Archive for September 19th, 2006

With 487 short film submissions from 39 different countries it makes sense that Nicholas Mason, the founder of the Manhattan Short Film Festival, wanted to make the final selections accessible through a variety of venues. In response to suggestions that he should have shown the films on television or the Internet, Mason said: “This is first and foremost a festival, and a festival to me conjures up images of people coming together.” So over the past few days, people came together at approximately 66 theatres around the globe.

The 12 final selections are all unique in their own ways, so impressive that they would appear to be cornerstones of great careers in features. It’s impossible to pick just one to win. But that’s the beauty of the Manhattan Short Film Fest, aside from the pleasing aesthetics on the big screen: audience members vote for their favorite short at the end of the fest.

“Lyra Lezana”, about a young Cuban girl’s U.S. visa lottery ticket, showcases the scenery of Cuba filmed mostly in natural light, and not without obstacle either. The Cuban government does not allow film production there, so Clayton Haskell’s crew had to keep a low profile. “The Third Parent” was written and directed by a USC film student who has a vested interested in the subject matter. Shot documentary-style, this raw short is about an 11-year-old girl as she cares for her autistic younger brother. She speaks candidly in a voice over, wavering between self-pity and guilt for all that she does and can’t do for her brother. Spain’s “Without Seeing” is a fusion of a strong story with a skilled filmmaker in Salvador Gomez Cuenca. Leave me a comment if you don’t cry for the characters of Martin and Pluto. “Off-Sides”, an Israeli short, sends a gut-wrenching message through a simple story of two soldiers and two insurgents as they face each other while listening to a World Cup soccer match on a hand-held radio. It’s high production quality like most war films, with the colors of heat and desert and fatigues and massacre bleeding through the screen, without the bravado.

These are just a few of the short films you can catch in Union Square next Sunday, September 24, during the final screening in the 2006 Manhattan Short Film Festival. The winner will be announced after the screening. Tickets are $10.00.