Eat Now Pay Later is about an English chilli-eating competition in which organisers are equipped with vomit bags.
Strong chillies can cause all sorts of strange physical effects, explained filmmaker Dimitri Ellerington - but entrants are still keen to see if they can take the heat.
"They all had to sign a disclaimer in case they had a medical event ... it can be a little bit hazardous," he said.
"I certainly wouldn't do it myself."
Sydney-based Ellerington is an experienced first assistant director for film and television, and like many in the Australian industry, he also works on his own projects.
"A lot of the time the paid work is very insecure, so it's actually really important to have something else keeping your mind going," he said.
The director - whose BAFTA-winning brother Alex Ellerington worked on the sound for Eat Now Pay Later - is among many in the industry who have sorely missed the annual filmmaking challenge during its six-year hiatus.
Its return attracted more than 700 entries spanning comedy, drama, animation and documentaries, which were whittled down to 318, and then 16 finalists.
The standard of filmmaking for Tropfest 2026 was truly exceptional, according to festival founder John Polson.
"These filmmakers represent an exciting glimpse into where short filmmaking is at right now in Australia and around the world," he said.
​Tropfest started in 1993, but was cancelled in 2015 due to funding mismanagement by former contractors, before the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to the festival in 2020.
Its return after a six-year hiatus was announced in September, with the event to be overseen by a not-for-profit board.
Including broadcast and online viewers, the final screening in Sydney on February 22 is expected to attract an audience of millions.
Tropfest alumni include Nash and Joel Edgerton, Bruna Papandrea, Rebel Wilson, Sam Worthington, David Wenham, Justin Kurzel, Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer.
Wuthering Heights star Margot Robbie has also returned to Sydney to serve as jury president.
While the festival is usually recognised as a platform for those starting in filmmaking, Melbourne-based Stephen Packer is another finalist who believes it's also vital for those already in the industry.
His entry is a comedy-thriller titled Unprompted, in which a screenwriter short on ideas turns to AI - only to discover it's writing him into the role of the victim.
Packer makes a living shooting commercials, with crews and budgets many times larger than those of his Tropfest entry.
Unprompted was shot in his home study by a four-person crew across two nights, on a budget of $3000.
Although he's worked in the screen industry for more than a decade, Packer has yet to reach his goal of making a breakout feature film: that would need a budget of $1 million to $4 million, he said.
"That's still considered low budget, but it's an insane amount of money," he said.
Tropfest means industry eyeballs on his work, which Packer hopes will lead to meetings with film producers, but even if that doesn't happen, the festival's outdoor screenings are also extremely valuable.
"As a filmmaker, getting the opportunity to witness your work live in front of thousands of people, it's an audience response that you'll never get again in your life," he said.
Tropfest returns to Sydney's Centennial Park on Sunday, February 22.
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