In the mood for creative international films but don't have the time to sit through a full-length feature? The 2008 Manhattan Short Film Festival, currently the largest short film festival in the world, began this week on Sept. 21 and concludes on Sept. 28. In its 11th year running, the film festival will reach global and epic proportions, attracting some 100,000 people to venues in 115 cities spanning four continents. This diversity truly seems to support its mission, which is "to unite audiences around the world via the most creative short films in the world." A hefty task, certainly, but the Manhattan Short seems to be quickly approaching this goal.
Each year, the festival aims to add another country to the mix. A number of nations in Europe and the Americas already host the short film screenings, and this year Australia joins them. The global audience views a selection of 12 finalists from a variety of innovative directors hailing from many locations. The UK, Netherlands, Israel, Ireland, Denmark, New Zealand, Australia, India, Spain and United States all have a place in the top 12 shorts, and the films present a colorful range of genres and themes.
Viewers at any of the worldwide venues decide the fate of the final films. Voting cards are passed out upon entry to any of the screenings throughout the week and audience members check off their single favorite film. The frenzy of film screenings culminates in one last event in New York City, where votes are tallied and the winner announced at 9 p.m. Several awards, worth a couple thousand dollars each, are offered from event sponsors such as Adobe and Avid. Categories include Best Film, Best Student Film, Best Screenplay, Best Edited Short and Best Documentary.
Two of the shorts in the running were made by U.S. directors. Chris King directs the film "Rachel," a dynamic drama about the unforgettable collision of a pregnant woman and the suburban couple who will eventually adopt her baby. The story originates from actual events captured in U.S. newspaper headlines.
In an interview posted on the festival's Web site, King explains his choice to base the short on real life. "I never go looking for a story," he said. "But as they say, ‘Truth is stranger than fiction.'" A real story calls for real people, so King held casting calls for over four days, comparing possible actors from all over the country. At 13 minutes, the film is on the longer side, but in the interview King defends his decision to shoot short scenes in order to keep actors in the moment and thus emotionally fresh.
The second U.S. short, written and directed by Signe Baumane, is called "Teat Beat of Sex." It's an animated piece described on the Web site as "a take on first kiss, first make-out session, first jealousy, first sex exclusively from a girl's point of view." Baumane, who came to the U.S. from the USSR in 1995, takes love and sex to the drawing board, producing a work that he hopes will liberate viewers and remind them of the details of all the intimate landmarks in their lives. The film has been screened at both the Sundance and Berlin film festivals, though the reactions seem to be polarized.
Though the festival wraps up this Sunday, there is still time to catch a screening of these miniature masterpieces. Screenings in Massachusetts include the Museum of Fine Arts Remis Auditorium in Boston and the Coolidge Corner Cinema in Brookline. Catch the shorts at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 5 p.m. for $8 or at Coolidge tonight or Thursday evening for any of the 4 p.m., 7 p.m. or 10 p.m. showings.
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At the MFA, Sept. 27, $8
At Coolidge Corner Theatre, Sept. 24-25, at 4 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.
