LEWISTON, ME (September 17, 2022) — The Public Theatre will host the 25th Annual MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival on September 30 and October 1 at 7:00pm.

What makes this Film Festival so special is the diversity of the short films from around the world, and the fact that the audience determines the winners. Every person watching the festival around the world will get a ballot to determine the Best Film and Best Actor awards, so this is your chance to play film critic!” The festival also has an enviable history of showing films that have gone on to be nominated for Oscars including one that went on to win the Oscar in the Short film category! 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 Arena CineLounge in Hollywood in the county of Los Angeles from September 23 to September 29.

The Ten MANHATTAN SHORT films hail from eight countries with films from Scotland, Czech & Skovakia, Spain, Australia, Finland and Lebanon, alongside two films from France and USA. This year’s Final Ten Films represent the best short films from among 870 submissions from 70 countries received by MANHATTAN SHORT for 2022, testimony to the enduring vibrancy and creativity of short films worldwide. This year’s final ten include Don vs Lightning (Scotland), Love, Dad (Czech & Slovakia), Save the Bees (USA), The Treatment (Spain), Freefall (France), Fetish (USA), Freedom Swimmer (Australia), The Blanket (Finland), Warsha (Lebanon) and The Big Green (France).

The ten short films will be shown at The Public Theatre on Friday, September 30 and Saturday, October 1 at 7:00pm. For tickets call 782-3200 or visit thepublictheatre.org. Masking is recommended but not required. More information about our See It Safely Protocols can be found at thepublictheatre.org. The Public Theatre is located at 31 Maple St in Downtown, Lewiston