The Tropfest Short Film Festival for 2011 forged a unique partnership with YouTube. For the first time entries to this year's filmfest will be received via YouTube.

The online submission will make it easier for local and international filmakers as it eliminates the need to enter their film on a DVD.

John Polson, Tropfest founder and director, said the film festival aims to encourage entries from around the world this year. Tropfest offers to fly the finalists from outside Australia to walk the red carpet and attend the event in Sydney on February next year.

"Hopefully the opportunity to come to Australia on us and have your short film screened in front of hundreds of thousands of people around the nation at the many live outdoor events and on the Movie Extra channel is the right sort of motivation," Polson said.

The event will once again be broadcast live on Movie Extra, a subscription TV channel.

Telstra Mobile Masterpieces, Tropfest's mobile category, will be back for its sophomore year.

The category gives filmmakers an opportunity to use their mobile phones for their creativity. The category is governed by the same rules as the main competition. Winning entries will be awarded a trip to the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and $5,000 cash.

For more information, visit Tropfest Short Film Festival Australia website.