MANHATTAN SHORT winners announced!

"8 MINUTES"  Wins 20th MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival in record breaking year.

8 Minutes" from Georgia was crowned the winner in the 20th Annual MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival after organizers tallied a record number of votes from audiences in over 300 venues worldwide. "8 Minutes" won the Gold Medal while 

"Viola, Franca" (Italy) claims Silver 

 "Mare Nostrum" (Syria) takes home the Bronze. 

Best Actor

The Best Actor Award was won by Aleksandrs Ronis starring in "Just Go!".

The Strand results were slightly different:

1. 8 Minutes

2. Mare Nostrum

3. Viola Franca

So, the Vicksburg audience chose the same top three films but the order of the second and third place was reversed.

Voting for best actor in Vicksburg was close. Our results put Tarek the barber from Hope Dies Last as our winner, but Aleksandrs from Just Go was right behind him.

Thanks to all who came and made this a great event. And thanks again to Martin's at Midtown for their afterparty.

MANHATTAN SHORT returns!

Saturday night at the Strand:

 MANHATTAN SHORT

Saturday, October 7 

7 PM

(Plus afterparty at Martin's and early supper discount at Roca)

Filmgoers in Vicksburg can unite with over 100,000 film-lovers around the world during this week when the 20th Annual MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival screens at the Strand on Saturday, October 7 at 7 PM

Record Number of Entries:
The 10 MANHATTAN SHORT finalists hail from nine countries with films from Syria, Latvia and Georgia representing their respective countries for the first time in this event. Two short films hail from Spain, the only country with multiple Final 10 selections. These Final 10 short films represent the best short films among a record 1615 submissions from 75 countries received by MANHATTAN SHORT for 2017, testimony to the enduring vibrancy and creativity of short films. This year's Final 10 represent an extraordinary range of film genres with comedy, drama, horror, sci-fi, animation and martial arts short films all part of the MANHATTAN SHORT program.

The Final 10 are:
Do No Harm (New Zealand), Behind (Spain), Fickle Bickle (USA), Hope Dies Last (United Kingdom) The Perfect Day (Spain), Just Go! (Latvia), Mare Nostrum (Syria), Viola, Franca (Italy), In a Nutshell(Netherlands) 8 Minutes (Georgia).

After the screening everyone at the Strand will vote for their favorite film and actor and our votes will be part of the worldwide balloting to decide the winners of this year's MANHATTAN SHORT!

Need an early dinner? Roca is offering a 10% discount between 

5 PM and 6:45 for attendees of MANHATTAN SHORT...

And after the voting, we are all headed over to

Martin's at Midtown where we can count the ballots and announce our winners while everyone has a drink or light supper.

See the trailer for the Festival

The Strand Theatre

717 Clay Street

downtown Vicksburg

Tickets available at Highway 61 Coffeehouse or at the door - $7

Programs Saturday & Monday

Mama Africa, a film about Miriam MakebaSaturday, September 30 at 7 PM

Miriam Makeba was one of the first African musicians who won international stardom and whose music was always anchored in her traditional South African roots. Miriam Makeba was forced into exile in 1959.

She sang for John F. Kennedy, performed with Harry Belafonte and Nina Simone, was married to Hugh Masekela and also Stokely Carmichael.

Her life was tumultuous. She always stood for truth and justice. She fought for the oppressed most importantly for black Africans, as a campaigner against apartheid. She died November 2008 after a concert in Italy.

Mika Kaurismaki's documentary, traces fifty years of her music and her performing life. Through rare archive footage of her performances and through interviews with her contemporaries we discover the remarkable journey of Miriam Makeba

Directed by Mika Kaurismaki, 2011, 90 min, South Africa / Germany, documentary in English

See the trailer: 

$5 advance tickets available at Highway 61 Coffeehouse, $7 at the door

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and

The Strand Theatre and Lorelei Books present

John le Carré

An Evening with George Smiley

A recording of a live reading and booktalk at The Royal Festival Hall in London

In aid of Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors without Borders (MSF)
To take place on Monday October 2 at 6 PM 2017 at the Strand Theatre


Join us for a unique celebration of one of the world’s greatest writers, as he shares the secrets behind the creation of his most beloved character. 


From his extraordinary Cold War novels – such as The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – to his powerful descriptions of the arms trade in The Night Manager, and the War on Terror in A Most Wanted Man, the writing of John le Carré has come to define the last half century. In this one-off event, the author discusses the full breadth of his career, and reflects on the continuing story of his most famous creation, the tubby, bespectacled spy, George Smiley.


