The founder of the world's biggest short film festival, Tropfest, has declared the signature event back as a permanent feature on Australia's arts event calendar after its near-death experience last year.
Tropfest will celebrate its 25th anniversary on February 11, 2017 in Centennial Park with Mad Max director George Miller agreeing to join a new board to ensure the festival's longevity, and a new long-term sponsor, John Polson has announced.
Other changes include a not-for-profit business model, a focus on attracting more women filmmakers, and a first-time movie to be shown at the main event.
"They say great things come out of crisis," Polson said. "We've definitely had our fair share of crises in the past nine months, but now it seems Tropfest's future is brighter than ever.
"A multi-year agreement with CGU Insurance as foundation partner, incredible, seemingly infinite support from the Australian general public, and a not-for-profit company that will ensure transparency in moving forward.
"Not to mention one of the world's most exciting storytellers, George Miller, joining us as a board member! Life couldn't be much better for Tropfest."
Miller was among a small crowd of 200 people who attended the inaugural screening of short films in the Tropicana Café in Darlinghurst in 1993.
Over the years Tropfest expanded into an outdoor festival attended by more than 1.6 million filmgoers, and spread to global locations.
Last November a funding crisis forced the event to be cancelled, with Polson describing the announcement to shut down as the most difficult one he'd made in Tropfest's history.
Sponsors helped rescue the event and Hollywood stars Mel Gibson and Simon Baker were among celebrity judges at the February 14 festival attended by 90,000 people.
But long term the venture looked insecure. Polson's crowd funding initiative to raise $100,000 for a business review failed to reach its target.
Last week, Tropfest NZ announced its festival did not have enough funding to present a 2017 competition and event but quickly found two white knights, one of which was New Zealand's largest screen production company South Pacific Pictures, known for Whale Rider, Sione's Wedding, Shortland Street and Outrageous Fortune.
In Australia, it is not known the status of possible legal action between creditors and Tropfest's former management. Polson has signed on with a management consultancy to create a robust long-term business model.
The short film competition - themed on a signature item each year - provides a springboard for budding filmmakers. The presence of George Miller is likely to counter criticism that the festival had, in recent years, been rewarding populist filmmaking over quality. This year's word was 'card'. Next year it will be 'pineapple'.
