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Read the press release here.

TropFest Announces Panel of Celebrity Judges

By Mary Johnson | June 13, 2012 3:19pm
Director Greg McLean, actress Rose Byrne and Tropfest  founder John Polson. Byrne was recently named one of the judges for the 20th annual TropFest in Bryant Park on Saturday, June 23, 2012.
Director Greg McLean, actress Rose Byrne and Tropfest founder John Polson. Byrne was recently named one of the judges for the 20th annual TropFest in Bryant Park on Saturday, June 23, 2012.
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Tropfest

MANHATTAN — Hugh Jackman won’t be the only celebrity heading to Bryant Park on June 23 for the 20th annual TropFest, the world’s largest small film festival.

The event, which will be hosted by Wolverine himself, will also feature a panel of celebrity judges that will include “X Men” star Rose Byrne, Judah Friedlander of “30 Rock,” Jennifer Westfeldt, Jon Hamm's longtime partner and director of “Friends with Kids,” and producer Ted Hope, who completed “Dark Horse” in 2011.

Those celebrities will be joined on the judging panel by Scott Foundas, a film critic and the associate director of programming at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

TropFest is composed entirely of films less than seven minutes in length. This year is the first time TropFest is expanding beyond Australia, with festivals in both New York and in Las Vegas.

"It is a universal concept to see great short films by emerging directors ... for free," the festival's founder John Polson, an Australian-born but Carroll Gardens-dwelling director, told DNAinfo.com New York when the festival was announced in May.

"It is a no-brainer when you think about it."

Eight film finalists have been selected from the hundreds of submissions that poured in, all with budgets that ranged from $1.59 to $5,000.

Among those who have made the cut are three New Yorkers: Alexander Poe, a relative of Edgar Allan Poe who lives in Greenwich Village; Bronx native Victor Bruno; and Michael Neithardt, who lives in Manhattan.

The festival’s big winner will receive $20,000 and a week of meetings with film producers, studio executives, agents and managers.

TropFest is free and will take place in Bryant Park on Saturday, June 23. The event will open at 3 p.m., with the film screenings set to begin around 8 p.m.