Manhattan Shorts Film Festival

synopsis

HPAC Cinema is screening September 29 & 30th, 7PM and Town of Fallsburg is screening at Morningside Park on October 1, 7PM

You can see and vote on all 10 films (see descriptions below) at any of the available screenings. All screenings are free and open to the public, with online registration required before the screening or at the box office.

MANHATTAN SHORT Final Ten selections for its 24th Annual Short Film Festival, a worldwide event taking place in over 400 venues across six continents between September 23 and October 3, 2021. 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.

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 women 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.

Death By Handshake
Directed by: Hudson Flynn

A talented teenager copes with restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic by filming a witty love letter to his New York City hometown.

Ganef
Directed by: Mark Rosenblatt

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
Directed by: Salar Pashtoonyar

Kabul, Afghanistan. Pari, a widow and mother, struggles to purchase her prescription glasses in order to continue working as a tailor.

Rough
Directed by: Adam Patterson & Declan Lawn

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
Directed by: Daniel Perez

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
Directed by: Torfinn Iversen

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
Directed by: Nicola Piovesan

In a moment captured in time, die-hard Italian fascists conduct reprisal executions of civilians in Lombardy during World War II.

Out Of Time
Directed by: Delphine Montaigne

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
Directed by: Jo Meuris

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
Directed by: Iouri Philippe Paillé

A bank loan officer extracts dark secrets from the past from an eccentric and mysterious customer in need of funds.

Films Pictured: The Kicksled Choir and Archibald’s Syndrome

For all you film lovers, the 10th Annual Big Eddy Film Festival is also this weekend Sept 30-Oct 2

Cast

Various

Directed by

Hudson Flynn, Mark Rosenblatt, Salar Pashtoonyar, Adam Patterson & Declan Lawn, Daniel Perez, Torfinn Iversen, Nicola Piovesan, Delphine Montaigne, Jo Meuris, Iouri Philippe Paille