The world’s most people-powered film festival is back for a 13th year, and once again Durango film buffs will get their chance to help decide the best short film in the world.
A daunting task perhaps, but such is the charge of the Manhattan Short Film Festival. Each year, the festival receives submissions from all over the globe. This year, it was 598 entries from 48 countries. Organizers whittle those down to 10 finalists and then turn it over to a jury of tens of thousands in more than 200 cities worldwide – from Argentina to Nepal to Australia.
As audiences enter the theater, they’ll be given a card. It’s winner take-all – each voter will select one of the 10 films as the best. The cards are then sent to the New York organizers, and the results will be posted Oct. 2 on the festival’s website.
“While the goal of any festival is to discover and promote new talent, the real aim of this festival is to bring communities together via stories from around the world,” said Manhattan Short founder and director Nicholas Mason.
All of the films are intended for ages 14 and older, but a few push it a bit in terms of violence and/or sexual content. Proceed accordingly.
The festival is sponsored locally by the Durango Independent Film Festival, which splits proceeds with Manhattan Short. The finalists, which range in length from eight to 18 minutes, will be shown Sunday and Tuesday at the Durango Arts Center.
These are the films, with directors’ names, countries and a brief description.
“Incident By a Bank” (Ruben Ostlund, Sweden): Recounts an actual 2006 bungled bank robbery in Stockholm witnessed by the filmmakers. So ridiculous it has to be true.
“Sexting” (Neil LaBute, U.S.): Mankind’s worst nightmare comes true when a guy’s mistress sits down for lunch with his wife. Or so she thinks. Awkward.
“DIK” (Christopher Stollery, Australia): An Australian couple melts down before our eyes when sexual pasts (and presents) are dredged up. Quite funny.
“The Forest” (György Mór, Hungary): A puzzler from Hungary, which comes across as being a bleak place trapped forever in black and white. I kept waiting for one of those “Wizard of Oz” Technicolor moments, but it’s just not to be.
“Mak” (Geraldine Zosso, Switzerland): When you think “European short film,” this is it. A baffling narrative full of Eastern European-looking women with bad skin speaking French over German and English subtitles. And it’s all interspersed with the ear-splitting wailing of a miserable infant. Enjoy.
“A Doctor’s Job” (Julio Ramos, Peru): A great short story about a Peruvian doctor who’s doing so well he has to drive a cab. Then he helps out bank robbers and actually makes enough money to keep his mother alive in a nursing home.
“I Love Luci” (Colin Kennedy, Scotland): Luci is a dog in Scotland. Based on what we see of the locals who do things like vomit their bridgework into the toilet, it’s much better to be a dog than a human in Scotland.
“David & Goliath” (George Zaverdas, U.S.): A man on the run in World War II Czechoslovakia dodges Nazis with the help of a vicious German shepherd. And it really happened.
“The Legend of Beaver Dam” (Jerome Sable, Canada): Remarkable for its violence and gore, this one has lots of cursing at children and dead scouts in the woods. A great film.
“ Martyr Friday” (Abu Bakr Shawky, Egypt): Twelve tense, brutal and victorious minutes chronicling the February overthrow of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak.
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Courtesy of Manhattan Short
Julia Styles takes mistaken identity to a new level in the short film “Sexting,” a finalist in the Manhattan Short Film Festival, which will be shown this weekend at the Durango Arts Center.
