The homegrown Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia will have competition for eyeballs this year as Australia's Tropfest descends on Japan. The event claims — perhaps a bit tongue-in-cheek — to be the "world's largest short-film festival."

Tropfest is a raucous juggernaut of a film festival. It was founded and is still directed by John Polson, who has grown it from a small event at Sydney's Tropicana Cafe in 1993 into one of Australia's largest film events. Imagine 150,000 people in a public park watching 16 shorts (selected from more that 700 annually) under the stars — with a fair share of drinking involved.

"The great appeal of (Tropfest) is that people go with their families and friends, with a picnic basket, and enjoy the films while sitting out on the grass," says Tropfest in Japan secretariat Masayo Okayasu. "Outdoor cinema isn't as common here in Japan, so we want to replicate the atmosphere of Tropfest in Australia."