Fans urge Russell Crowe to save Tropfest

Tropfest fans are calling on Russell Crowe to save their beloved film festival.

Just as the Gladiator actor provided the Rabbitoh's salvation in 2006, Twitter users are begging him to step in to save another Sydney institution.

Tropfest founder and director John Polson announced on Wednesday he was forced to cancel the world's largest short film festival, held annually in Sydney's Centennial Park, due to a "terrible and irresponsible mismanagement of Tropfest funds".

And much like Robert Redford and Robert De Niro, who reside over the Utah's Sundance Film Festival and New York's Tribeca Film Festival respectively, fans believe Crowe could attach himself to the beleaguered Tropfest.

"Can @russellcrowe save @TROPFEST? he saved the @SSFCRABBITOHS after all (both in Sydney etc).#tropfest," tweeted Allan George.

"Mate @@russellcrowe as an avid backer of AusCinema surely the end of #TropFest is not something that passes by you. Help save an institution?" posted Thomas Mitchell.

Crowe, who is yet to respond to the requests, has judged Tropfest in the past as well as other Aussie stars including Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Naomi Watts, Toni Collette, Rose Byrne, Geoffrey Rush and Baz Luhrmann.

Tropfest's shock cancellation continued to echo into social media on Thursday with fans starting the #savetropfest hashtag to resurrect the beloved festival.

Some called on the government to pitch in to save the event.

"Calling on government & our industry to find a way to keep our iconic festival @TROPFEST going #savetropfest," tweeted Genevieve Clay-Smith.

Not all messages were in support, as some used the opportunity to criticise the once grass roots festival for becoming too commercial and over reliant on unpaid labour.

"#Tropfest has become too commercial. It's a Sydney event. It doesn't need to be broadcast live to other cities or the s**t show on SBS," tweeted Victoria Bateman.

"So sad to hear that #Tropfest, which spent 20 years profiting from the work of unpaid outsiders, had had financial problems," wrote user John Johnsonson.

Others suggested the film festival return to its humble origins.

"John it doesn't have to be a fancy doo... we don't have to have all the celebrity hype," one Facebook user wrote.

In better news for the embattled festival, The Australian Performing Rights Association confirmed Trop Score, the event's movie score competition, would still go ahead.