Margot Robbie To Head Tropfest Jury For Festival’s Landmark Return

Barbie star Margot Robbie is set to visit Sydney to help relaunch Tropfest as the 2026 jury president, marking its return to Centennial Park, after six long years away. 

The short film screenings began unintentionally in 1993, when founder John Polson hosted a screening for 200 people at the Tropicana Caffé in Darlinghurst. It eventually evolved into showcasing 16 finalist films to an audience of up to 100,000 attendees.

The event will transform the park into a free outdoor cinema, featuring filmmakers from around the globe screening their work.

Robbie joins as the 2026 Tropfest jury president and gets added to the list of alumni 

Robbie, one of Hollywood’s top actors and producers, especially after Barbie’s billion-dollar box office run, has shared her enthusiasm about getting involved with the film program. 

“Tropfest has long been an important launchpad for filmmakers. It’s where creativity meets opportunity, and I’m incredibly excited to help celebrate and support the next wave of storytellers,” said Robbie.

Across 29 main events in Sydney, as well as satellite festivals in the USA, China, South-East Asia, New Zealand, and the UK, Tropfest has hosted events with live crowds of up to 100,000 people and millions more online.

Tropfest has helped launch the careers of filmmakers and actors like Joel Edgerton, Rebel Wilson, and Emma Freeman, and has attracted judges and supporters including Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, and Samuel L. Jackson.

“It’s a true privilege to welcome Margot Robbie home to lead the Tropfest Jury in 2026,” said Polson. “Her remarkable body of work, both in front of and behind the camera, perfectly reflects the creativity, courage and ambition we’re championing in Tropfest’s next chapter.”

The new Tropfest Foundation

Polson has shifted the 2026 event into a new not-for-profit foundation chaired by Sarah Murdoch, with NRL and Racing NSW boss Peter V’landys, producer and actor Bryan Brown, Terrace Tower CEO Weinberg, and Polson himself on the board.

The new Tropfest Foundation will also run a year-round program of workshops and storytelling talks, giving filmmakers access to mentors and industry connections.

Before the festival’s opening night, the revived Tropfest will run two days’ worth of workshops for up-and-coming filmmakers, with the main event livestreamed worldwide through YouTube.

How to enter Tropfest and what you could win

To qualify for competition, citizens and residents must create a new short film of seven minutes or less that incorporates the 2026 Tropfest Signature Item, Hourglass. The concept of the signature item is to prove the film was made specifically for the festival. International filmmakers can still enter through an out-of-competition stream, giving them the chance to have their films screened to the huge Tropfest audience, but they’re not eligible for the main prize rewards.

Entries for filmmakers open on 1 December 2025, and submissions must be uploaded to YouTube. Film entries close on 8 January 2026, and a shortlist of finalists will be announced later that month before their films premiere in the park.

Filmmakers who participate have the opportunity to win substantial cash prizes. Aspiring creatives will compete for a share of $100,000 through the new CommBank Tropfest Emerging Filmmakers Fund, with $50,000 awarded to the first-place winner, $30,000 to the second-place winner, and $20,000 to the third-place winner. Tropfest and CommBank are encouraging winners to reinvest the money in their careers and future projects.

The Tropfest free-to-the-public, short film festival takes place on Sunday, 22 February 2026 at Centennial Park.