Manhattan Short Film Festival 2025
ONE WORLD - ONE WEEK - ONE FESTIVAL
Friday 9/26 at 7pm, Saturday 9/27 at 7pm, Sunday 9/28 at 4pm
230 Park Avenue, Worcester
What is the Manhattan Short Film Festival?
MANHATTAN SHORT is the only event of its kind. The ten Finalists will screen simultaneously across the world during a one-week period, with the Best Film and Best Actor awards determined by ballots cast by the audiences in each participating venue. By virtue of their selection by MANHATTAN SHORT, each short film is automatically Oscar-qualified. The Ten MANHATTAN SHORT Finalists hail from seven countries with films from Spain, Israel, United Kingdom, Norway, The Netherlands, Belgium, Mexico alongside three films from the USA.
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All Final Ten short films become Oscar-qualified, meaning they will be automatically eligible for an Academy Award nomination by screening for a week at the O-cinema in Miami from Sept 19 to Sept 25. Last year from the ten seleected finalists, four shorts were short-listed and two nominated for Oscar, which included the overall winner for best live action "I'm Not a Robot". Hopefully we can improve on those figures this year.
The MANHATTAN SHORT 2025 line-up screens a worldwide line-up of 10 short films that explore a wide range of topics relevant to everyone. Have a look at both dramatic and comical takes on migration, reconciliation, housing prices, parenthood and the price of silence, not to mention the trials and tribulations of growing into adulthood, especially when fantastical and dangerous griffins fly overhead and you have an OMG murderous mother. And what is it about golf anyway? Audiences will find it more difficult than ever to vote for Best Film and Best Actor.
10 Short Film Finalists
Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting
Director: Alexander Thompson
Country: USA
Running Time: 18 minutes
Synopsis: Mothers and daughters and the fantastical beasts they hunt.
I Have My Reasons
Director: Mikey Altoft
Country: United Kingdom
Running Time: 15 minutes
Synopsis: Amanda is just 8 years old when a singular incident shapes the rest of her life.
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Al Fresco
Director: Ignacio Rodó
Country: Spain
Running Time: 7 minutes, 30 seconds
Synopsis: Dream apartment. Large Space. Unbeatable location. Ready to move in. Plenty of light.
Ovary-Acting
Director: Ida Melum
Country: Norway, UK, Sweden
Running Time: 12 minutes, 24 seconds
Synopsis: Mothers and daughters and the fantastical beasts they hunt.
Chasing the Party
Director: Jessie Komitor
Country: USA
Running Time: 14 minutes
Synopsis: Two teens fantasize about becoming New York celebrities but get a reality check.
Beyond Silence
Director: Marnie Blok
Country: The Netherlands
Running Time: 17 minutes
Synopsis: Two women, two generations, one trauma. One retreats into silence. The other breaks it.
Paradise Man
Director: Jordan Michael Blake
Country: USA
Running Time: 12 minutes
Synopsis: Tragedy makes a golfer realize there's more to life than a hole in one.
Zodiac
Director: Hans Buyse
Country: Belgium
Running Time: 14 minutes, 50 seconds
Synopsis: Two old friends on a fishing trip encounter drifting refugees in distress at sea.
We Have Sinned Before You
Director: Ifat Nener Orgad
Country: Israel
Running Time: 18 minutes
Synopsis: A silly game reveals secrets and tensions that could rip a family apart.
Passarinho
Director: Natalia García Agraz
Country: Mexico
Running Time: 12 minutes
Synopsis: Teenage girls scheme to meet their favorite soccer player but one gets a red card.
You be the judge!
Which of these Final Ten short films is best? That is up to a worldwide audience to decide. Cinema-goers across the United States and around the globe will become instant film critics as they are handed a ballot (See example below) upon entry that allows them to vote for the Best Film and 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 6 at 10 AM EST.
