MANHATTAN SHORT is the only event of its kind. Screening nine films simultaneously across the world during a one-month period, with the Best Film and Best Actor determined by ballots cast by the audience in each participating venue.
The MANHATTAN SHORT Final Ten are:
DEATH BY HANDSHAKE
(USA), Directed by: Hudson Flynn, Time: 9:16
A talented teenager copes with restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic by filming a witty love letter to his New York City hometown.
GANEF
(UK) Directed by: Mark Rosenblatt, Time: 14:00
A little girl, spooked by a dark tale from her mother’s wartime past, starts to believe her adored house cleaner is a sinister thief.
BAD OMEN
(Afghanistan), Directed by: Salar Pashtoonyar, Time: 16:10
Kabul, Afghanistan. Pari, a widow and mother, struggles to purchase her prescription glasses in order to continue working as a tailor.
ROUGH
(Northern Ireland), Directed by: Adam Patterson & Declan Lawn, Time: 13:00
Ex-paramilitaries enforce their own brand of street justice but when they condemn a dog to death, they bite off more than they chew.
ARCHIBALD’S SYNDROME
(France), Directed by: Daniel Perez, Time: 19:15
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but for Archibald it’s literally an affliction until he meets a free-spirited woman during a bank robbery.
THE KICKSLED CHOIR
(Norway), Directed by: Torfinn Iversen, Time: 18:00
A boy wants to sing in the local choir but when his father gets into a fight with a refugee, his aspirations are in jeopardy.
CLOSED TO THE LIGHT
(Italy), Directed by: Nicola Piovesan, Time: 10:00
In a moment captured in time, die-hard Italian fascists conduct reprisal executions of civilians in Lombardy during World War II.
OUT OF TIME
(France), Written & Directed by: Delphine Montaigne, Time: 9:00
Felix’s mother has been called in and an exasperated director is threatening to ban him from the premises. But Felix still has a few moves.
AURORA
(USA), Animated, Written & Directed by: Jo Meuris, Time: 5:12
The animated tale of a little girl who falls in love with a beautiful horse named Aurora and learns about love, friendship and growing up.
MONSIEUR CACHEMIRE
(Canada), Directed by: Iouri Philippe Paillé, Time: 16:00
A bank loan officer extracts dark secrets from the past from an eccentric and mysterious customer in need of funds.
MANHATTAN SHORT is the only event of its kind. The Final Ten screen simultaneously across the world during a one-week period, with the Best Film and Best Actor awards determined by ballots cast by the audiences in each participating venue. By virtue of their selection by MANHATTAN SHORT, each short film is automatically Oscar-qualified.
The Final Ten MANHATTAN SHORT finalists hail from eight countries with films from U.K, Afghanistan, Northern Ireland, Norway, Italy and Canada, alongside two films each from France and USA. These Final Ten Films represent the best short films from among 970 submissions from 70 countries received by MANHATTAN SHORT for 2021, testimony to the enduring vibrancy and creativity of short films worldwide.
MANHATTAN SHORT continues to be a showcase for new voices and perspectives. Death By Handshake director Hudson Flynn, for example, was just 16 years old when he created his wry nod to New York City living during the Covid – 19 pandemic. Humor also pervades films like Rough from Northern Ireland, France’s Archibald’s Syndrome and Monsieur Cashemire of Canada. Out of Time and the animated Aurora are close studies by a pair of woman directors of life at different stages of our existence from French and American perspectives. Short films tackling big topics include Norway’s The Kicksled Choir, which offers a refreshing look at conflict resolution, while Bad Omen examines how a woman copes with stark circumstances in Afghanistan. Closed To The Light reaches back in time to focus on a riveting moment in World War II Italy while the UK’s Ganef examines that war’s trickle-down effect on subsequent generations. “Trauma is like a virus, resilient and adaptive, capable of living well beyond the moment it’s inflicted,” notes Ganefdirector Mark Rosenblatt, demonstrating once more how short films can give a subject full treatment. (View & Share Trailer on Social Media)
The MANHATTAN SHORT Final Ten are:
Death By Handshake (USA), Ganef (UK), Bad Omen (Afghanistan), Rough (Northern Ireland), Archibald’s Syndrome(France), The Kicksled Choir (Norway), Closed to the Light (Italy), Out of Time (France) Aurora (USA) Monsieur Cachemire (Canada).
Read interviews with the Finalist of 2021
All Final Ten short films become Oscar-qualified, meaning they will be automatically eligible for an Academy Award nomination by screening for a week at the Arena CineLounge in Hollywood in the county of Los Angeles from Sep 24 to Sept 30.
You Be the Judge!
Which of these Final Ten short films is the best? That’s up to a worldwide audience to decide. Cinema-goers across the United States and around the globe will become instant film critics as they are handed a ballot (see example below) upon entry that allows them to vote for the Best Film and 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 4, at 10AM EST.
MANHATTAN SHORT is not a touring Festival; rather, it is an instantaneous celebration that occurs simultaneously across the globe, bringing great films to great venues and allowing the audiences to select their favorites.
If the Film Festival experience truly is about getting great works in front of as many eyes as possible, MANHATTAN SHORT offers the ultimate platform — one that sees its films screened in Sydney, Mumbai, Moscow, Vienna, Cape Town to cinemas in all fifty states of the United States and beyond.
