Maine's Capital Area

For one weekend only, filmgoers in Lewiston, Maine will unite with audiences in over 250 cities spanning six continents to view and judge the work of the next generation of filmmakers from around the world when the MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival screens at The Public Theatre in Lewiston on Friday 9/25 at 7:30pm, Saturday 9/26 at 7:30pm. Tickets can be purchased online at www.thepublictheatre.org or by calling 782-3200. Tickets are $8 for adults and students.

Of the 678 entries received from 52 countries, MANHATTAN SHORT selected 10 short films as finalists. Each film is 17 minutes or under in length. Countries represented this year include Chile, Germany, France, Finland/Denmark, Kosovo/UK, Turkey, Switzerland and the USA. MANHATTAN SHORT is one of the largest short film festivals in the world today, as well as the world’s first and only global film festival.

Here’s your chance to be a film critic! These short films will not only entertain a global audience but will be judged by them as well. Filmgoers will be handed a voting card upon entry and asked to vote for the one film they feel should win. Votes are tallied at each participating cinema and submitted to festival headquarters where the winner will be announced in New York City as well as posted on www.ManhattanShort.com on Monday, October 5th at 10:00am. Your vote will count!

With past finalists achieving the ultimate in recognition by being nominated and even winning the Oscar in the short film category, the MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival has become known as a breeding ground for the next big filmmaker.

In one week, audiences in all 50 States in the United States, as well as over 100,000 people from as far north as St. Petersburg, Russia to as far south as Buenos Aires, Argentina, as far east as Kathmandu, Nepal and as far west as Perth, Australia, will come to view and vote on these 10 films. “While the goal of any festival is to discover and promote new talent, the real aim of this festival is bringing communities together via stories from around the world,” says Nicholas Mason, MANHATTAN SHORT founder and director.

“Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that what started as a small, relatively simple event when I projected a handful of short films onto the side of a truck on a downtown Manhattan street 18 years ago, would grow into what it is today, with communities all over the world getting together to celebrate via ten short films... It's become like Earth Day - but with film.” adds Mason.

This event is not going to Cable TV or Video On Demand, so tell your friends and make a date of it. For more information on the Festival and to read detailed interviews with the 10 Finalists visit www.ManhattanShort.com or click on the following links:

Download 300 dpi stills of the finalist filmshttp://manhattanshort.com/p_press_finalist_stills.html

View Film Trailer for Festival: at http://www.manhattanshort.com