NEW YORK, NY — Filmgoers in and around Pelham, NY will unite with audiences in over 250 cities spanning six continents to view and judge the work of the next generation of filmmakers from around the world when the 18th Annual MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival screens at the Picture House in Pelham, NY on Thursday Oct 1, at 7pm
This year, MANHATTAN SHORT received 672 short film entries from 52 countries. The 10 finalists hail from eight countries, with short films from Turkey and Kosovo representing their respective countries for the first time. These short films will not only entertain a global audience but will be judged by them as well. Cinema-goers will become instant film critics as they are handed a ballot upon entry that allows them to vote for the Best Film and Best Actor. MANHATTAN SHORT is the ultimate audience award that salutes the creative talents of both directors behind the camera and actors in front of it. Votes will be sent through to MANHATTAN SHORT HQ with the winner announced at ManhattanShort.com on Monday Oct 5, at 10 AM (EST)
Finalists 2015
Listen (Finland), Dad’s In Mum (France) Bear Story (Chile), Forever Over (Germany) Shok (Kosovo), Grounded (France), Sundown (Turkey), Patch (Switzerland), El Camino Solo (USA), Bis Gleich (Germany).
This year’s MANHATTAN SHORT highlights the continued importance of women in film. Half of this year’s selections feature actresses ranging in age from children to senior citizens. Audiences from last year’s MANHATTAN SHORT also will be pleased to see rising star Marleen Lohse once again in Forever Over, making her the first actor, male or female, to appear in consecutive years in MANHATTAN SHORT. Two other short films (Bear Story and Patch) are sophisticated animations, as MANHATTAN SHORT continues to support this important artform. And as always, MANHATTAN SHORT offers short films set in a wide range of locales, from Turkish beaches and mountains on the Balkans, to the streets of Berlin and the backroads of America’s West Coast.
“In times like these, cross-border events like MANHATTAN SHORT that contribute towards greater tolerance and understanding are needed now more than ever. I want to thank and congratulate all the filmmakers and cinemas involved in this global cinematic event. This event is not going to cable TV or Video on Demand. It’s not streamed on the Internet. MANHATTAN SHORT is about communities bonding together via their local cinema,” said MANHATTAN SHORT Founding Director Nicholas Mason.
The first MANHATTAN SHORT was held in 1998, when 16 short films were shown onto a screen mounted on the side of a truck in Little Italy’s Mulberry Street in New York City, and has blossomed into a worldwide phenomenon. MANHATTAN SHORT is the only film festival on the planet that unfolds, simultaneously, in cinemas around the world, bringing over 100,000 film-lovers across six continents together for one week, to view the work of the next generation of filmmakers.