Top right: James Gunn, (Guardians of the Galaxy) joins a panel at the 13th Annual Tromdance

Previous panelists have included Ti West, Larry Fessenden, Rose Ganguzza, Bill Plympton, Kevin Eastman, Karen Black, Roy Frumkes, Jason Eisenor, Henry Zebrowski, and more!

The Tromadance Film Festival is now in its 18th year and was first developed by Lloyd Kaufman, President of Troma Entertainment and Creator of The Toxic Avenger. South Park co-creator Trey Parker, whose debut film "Cannibal! The Musical" is distributed by Troma Entertainment, suggested the idea for Tromadance to Kaufman in 1999. Kaufman felt that the Sundance Film Festival, and similar exclusive big wig festivals, had become too "Hollywood" by charging high entry fees, showing multimillion-dollar "independent" movies, and practicing an elitist structure and film selection process. Parker urged Kaufman to create his own festival -the direct independent opposite of Sundance - that would be free to enter and attend, focusing on independently produced films made without the Hollywood system. From 1999 - 2010 Tromadance operated concurrently alongside the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah and acted as a true independent alternative to Sundance's mainstream offerings.

Lloyd Kaufman with Trey Parker and Matt Stone who inspired TromaDance

Unlike every other film festival, Tromadance does not charge filmmakers to submit their work and entrance to all screenings and panels are free to the public. There are no VIP reservations or preferential treatment regarding Tromadance's films or filmmaking panels. The organizers of Tromadance believe films are meant to be seen, especially the work of emerging filmmakers. Art - in all its forms - is for everyone. Tromadance is the first film festival of the people, for the people, and by the people!

After 2010, Tromadance expanded to multiple fan fueled locations across the country in order to spread the TROMAtic word of truly independent art. Fan's have held a satellite TromaDances in Detroit, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Brooklyn, and New Jersey.

Tromadance has enjoyed great success throughout its almost two decade run and has been covered in various international publications including IndieWire, Brooklyn Vegan, The AV Club, Fangoria, Bloody Disgusting, Dread Central, Rue Morgue, Famous Monsters of Filmland, Forbes, Noisey, MirrorUK, the New York Daily News, Page Six of the New York Post, and many more. Past sponsors include Kodak, Sega, G4, Drafthouse Films, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Lomography, and Kitsplit.com, just to name a few.

Besides world premiere screenings, such as the first U.S. showing of "The Human Centipede" in 2010, another highlight of every Tromadance Film Festival is the annual panel discussion. Panels in years past have included industry professionals, such as James Gunn, Ti West, Larry Fessenden, Rose Ganguzza, Bill Plympton, Kevin Eastman, Karen Black, Roy Frumkes, Jason Eisenor, Hery Zebrowski, and more!