The following article was written by Tim Gadzinski, a Marketing Associate at the Manitowoc Public Library.
8 years. As difficult as it is to believe, that’s how long it’s been since MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival first appeared at Manitowoc Public Library. My, how time flies!
Now in it’s 29th year, MANHATTAN SHORT began in 1998, when founder, Nicholas Mason, gathered an audience of 200 people and showed sixteen short films on a screen mounted to the side of a truck on Mulberry Street in New York City’s Little Italy. One year later, the Festival moved uptown to Union Square Park, where audiences grew to love the annual event.
From these humble beginnings, MANHATTAN SHORT has now transformed into a worldwide phenomenon. It’s the only film festival on the planet to unfold simultaneously, in more than 500 cinemas on six continents for one week—September 24 through October 4—bringing over 100,000 film-lovers from all corners of the globe together-in-spirit to see the output of the next generation of filmmakers.
And for the first time in its history, MANHATTAN SHORT has selected ten films from ten countries, choosing films from the United States, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, United Kingdom, Moldova, Russia, Cuba, Georgia and Mexico making up the 2026 festival.
Which of these Final Ten short films is the best? Well, that’s up to a worldwide audience to decide. Cinephiles from across the United States and around the globe—and, perhaps, most importantly, from Manitowoc—will have the opportunity to discover their inner film critic. That’s right—if you attend MANHATTAN SHORT at MPL you will be given a ballot as you enter the screening and get to choose whom you believe deserves the top prizes. You will have a direct, personal effect on the process of what and who wins Best Film and Best Actor!
This unique festival is unlike anything that you’ll be able to experience anywhere else in our immediate area. It’s not a touring festival and it has no corporate sponsors. In Manitowoc, the MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival will be screening these ten spectacular short films in the Balkansky Community Room on two evenings—Tuesday, September 29 and Thursday, October 1. Both nights will kick off at 5 PM. Pick whichever screening suits your schedule best—or attend both nights if you’re a real movie devotee! However, please note that we will be showing the same program on both nights.
One more thing. All ten short films in MANHATTAN SHORT are Oscar-qualified, which means that they are automatically eligible for an Academy Award nomination by virtue of their screening. In 2024, 5 MANHATTAN SHORT selections were short-listed for Oscars with 3 of those nominated, including the ultimate winner for Best Live Action short “I’m Not a Robot.” MANHATTAN SHORT continues to be an early showcase for Oscar contenders. The last time that the festival screened at MPL in 2018, 2 films were short-listed, with the incredible “Fauve” making it through the
process to be one of the 5 Oscar nominated live-action shorts.
We sincerely hope you’ll make your way to The Balkansky at 5 PM on either September 29 or October 1. It’s a fantastic opportunity to see some incredible films. You may even get to screen—and potentially vote for—the next “Big Thing” before many other people even know about it! And that’s not something that one often gets to lay claim to in The 54220!
