Film lovers in Sedona will join over 100,000 film enthusiasts around the world to view and judge the work of the next generation of filmmakers when the 25th Annual Manhattan Short Film Festival screens at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre, Sept. 23-29, hosted by the Sedona International Film Festival.
The final ten Manhattan Short finalists hail from eight countries with films from Scotland, Czech & Slovakia, Spain, Australia, Finland and Lebanon, alongside two films each from France and USA. These final ten films represent the best short films from among 870 submissions from 70 countries received by Manhattan Short for 2022, testimony to the enduring vibrancy and creativity of short films worldwide.
The MANHATTAN SHORT Final Ten are:
Don vs Lightning (Scotland), Love, Dad (Czech & Slovakia), Save the Bees (USA), The Treatment (Spain), Freefall (France), Fetish (USA), Freedom Swimmer (Australia), The Blanket (Finland), Warsha (Lebanon), and The Big Green (France).
If the 10 short films presented by Manhattan Short have one common theme, it's how people deal with adversity in its various forms. Short films like The Blanket, Freedom Swimmer and Freefall explore how individuals react when caught up in large-scale, traumatic events. Adversity on a more personal level is the focus of short films like Warsha, Fetish, The Big Green and Love, Dad. Sometimes, the response is laughable, as in Save the Bees and The Treatment, especially when even the universe seems to be against you, as in Don vs Lightning.
How these stories are told is varied as the directors that tell them. In short, there is plenty of drama and comedy interwoven with surprisingly effective newer ways of storytelling like animated documentaries. Manhattan Short also is a showcase for rising-star actors and recognizable favorites like Disney stalwart Peton List and Scotsman Peter Mullan, himself a prize-winning director, appearing in unexpected, talent-stretching roles.
Film synopsis are as follows:
DON VS LIGHTNING: Don desires a quiet, rural life in the rural Scottish Highlands. Unfortunately, the Universe has more electrifying plans in store for him.
LOVE, DAD: A woman rediscovers letters her father wrote to her from prison. She then decides to write to him, putting on paper what couldn't be said.
SAVE THE BEES: When a gruesome accident makes a messy break up even messier, a couple decides to set aside their differences in order to save themselves.
THE TREATMENT: A clinic offers bald men a full-proof way to restore hair...as long as you're okay with one controversial but related side effect.
FREEFALL: A London stockbroker with a bad track record makes the bet of his life when New York's World Trade Center is attacked on 9/11. Inspired by a true story.
FETISH: An Asian American woman's one night stand takes an unsexy turn when breakfast the morning after comes with a side of fetishism.
FREEDOM SWIMMER: A man's perilous swim from China to Hong Kong parallels his granddaughter's desire for freedom beyond a city once viewed as a refuge.
THE BLANKET: Winter, 1939 Finland. A 10-year-old girl is sent to fetch milk for her baby brother. There are hazards more dangerous than thin ice.
WARSHA: A Beirut construction worker volunteers for the most dangerous job on the site. Away from everyone's eyes, a secret passion takes flight.
THE BIG GREEN: The owner of a logging camp suddenly finds herself stuck up a tree without a ladder and no signal on her mobile phone. The only way out is up.
You Be the Judge!
Which of these final ten short films is best? That's up to a worldwide audience to decide. Cinema-goers across the United States and 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 Best 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. 3.