Tropfest Opens In Sydney, Australia

Australian actor / director / producer John Polson will produce a multi-million dollar film tribute to Sydney in the last half of this year, with many of Australia’s best-known and respected Oscar award winners keen to get in on the action. The news came to light today - open day of Tropfest Sydney. Polson has confirmed a number of Aussie actors are signed for his 'ode to Sydney' - with the list said to contain Russell Crowe, Geoffrey Rush and Cate Blanchett.

"It won’t be a huge time investment, but in the end it will feel like some of Australia’s best talent got together and made a film, which can only be a great thing," Polson said.

"It will happen in the second half of 2012," said Polson. "It’s a film which is a series of short segments that are all set in Sydney that are made either by people who live in Sydney, who love Sydney or who are from Sydney."

"We’ve put together a dozen of the most exciting film names, certainly in Australia, but also around the world. It’s a pretty incredible list," Polson said. "I mean, look at the talent we have here - people either born here or living here - and yet no-one’s ever really tapped into that."

It was a big day for Polson, with his Tropfest opening - a celebration of 20 years of the iconic short film festival.

It's estimated that about 150,000 people saw the event live, with the Sydney leg taking place at The Domain, and the forecast of rain (which got heavier as the night went on) didn't appear to dip the crowd.

Recognized as the largest short film festival in the world, Tropfest is also praised for "its enormous contribution to the development of the Australian film industry by providing unique platforms for emerging filmmakers through its events and initiatives, and new and expanded audiences for their work."

Finalists... KITCHEN SINK DRAMA, THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS, THE MISTAKE, RGB, PHOTO BOOTH, ONE THING, MY CONSTELLATION, MIN MIN, MATCHBOX BROTHERS, LEMONADE STAND, JACK & LILY, “I’M FREE TO BE ME”, HOW MANY MORE DOCTORS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHTBULB?, BOO!, ALICE’S BABY

Nicole Kidman Appears At Tropfest 2012. Having flown back to Australia this past week with her family, Nicole Kidman stepped out for an appearance at the Tropfest 2012 short film festival in Sydney. The 45-year-old actress was smiling a lot as she journey through the arrivals area, then onto the black carpet and beyond.

Tropfest (Australia) www.tropfest.com/au

Tropfest www.tropfest.com

Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr www.flickr.com/evarinaldiphotography

Eva Rinaldi Photography www.evarinaldi.com