A former winner of Tropfest says she's "devastated" for this year’s finalists after it was announced the short film festival is to be cancelled after an alleged financial discrepancy.
Genevieve Clay-Smith won in 2009 for her film "Be My Brother," and said Tropfest is a vital platform for emerging artists.
“Making a short film is a labour of love. You use your own resources, time and finances,” Ms Clay-Smith told SBS News.
“[Tropfest] is an amazing way to have a story you want to share with the world be seen by the world.”
The festival founder and director John Polson issued a statement on Wednesday night saying "terrible and irresponsible mismanagement of Tropfest funds" had forced the cancellation of the event.
"Despite a challenging sponsorship climate, Tropfest has done reasonably well in attracting support this year; however, to my great surprise, the management company has informed us that it is unable to proceed," he statement said.
"My heart goes out to this years 16 filmmaking finalists, to our incredible list of sponsors and partners, and of course to our loyal and beloved audience."
He asked the festival's supporters to "bear with us while we figure out how we can rebound from this disaster".
Some fans used social media for the festival to go ahead with a smaller budget.
Others expressed their sadness at the loss of the iconic film festival.
Mr Polson has launched legal action against the festival's management company but said it was too early to tell what had actually happened.
A spokeswoman for SBS said Tropfest was "a wonderful event which has nurtured emerging filmmakers for 23 years".
"As the broadcast partner for the past few years SBS has been proud to offer a platform to showcase this talent and we are incredibly disappointed by this news," she said.
"We are absorbing this announcement and looking at what it means.”
Tropfest has come a long way since its humble beginnings at this Sydney cafe in 1993. It's now broadcast across the country and includes international festivals in New Zealand, South East Asia, the United States and the Middle East.
Paul Fenech won third prize for his short film Pizza Man in 1995, and told SBS without Tropfest there “would be no Fat Pizza.”
“There is nowhere for young film makers to go other than YouTube. I think there should be institutions that are supporting new talent,” he said.
But of the film institutions that do exist, many are struggling to secure funding.
Sydney film school Metro Screen is closing down in December after 34 years. Metro Screen spent 18 months trying to secure funding after cuts to Screen Australia’s budget affected the business.
“The great thing about Tropfest is it’s aspirational,” said Metro Screen Chair, Kath Shelper.
“To have that taken away in the same week Metro Screen's been taken away means it's a very dark week for emerging filmmakers.”
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