Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival. It has also quickly become known as the world's first truly global film festival.

Tropfest began in 1993 as a screening for 200 people in a cafe in Sydney but has since become the largest platform for short films in the world. Tropfest Australia takes place in February each year in front of a live audience of approximately 150,000. The main event takes place in Sydney but live satellite events are also staged in Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart, Perth and other cities. The event is broadcast live on television and webcast to viewers around Australia and the world.

Increasingly, Tropfest events take place in cities around the world including Abu Dhabi, London, Berlin, Toronto, Bangkok, and New York. The inaugural Tropfest Arabia, encompassing approximately 33 countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa, took place in Abu Dhabi in November 2011.

Tropfest distinguishes itself from other events by being a 'content generation' platform, rather than merely an exhibition platform. Filmmakers are required to create new works for the festival which must include an item, known as the "Tropfest Signature Item" (TSI) and which changes each year. The films must be less than 7 minutes (including titles and credits) and be world premieres at the Tropfest event.