The Trop Jr team has announced the first two judges for this year’s showcase, actor Miah Madden (My Brilliant Career, Dive Club) and actor and author Chloé Hayden (Heartbreak High), both of whom will also serve as ambassadors for the return of the festival.
What to know about Trop Jr – quick links
Miah Madden and Chloé Hayden join Trop Jr as judges and ambassadors
Madden and Hayden will provide their expertise to the festival judging, assessing an array of short films from local, creative Australian kids, and they will also appear during the Grand Final event taking place on 4 December at The Astor Theatre in Melbourne.
‘I’m so excited and honoured to be on the judging panel for Trop Jr 2026,’ Hayden says. ‘I can’t wait to see what Australia’s budding young creatives have offered up this year!’
‘Sharing your voice has never been more important than it is now,’ Madden says. ‘We want to hear your story, so submit your short films into Trop Jr now!’
Submissions for Trop Jr close on 23 October
As Madden says, there is still a short submission window left open for those young and budding filmmakers looking to submit their work to Trop Jr 2026, with this closing on 23 October.
Any Australian kid aged 15 and under can submit their work for consideration, with the proviso that it meets set criteria: that it is an original short film of five minutes or less that incorporates the Trop Jr signature item, ‘map.’
The festival is free to enter, which certainly helps with it being approachable for budding young filmmakers of all backgrounds and experiences. This competition isn’t about having money to spend. It’s about how creativity can be delivered with talented hands.
As Tropfest founder and director John Polson says, he’s excited about what comes from this year’s Trop Jr and how Hayden and Madden’s perspectives will help to highlight the talent of Australian kids.
‘We’re so excited to have Miah and Chloé on board as ambassadors and judges for Trop Jr 2026,’ Polson says.
‘Both bring their own unique perspectives, creativity and passion for storytelling, making them fantastic role models for the next generation of young filmmakers. We hope their involvement inspires more kids to pick up a camera, give filmmaking a go and share the stories that matter to them.’
Entry guidelines and more information about what to expect of Trop Jr is available on the Tropfest website.
Also on ScreenHub: GCAP 2026: Why you should become a multi-class game developer
At GCAP 2026, game developer Amanda Farough, Director of Production at Causeway Studios and Executive Producer and Writer at Strange Scaffold (Truck-kun is Supporting Me from Another World?!, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown), delivered a standout talk about the importance of multi-classing – taking on multiple roles guided by expertise – within the games industry.
Speaking to her own experiences, Farough described the multi-classer as being a very underrated but essential part of game studios, with multi-classers able to have a significant impact on games production while elevating everyone around them. Farough described her own journey to becoming a multi-classer, as well as encouraging others to take a similar path, with advice for how to get started. Here’s everything we learned from Farough’s GCAP 2026 talk.
Read more …
