Hugh Jackman presided over the events last year and entries were judged by producer Ted Hope, and actors Judah Friedlander and Rose Byrne.

"[W]here better to stage [Tropfest] than at what has emerged as the center of the creative world, Brooklyn," Polson said, intelligently catering to the ton of would-be creative types that have become a hallmark of our borough. This year's host, Liev Schreiber (who happened to co-star with Hugh Jackman in the awful “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”), echoed those sentiments, albeit it in a little more inclusive manner: “New York is an incredible opportunity for emerging filmmakers to have their work seen by a huge audience.”

Submissions are still open to the public, until May 16. No film too short, no budget too little, no subject too existential nor angsty. Entries must, however, be shorter than seven minutes and include this year’s “Tropfest Signature Item”: “bridge.” I think I prefer last year’s choice of “bagel” but that doesn’t matter to you. The winner walks away with $20,000 and access to producers via the Motion Picture Association of America.

Learn more at Tropfest’s website. And if you want to watch last year’s winner, “Emptys” by Josh Leake, it’s available on YouTube.