Filmgoers in Galway will unite with audiences in 114 other cities across four continents to view and judge the finalists of 11th Annual Manhattan Short Film Festival, with Steph Green’s IFTA winning short ‘New Boy’ included in the lineup.
Out of 429 entries received from 42 countries around the world, Manhattan Short selected 12 finalist films each of which are 16 minutes and under in length. In what festival organizers are describing as a “cinematic Olympiad”, other finalists include ‘Ripple’ (UK), ‘Mother Mine’ (UK), ‘Ode Ober’ (The Netherlands), ‘Make My Day’ (Denmark), ‘Rachel’ (USA), ‘The Game’ (New Zealand), ‘Teat Beat of Sex’ (USA), ‘Change Coming’ (Australia), ‘Sour Milk’ (Israel), ‘Viva Sunita’ (India), ‘The Golden Thread’ (Spain).
Produced by Tamara Anghie and based on the short story by Roddy Doyle, ‘New Boy’ is an11 minute short telling the story of a nine year old African boy's first day at school in Ireland. The film has also taken home awards at this years Seattle, Moondance and Melbourne festivals.
The screening of the shorts will take place in the Galway Town Hall on Sunday, September 28 at 3:00pm. Filmgoers will be handed a voting card upon entry and votes are tallied at each cinema and forwarded to the festival’s Manhattan headquarters. The winner will be announced on Sunday, September 28.
The Manhattan Shorts Fest has become well known for propelling directors into the mainstream with past finalists going on to Sundance and receiving BAFTA and Oscar nominations in the short film category.
“While the goal of any festival is to discover and promote future talent, the ultimate aim of this festival is to bring communities together via twelve stories from around the world,” says Nicholas Mason, Manhattan Short founder and director.
The Manhattan Short website’s BLOG will be active during the week of the festival which runs from 21 -28 September where attendees can share their thoughts on the finalist films.
Visit www.msfilmfest.com for more information.