Crescendo by Lianne Mackessy wins Tropfest 2026 – Lianne Mackessy (Sydney, NSW) has been crowned the winner of Tropfest 2026 for her film Crescendo, following a weekend of industry events and celebrations, culminating in the main showcase at Centennial Park, Sydney this evening.
The international jury featured actors Sarah Snook and Taron Egerton; directors Danny Philippou and Dylan River; and producer Bruna Papandrea, all led by Jury President Margot Robbie. They were joined by filmmaker James Cameron, who participated as a virtual judge. Together, the panel described Crescendo as “absolutely pitch perfect”.
Accepting the $50,000 award in person to a roaring audience of more than 35,000 people Mackessy said:
“I’m so grateful to John Polson, the Tropfest team and all the sponsors – without them we couldn’t have connected with audiences the way we have.”
Taking home second prize was Jasper Sharpe (Melbourne, VIC) for his film We Don’t Take Breaks and in third place was Nicky Tyndale-Biscoe (Melbourne, VIC) for her film Silent Night.
Made possible by the newly established CommBank Tropfest Emerging Filmmakers Fund, the first, second and third prize winners received $50,000, $30,000 and $20,000 respectively. The top three get Sony camera packages worth approximately $10,000 each, and all 16 finalists received premium technology bundles from Google.
The NIDA Emerging Performer Award for Best Female Actress went to Laura Bunting for her role in Crescendo, and the NIDA Emerging Performer Award for Best Male Actor was presented to Ben Keller for his performance in We Don’t Take Breaks. Both awards were presented on stage by fellow NIDA graduates Sarah Snook and Essie Davis.
The inaugural Chery Creative Acceleration Award was presented to Georgina Haig, Director of No Thank You, recognising their bold ambition, forward-thinking innovation and outstanding creative excellence.
Celebrating storytellers who are pushing boundaries and driving the industry forward, this award spotlights talent on the rise. As part of the honour, the recipient didn’t just take home the title – they will be driving away with a brand-new Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid valued at $34,990, the ultimate symbol of momentum, progress and the road ahead.
Best Cinematography, presented by Sony was awarded to Josh Flavell for his work on Project Hourglass. Flavell receives a complete Sony camera and lens package valued at almost $20,000.
Taking home the new Pandora Women’s Brilliance award created to recognise a woman in film whose vision, voice, and creative impact truly shine. This award celebrates the women shaping the stories of tomorrow and was awarded to Nicky Tyndale-Biscoe – writer, director and producer of Silent Night.As part of this recognition, the recipient is gifted a Pandora Infinite lab grown diamond jewellery set. The recipient will also be invited to collaborate with Pandora on a bespoke piece of content.
The winner of the iconic Tropicana Award went to Sean Bayles for The End.
Two of tonight’s sixteen finalists have been chosen as the inaugural recipients of Tropfest Runways Powered by the Motion Picture Association. Benjamin Mathews (Project Hourglass)and Lianne Mackessy (Crescendo)will be flown straight to LA after the festival for G’Day USA on February 26 and a week-long industry immersion hosted by MPA member studios.
Voting is now open for the CommBank Tropfest 2026 People’s Choice Award – watch the films and cast your vote here.
Since relaunch, the Tropfest Youtube channel has had 164.8M video views, added 120K subscribers and achieved a watch time of 2.8M hours. Tonight’s event was live streamed on YouTube globally and is now available on Tropfest’s official YouTube channel for FREE in full, to watch at home.
Tonight, it was also announced that Trop Jr is returning in 2026, bigger, bolder and built for the next generation of Australian storytellers. Designed for budding filmmakers and creators aged 15 and under, Trop Jr gives kids – from all around Australia – a real platform to imagine, experiment and tell stories that matter. Powered by the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF), Trop Jr is a national creative program that runs throughout the school year, supporting students, teachers and families through virtual masterclasses, teacher guides and step-by-step learning resources to support young people to create an amazing short film.
And in an exciting new initiative to further enhance opportunities for emerging filmmakers, the Chery Filmmaker Challenge was launched.
The short-form filmmaker challenge invites creators to produce a 45-second film inspired by the spirit of, “For The Road Ahead”. The winner’s film will be integrated into Chery’s official marketing activity and receive $10,000. The competition is now open and runs until Tuesday 31st of March. For more information, visit https://www.tropfest.com/chery-filmmaker-challenge.
The 2026 event marked Tropfest’s official transition to a not-for-profit Foundation, dedicated to nurturing emerging creative talent. The Foundation is guided by a board of cultural leaders including Sarah Murdoch (Chair), Bryan Brown, John Polson, Peter V’landys and Richard Weinberg.
Tropfest 2026 would not be possible without the incredible support and passion of partners including CommBank, YouTube, Qantas, Nine Entertainment, Chery Motor Australia, Greater Sydney Parklands, NSW Government, Destination NSW, Screen NSW, NIDA, Sony, Pandora, Scape, JCDecaux, Fraser Suites Sydney, Holding Redlich, Lumina and NIXCO.
Tropfest is proudly supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and events agency, Destination NSW, and Screen NSW.
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Crescendo by Lianne Mackessy wins Tropfest 2026
