by Becka McFadden

Cinephiles can help determine the winner of an international film festival when Provokátor brings the 2006 Manhattan Short Film Festival to Kino Svĕtozor from September 21 to 23. Founded in 1997, the festival features the most creative short films in the world.  

Founded in 1997, the festival features the most creative short films in the world. Until this year, finalists were judged by film industry pros such as Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Laura Linney, Eric Stolz and numerous studio heads; this year, the outcome is the hands of the audiences. Viewers will be given voting cards and asked to select the film they feel should win. The 2006 festival also marks the first time that screenings will be held outside the United States. The Czech Republic is one of 12 European countries chosen to participate, along with 35 U.S. states and Canada; next year audiences in Australia, Asia, the Middle East and South America will join in the voting process.

The short film has its origin in the earliest days of cinema and continued as a separate form even as the modern full-length feature evolved. A trip to the cinema in the middle of the 20th century usually included a full-length feature preceded by one or more shorts—a tradition carried on by some art-house cinemas today. Sometimes compared to the short story, the short film gives young filmmakers a chance experiment and develop their styles before moving on to feature-length films. While some short films have running times as long as 40 minutes, those competing in the Manhattan Short Film Festival can not exceed 15 minutes.

The Manhattan Short Film Festival Grand Prize for Best Film offers the winner a chance to make a feature-length film, which will be distributed through the festival venues. The festival is a milestone in the career of any young filmmaker. Former festival participants include Chris Wedge, the creator and director of Ice Age and Robots, whose animated short Bunny, a 1999 entry went on to win an Academy Award for best animated short. The winner of this year’s Manhattan Short Film Festival will be announced following the last screening in New York’s Union Square Park on September 25.

To learn more about the Manhattan Short Film Festival, order DVDs of previous finalists or sign up for the mailing list, visit www.msfilmfest.com.

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