John Polson

John Polson is an actor, director, and producer who started the short film festival Tropfest and has run it as its director. Born September 6, 1965, he worked first as a performer, with roles in films that include The Sum of Us (1994), the Boys, Idiot Box, and Mission: Impossible 2 (2000). His directing credits include Siam Sunset, starring Linus Roache, which took awards at festivals that included Cannes, and the American features Swimfan and Hide and Seek, both of which reached number one at the US box office. Tenderness, his 2009 film, starred Russell Crowe and Laura Dern. On television he produced and directed Fringe, the Mentalist, and the Good Wife, and was executive producer and director on Elementary. Polson began Tropfest in 1993 at Sydney's Tropicana Cafe; it grew into the world's largest short film festival, drawing more than 150,000 people in Australia on a single night and holding screenings in Berlin, London, Bangkok, Paris, and Beijing.