Tropfest
A 360-degree audience-facing experience under the stars.
Tropfest returned to Sydney in February 2026, marking the comeback of the world’s largest short film festival after a six-year hiatus. TDC delivered the festival’s main LED screens and show control system. Holding the worlds largest short film festival means the images and LED screens must be perfect, TDC were the specialist chosen to ensure precision images displayed on the LED screens. Tropfest was livestreamed globally from the park. TDC provided a flown triangular LED configuration – three ROE BQ4 screens suspended across three 11m truss spans, arranged to create a 360-degree audience-facing viewing experience within the circular park layout.This wasn’t a single flat wall.It was a suspended, geometric show structure.
Structure & Systems Design
Delivering a festival-scale screening in an open-air environment demands disciplined signal control and structural planning.
Our scope included ROE BQ4 LED across the triangular three-screen configuration, with primary playback delivered via external broadcast infrastructure. A Barco E2 4K processor sat in line within the signal path, providing contingency control and rapid technical intervention if required.
Flown on motorised truss, the structure was engineered for outdoor deployment and precise geometric alignment within the circular park footprint.
Outdoor Delivery
Open-air festival environments introduce variables you can’t control – weather, sightlines, ambient light and audience density.
Control what you can: geometry, rigging integrity, signal path discipline and crew coordination.
From prep through bump-in, rehearsal, operation and bump-out, the system was delivered as a live show build – not simply a screening.
Tropfest isn’t just a film festival.
It’s engineered infrastructure supporting storytelling at scale.
A Platform for Storytelling
Since 1993, Tropfest has launched careers and championed emerging voices. The 2026 program featured finalists across multiple genres, judged by a high-profile panel including Margot Robbie and Sarah Snook.
Behind the storytelling is infrastructure that has to perform without distraction.
TDC’s involvement at Tropfest 2026 reflects our capability to support large-scale cultural events – delivering structured, reliable show systems for live audiences and broadcast viewers alike.
Next Project