GREENFIELD — On Friday night, the world comes to Greenfield. A world of film, that is, from the Manhattan Short Film Festival.
The Manhattan Short, as it’s called, premieres at 7 p.m. at the H.J. Ricks Centre for the Arts. The range of films — none of which is more than 17 minutes long — opens a cinematic window to diverse cultures, global concerns and different points of view through films representing Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Iran and the United States.
Nick Mason, founder and director of the Manhattan Short Film Festival, personally selected this year’s 10 finalists from a submission pool of 1,250 entries. Mason watches every film that comes in, although, he admits, maybe not the whole film.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
“You can usually tell in the first minute if it’s going to be good,” he said.
Mason not only judges the films for selection, he is also the No. 1 cheerleader for independents and the unknowns of filmmaking. He sometimes lends his particular brand of expertise to a filmmaker. One film, Mason thought, was too long, so Mason called the director and told him to cut it down a little. His advice was apparently right on the money, because the film in question has now won awards at more than half-dozen film festivals around the country.
Katie Ottinger, who attended last year’s showing, loves the fact that audience members have a say in selecting the winner. Upon walking into the theater, each guest is given a ballot with the names of the 10 films. Ballots are collected at the end of the evening and forwarded to the film festival offices in New York for tallying. Attendees can also vote for one of six best actor nominees from the films. Winners will be announced on the Manhattan Short website (manhattanshort.com) on Oct. 7.
The Manhattan Short Film Festival spans 11 days, six continents and more than 400 venues. Each venue has the freedom to select the day or number of days for screening.
Mason is as choosy with the venues as he is with the film selection. He steers clear of the big theater chains; rather, he enjoys the personal connections made with the administrators, managers and directors of the art centers, museums, community colleges and libraries, libraries, libraries.
With more than 60 libraries serving as hosts for the 2019 film festival, Mason sings their praises.
“What’s happening with the libraries,” he said, “I can’t get over how good they are at promoting it.”
The Manhattan Short Film Festival began 22 years ago when Mason showed his 10 short films on a movie screen mounted to the side of a truck in Little Italy in New York City. Just over 200 people attended that first festival; today the audience has expanded to more than 100,000 people across 70 countries worldwide.
The Manhattan Short Film Festival Facebook page is post after post of fliers from venues around the world: Australia; Switzerland; Miami; Arizona; Los Angeles; Texas; Ukraine; Italy; Great Britain; Russia; Latvia; Vermont; Poland. Some locations in New York City, the home of the festival, are already sold out.
Kurt Vetters and Donna Steele are returning fans of the Manhattan Short. Steele appreciates the range of the films, from funny to deeply moving.
Vetters recalled a film from 2017: “Mare Nostrum,” during which a man teaches his daughter how to swim with a cruel force and brutality. It’s only at the very end of the film as the daughter floats ashore on a Mediterranean beach — the sole survivor from a boat of Syrian refugees — that the audience realizes the father was preparing his daughter to survive.
Mason likes to say that the festival is “people-powered.” Not only do audiences get to choose a film festival winner, Manhattan Short films also become Oscar eligible. A 2015 Manhattan Short winner, “Bear Story,” went on to become the 2016 Oscar winner for Best Animated Short Film.
This year’s field of films is especially strong, Mason said.
“There are always three or four that could win,” he said, “but this year is outstanding with eight that could win.”
Tickets are available for $6 at the door the night of the festival.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”A rundown of what’s showing” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Rundown of Films
“Nefta Football Club” (France): In Tunisia, two young, football-loving brothers find a donkey lost in the middle of the desert along the Algerian border. But why is the animal wearing headphones over its ears?
“Debris” (United States): After a disastrous event on his construction site, Armando must act quickly to save his crew. Instead, he stumbles upon an unspeakable truth. “Debris” is a glimpse of the grim world of human labor trafficking.
“Driving Lessons” (Iran): 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 her husband and the instructor don’t get along.
“Tipped” (Canada): A waitress at an upscale restaurant reaches her tipping point with a table of difficult customers and concocts a special dish of revenge.
“Sylvia” (United Kingdom): Our love affair with the automobile means that a car can feel like it is part of the family, but sometimes it’s more than that.
“The Match” (Finland): Two middle-aged women turn a friendly game of tennis into an intense competition, but they stand united at the end of the match when they discover one thing in common.
“Malou” (Germany): Rejected by a prestigious dance school, Malou gets a chance to prove she’s destined for a career as a dancer despite the odds seemingly stacked against her.
“This Time Away” (United Kingdom): 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.
“A Family Affair” (United Kingdom): 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” (United States): 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.
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
What: Manhattan Short Film Festival – international event
When: 7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 27
Where: H.J. Ricks Centre for the Arts, 122 W. Main St., Greenfield
Other: Tickets are $6 at the door; audience members vote for the film festival winner
[sc:pullout-text-end]
