Image courtesy of Manhattan Short.
If you’re one of those moviegoers who hate not having enough time to see all the movies playing at film festivals, the
Wilmette Theatre has just the thing to make your day. This weekend, it’s playing host to the
Manhattan Short Film Festival – an annual event in which 10 short films (yep, just 10) are screened in theaters on six continents. (You got that right: it’s a
global festival.) In the past, festival honorees have ridden the subsequent publicity to
Oscar nominations and even the
occasional Oscar win. Here’s the best part though: at this festival, the elite jury that decides whether a film sinks or swims is none other than the audience itself. (Read: YOU.)
So what is it you’ll actually be watching? Well…this year’s
10 finalists were winnowed from a pool of over 1,500, and they come from all over the globe--New Zealand, Italy, even Georgia and Latvia. In the two-hour lineup, you’ll find dashes of comedy (
Perfect Day – a rich businessman’s life completely falls apart), uplift (
Just Go! – a legless man saves a girl he loves), current events (
Mare Nostrum – a Syrian refugee makes a sacrifice for his daughter), and even the downright scary (
Hope Dies Last – a Jewish barber is forced to work for the Nazis). Whatever the genre or length – the shortest contestant runs five minutes, the longest 15 – these shorts will certainly provide a blend of stories that any self-respecting movie buff can appreciate. Check out the trailer below if you're still not convinced:
https://youtu.be/-WLGIo-pcqQ
The festival will be held October 6-8. Films screen Friday at 7:30, Saturday at 5:30, and Sunday at 2:30; $10 tickets can be purchased through the Wilmette Theatre’s
website. Don’t miss this chance to play film critic for a night: figuring out why a movie makes you tick, after all, is often more enjoyable than watching the movie itself. And as any professional critic will tell you – off the record, of course – having the power to help determine a movie’s fate can do real wonders to your self-esteem.
Image courtesy of Manhattan Short.
