John Polson on bringing ‘Tropfest’ back from the dead, with a little help from Margot Robbie episode artwork

EPISODE · Dec 5, 2025 · 40 MIN

John Polson on bringing ‘Tropfest’ back from the dead, with a little help from Margot Robbie

from Good Weekend Talks · host The Age and Sydney Morning Herald

In this episode, we talk to John Polson. You might know him from films such as The Sum of Us and, more recently, The Dry – or for the shows he’s directed including Elementary and The Walking Dead. But you might not know the remarkable story behind Tropfest – long described as the world’s biggest short film festival – which Polson founded and is bringing back after a six-year absence. Today he talks to Sydney Morning Herald senior writer Garry Maddox about the controversial highs and lows of the colourful festival, the high-profile team helping him revive it (from Bryan Brown to Sarah Murdoch), and how he landed Margot Robbie as jury president.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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John Polson on bringing ‘Tropfest’ back from the dead, with a little help from Margot Robbie

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