MANHATTAN SHORT returns...

 

 

 

 Film lovers at the Strand Theatre will join over 100,000 film enthusiasts around the world
Saturday October 5

when the 27th Annual MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival screens at 7 PM.

MANHATTAN SHORT 2024 will screen simultaneously across the world during a one-week period, with the Best Film and Best Actor awards determined by ballots cast by the audiences in each participating venue. By virtue of their selection by MANHATTAN SHORT, each short film is automatically Oscar-qualified.

Introducing the MANHATTAN SHORT Finalists of 2024

The MANHATTAN SHORT finalists hail from nine countries with films from United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Ukraine, Italy, France, Croatia, Australia, Ireland alongside two films from the USA.

These Final Ten Films represent the best short films from among 872 submissions from 74 countries received by MANHATTAN SHORT for 2024, testimony to the enduring vibrancy and creativity of short films worldwide.

The MANHATTAN SHORT Final Ten are:

The Talent (UK), 

I’m Not a Robot (The Netherlands), Mother (Ukraine),

Dovecote (Italy), 

Pathological (USA), 

Alarms (France), 

Favourites (Australia), 

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (Croatia), 

Room Taken (Ireland), 

Jane Austen’s Period Drama (USA)

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 Sep 20 to Sept 26.

You Be the Judge!

Which of these Final Ten short films is the best? That's up to you and a worldwide audience to decide. Cinema-goers across the United States and around the globe will become instant film critics as they are handed a ballot that allows them to vote for the Best Film and Actor. MANHATTAN SHORT is the ultimate audience award that salutes the creative talents of both directors behind the camera and actors in front of it.

Votes will be sent through to MANHATTAN SHORT HQ with the winner announced at ManhattanShort.com on Monday Oct 7, at 10AM EST.

Tickets for MANHATTAN SHORT are $10 and available in advance at Highway 61 Coffeehouse.

And there's free hand crafted POPCORN...

Where?

The Strand Theatre

717 Clay Street

Downtown Vicksburg

L'Inferno - silent film with live music by Montopolois

Coming to the Historic Strand Theatre 

in downtown Vicksburg 

 

L’inferno + Montopolis = not so Silent Film 

 

Tuesday, October 1 at 7 PM

 

The Halloween season is starting early in downtown Vicksburg with a silent classic horror film accompanied by live music. Tuesday, October 1 the Italian silent classic, L’Inferno will be presented at the Strand Theatre with live original music by Montopolis of Austin Texas. 

 

L’Inferno (1911) is the first feature length horror film ever released.  An adaptation of Dante’s classic journey through hell, this masterpiece of silent film employs elaborate costumes, special effects, and set design to create an awe-inspiring and ethereal world.  The original Montopolis score brings new life to this horror classic with a mix of psych rock, dark wave and terrifying sound effects performed live.  Montopolis is following up their critically acclaimed tour of Man with a Movie Camera which they brought to the Strand in 2022. 

 

About silent films and musical accompaniment, Daniel Boone, film programmer for the Strand, had to say, “silent films were never silent. From the early days, live music was performed to accompany the images. Sometimes written, but often improvised, the music was a complement, a completion of the film. When sound pictures became the norm, the element of live performance at the movies was largely abandoned. There was no need.” 

 

“Not everyone believed sound was the best idea for the movies. The great Alfred Hitchcock thought the art of storytelling inherent in film was hampered by the necessity of recording the actors voices and background sounds. He referred to the new sound films as “photographs of people talking.” Even though most of the “limitations” of sound have been long been eliminated, the potential power of the image in “silent” film remains.” 

 

“Recent years have seen a resurgence in silent films accompanied by live musicans. High profile projects like Carmine Coppola’s orchestral accompaniment to Abel Gance’s Napoleon and Richard Einhorn’s shimmering Voices of Light paired with Dryer’s Passion of Joan of Arc are only two of many examples. At festivals groups like The Alloy Orchestra have performed many scores to films such as Tod Browning’s Dracula, and Paul Fejo’s Lonesome.  And in 2012 a silent film won the Oscar for Best Picture. We’ve a few silents with live music before, and it is experience that everyone should have.” 

 

Montopolis is an indie chamber music group from Austin, Texas that performs the works of composer Justin Sherburn.  Their genre-busting music uses inventive instrumentation to create "stunning and transcendent" (Austin Chronicle) concerts.  Their programs are audience-engaging, multi-media events that combine live music with film and interactive storytelling. The Montopolis musicians include members of the Austin Symphony, Okkervil River, Tosca String Quartet, and the Polyphonic Spree.  

 

The performance will take place at the Strand Theatre at 717 Clay Street. It will begin at 7 PM. Cost is $15 per person. Tickets are available in advance at Highway 61 Coffeehouse.