There is still hope Tropfest can be saved with the government and fans rallying behind the troubled short film festival.
Tropfest founder John Polson announced on Wednesday he was forced to cancel the world's largest short film festival because of a "terrible and irresponsible mismanagement of Tropfest funds".
The festival is held annually in Sydney's Centennial Park.
"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," Polson said in a statement.
"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."
NSW Major Events Minister Stuart Ayres said the government would continue to financially support the event but stopped short of offering more funding.
"We are interested in getting the festival up and going again ... we'll do whatever we can to support it," Ayres said on Thursday.
Intersection, the former creative agency responsible for raising Tropfest sponsorship, said the festival's financial woes had been "prevalent for some time".
The agency also accused the festival of failing to pay invoices from more than two years ago.
Tropfest's shock cancellation got fans trying to drum up support on social media with a #savetropfest hashtag to resurrect the beloved festival.
However, some used the opportunity to criticise the once grass roots festival for becoming too commercial and over reliant on unpaid labour.
"#Tropfest has become too commercial. It's a Sydney event. It doesn't need to be broadcast live to other cities or the s**t show on SBS," tweeted Victoria Bateman.
Polson has started legal action against the festival's unnamed management company.
Polson said he has been "overwhelmed" by the outpouring of support.
"We are currently assessing our next steps," he said in a statement.
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