Manhattan Short Film Festival 2023

Film lovers world-wide will unite in over 500 locations between September 28 – October 8 for one reason…to view and vote on the ten Finalists Films in the 26th Annual MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival.

The Finalists will 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 seven countries with films from Australia, Afghanistan, Finland, Iran, Switzerland, UK and Canada alongside three films from the USA.

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 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.

2023 MANHATTAN SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
Official Website: www.manhattanshort.com

SUNLESS
Directed by: Boris Vesselinov
Principal Cast: Ben Holtzmuller, Erik Scilley
Country: USA
Running Time: 8:00
Synopsis: As they pilot their submarine down into the world’s deepest point, two researchers must debate pressing on when a crack in their window port grows.

 

VOICE ACTIVATED
Directed by: Steve Anthopoulos
Principal Cast: Aleks Mikic, Becky Lucas, Sam Neill
Country: Australia
Running Time: 12:00
Synopsis: A florist with a stutter is forced to cooperate with a voice-activated car on the way to an important delivery.

 

YELLOW
Directed by: Elham Ehsas
Principal Cast: Afsaneh Dehrouyeh, Elham Ehsas
Country: UK/Afghanistan
Running Time: 13:00
Synopsis: In Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, a woman walks into a chadari store in Kabul to buy her first full-body veil and face an uncertain future.

 

TUULIKKI
Directed by: Teemu Nikki
Principal Cast: Saana Koivisto, Elina Knihtila
Country: Finland
Running Time: 14:00
Synopsis: When a young woman, dominated by an over-protective mother plots her escape, their relationship dissolves into one of mutual suspicion.

 

THE FAMILY CIRCUS
Directed by: Andrew Fitzgerald
Principal Cast: Elyse Dinh, Michael Ironside, Scott Subiono, Michael Nguyen Manceau, Blake Dang, Christian Seavey
Country: USA
Running Time: 17:00
Synopsis: A Vietnamese-American family’s plan to cover up a drunk-driving incident begins to unravel when their emotional baggage spills out in front of the police.

 

CAREER DAY
Directed by: Jason Robinson & Chris Hooper
Principal Cast: Paul Bartholomew, Aria Perry, Abby Eiland, Julianna Robinson
Country: USA
Running Time: 10:00
Synopsis: A once promising 90’s pop star and his aging boy band reunite for his daughter’s elementary school Career Day. They go viral.

 

SNAIL
Directed by: Aminreza Alimohammadi
Principal Cast: Bahareh Nouhian, Iliya Akhavanrad
Country: Iran
Running Time: 14:00
Synopsis: A loving mother strives to make her young son’s singing dreams come true but an audition takes a dramatic, unforeseen turn

 

THE RECORD
Directed by: Jonathan Laskar
Country: Switzerland
Running Time: 8:38
Synopsis: An antique musical instrument dealer obsessively plays a magical vinyl record that “reads your mind and plays your lost memories.” Even the forgotten ones.

 

THE STUPID BOY
Directed by: Phil Dunn
Principal Cast: Joshua Griffin, Shaun Mason, Derek Elroy, Ellie Piercy
Country: United Kingdom
Running Time: 14:50
Synopsis: In London, a broken man groomed for a terrorist attack is confronted by a local lad who sees things differently. But seeing things differently can be dangerous.

 

SOLEIL DE NUIT
Directed by: Fernando López Escrivá & Maria Camila Arias
Principal Cast: Larissa Corriveau, Jacques Newashish, Mark Krupa, Oshim Ottawa
Country: Canada
Running Time: 13:00
Synopsis: While training for a moon landing, a group of Canadian astronauts are tasked with an added mission by a Native American elder.

 

Official Website: www.manhattanshort.com

MANHATTAN SHORT is not just 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.