News Release – For Immediate Release
MATTOON – Area residents have an opportunity to help select the top international short film of the year at two different screenings of the Manhattan Short film festival.
The festival, now in its 22nd year, chooses 10 finalists ranging from 13 minutes to 17 minutes from 1250 entries from 70 countries. The 10 are shown more than 1,000 times in 400-plus cities on six continents the week of Sept. 26. Those who attend the free screenings then become the judges with each attendee receiving a ballot for the top film and top actor/actress.
The Mattoon Public Library is hosting two screenings, one at 4 p.m. Sept. 28 in the Lone Elm Room of the city’s historic train depot. The other screening is at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 1 in the Community Room of the Carnegie library building, 1600 Charleston Avenue.
“This event is never going to be seen on cable TV, video-on-demand or anywhere else, so if you don’t catch it at your local venue, then you missed it,” Nicholas Mason, the founding director of the festival was quoted as saying.
This year’s lineup includes “intimate dramas, spine-tingling suspense, and hilarious comedies, as well as genre surprises like a pair of science fiction films and one that focuses on tennis,” the festival said in a statement. Manhattan Short describes itself as a “no logo” experience that is about great films, a great concept, great venues and an appreciative audience.
The Mattoon library added the festival to its adult programming lineup as part of its initiative to engage broadly within the region and offer high-quality programming. “We are pleased with the variety of interests represented in the 10 finalists,” said Wenche Nonaas, the library’s assistant director. “This will be an excellent way for our region to participate and appreciate creative work from around the world.”
The Manhattan Short describes itself as the only global film festival. It partners with cinemas, universities, museums and libraries to host the screenings.
The 10 finalists this year include:
Nefta Football Club, a 17-minute film from France directed by Yves Piat.
Synoposis: “In Tunisia, two football-loving young brothers find a donkey lost in the middle of the desert on the border with Algeria. But why is the animal wearing headphones over its ears?”
Debris, a 14-minute film from the United States directed by Julio Ramos.
Synopsis: “Following a disastrous accident on his construction site, Armando rushes to save an injured worker but then stumbles into a grim world of human labor trafficking.”
Driving Lessons, a 12 minute, 48 second film from Iran directed by Marziyeh Riahi.
Synopsis: “Local laws say Bahareh’s husband must accompany her to driving lessons so she and her instructor will not be alone, a task made more
complicated when the two men don’t get along.”
Tipped, a 13 minute, 48 second piece from Canada directed by Alysse Leite-Rogers.
Synopsis: “A talented but under-appreciated waitress at an upscale restaurant reaches her tipping point with a table of difficult customers and concocts a special dish of revenge.”
Sylvia, a 15 minute, 12 second film from the United Kingdom directed by Richard Prendergast.
Synopsis: “Our love affair with the automobile means that a car can feel like it is part of the family. But on one last road trip, one woman relives the moments that give this car special significance.”
The Match, a 15 minute, 38 second production from Finland directed by Pia Andell.
Synopsis: “Two middle-aged women turn a friendly game of tennis into an intense competition but stand united at the end of the match when they discover one thing in common.”
This Time Away, a 14-minute film from the United Kingdom directed by Magali Barbe.
Synopsis: “An elderly man lives as a recluse, haunted by his past and memory of the family he once had, until a non-human visitor arrives and disrupts his isolation.”
Malou, a 14-minute film from Germany directed by Adi Wojaczek.
Synopsis: “Rejected by a famed dance school, Malou gets a chance to prove that she’s destined for a career as a dancer despite the odds seemingly stacked against her.”
A Family Affair, a 13 minute, 8 second production from the United Kingdom directed by Florence Keith-Roach and John Standing.
Synopsis: “When Annabelle wakes up alone in a stranger’s bedroom on her 30th birthday, she thinks the day cannot get any worse. But then Bernard walks in and he is not the man of her dreams.”
At The End of the World, a 13 minute, 8 second film from the United States directed by Fon Davis.
Synopsis: “In an apocalyptic future, a lonely government worker finds solace with a soldier during the last World War. But their future together is threatened when the soldier is sent back into battle.”