Coinciding with the publication date of his new novel, A Legacy of Spies, the event will include readings from the book by the author. The novel sees the return of some of le Carré’s most iconic Cold War characters, including George Smiley and his trusted lieutenant, Peter Guillam, as their past comes back to claim them in the present. With a rare question and answer session, this will be an unmissable opportunity to experience one of the foremost chroniclers of our age, direct and in his own words.


In support of MSF, the leading emergency medical humanitarian aid organisation, John le Carré is donating his speaker’s fee, and the producers of the live cinema broadcast, The Ink Factory, are donating their share of the profits to the charity.


The film will be shown at the Strand Theatre: 717 Clay Street in downtown Vicksburg at 6 PM on Monday, October 2. Copies of Le Carre's new book, a Legacy of Spies and other books by the author will be available at the event coutesy of Lorelei Books.

This program is only showing at a few locations in the U.S.. Santa Fe, New Mexico is the next closest to the west, Winston Salem, North Carolina and Lake Worth, Florida are the closest to the east.

About Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors without Borders (MSF)
Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is a leading emergency medical humanitarian aid organisation. They provide emergency assistance to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics and natural or man-made disasters, without discrimination and irrespective of race, religion, gender or political affiliation. They work in over 60 countries and go to places where others cannot or choose not to go.

Tickets: $8 available at Highway 61 Coffeehouse

Art House Theater Day 2017 is a done deal...

About 45 folks gathered at the Strand on Sunday, September 24 to celebrate the second annual Art House Theater Day.

Our idea was to expand on the usual sight and sound of films and add the other senses. We figured the best way to engage the senses of taste, smell and touch were to have food and drink. Taking our cue from our feature film: Lucky, we decided to have a fiesta, which meant Mexican food and Bloody Marias before the film, and flan for dessert afterwards.

Lucky was preceded by clips from the career of Harry Dean Stanton. The film was a moving tribute to the life of this wonderful character actor (who died about a week before) and a meditation on acceptance for the audience.

The Strand audience was largely comprised of "regulars" but it was great to see a number of newbies there for the first time. I assured the first timers that they would have to return, because there were no other attendees who had only been there once before.

All in all, it was a civilized and fulfilling AHTD.

Thanks to John and Lisa at Martin's at Midtown; Jay Parmegiani and crew from 10 South; Rachel Bacon; and Joseph Holbrooks for all providing food and drink for the soiree. Also thanks to those folks who volunteered to help us next time we are crazy enough to attempt something like this.

Come back soon and often, and remember AHTD returns in 2018!

Come celebrate - Sunday is Art house Theater Day - Film, Food, Drinks, Fun...

It's a celebration! In fact, a fiesta!!!

A feature film, a short, food, libations, surprises, and giveaways...

Art  House Theater Day is your opportuinty to come enjoy all we do here and show your appreciation for the role of the Strand and theaters like it in their community. Our goal is to make more happen in downtown Vicksburg, to bring world class programs to our little town that entertain, inspire, and provoke.

On Sunday, September 24, join us and 150+ cinemas nationwide for @Art House Theater Day, and celebrate film culture and the cinematic experience. The Strand will screen Lucky starring the late Harry Dean Stanton.

Lucky tells the story of an elderly man living in a small Arizona community who has to face mortality. But not as alone as he first thinks. It is a hoot to see this character actor take center stage in one last movie y crafted just for him. His old friend, David Lynch, has a role as a friend and neighbor.

It's a celebration of the life of Harry Dean Stanton. Read his obit from the New York Times

The Strand's Art House Theater Day is a fiesta!
Feature Film: Lucky - including tribute to Harry Dean Stanton with exclusive intro from the director, John Carroll Lynch...

Watch the Lucky Trailer
A cool short film...
Music...
Food and Beverages from some of our restaurant partners...(with an on the border theme)
Surprises and treats...

Come celebrate the pleasures of sharing films, conversations, and more...

Sunday, September 24 at 6 PM

We are asking a $15 donation for the event. ($10 in advance from Highway 61 Coffeehouse)

Verdi's Macbeth - Opera Onscreen Sunday at the Strand

Rising Alternative presents
Macbeth recorded at Liceu in Barcelona

Sunday, September 17 at 2 PM

General of the victorious Scottish armies, Macbeth hears a prophecy from three witches that predicts he will be the next King of Scotland. Believing this premonition, his wife encourages him to kill the King. His divine right drives Macbeth to be bloodthirsty with friends and opponents alike, but alone and racked with guilt, he faces his last battle and death.

Giuseppe Verdi felt inspired by Shakespeare’s work and his devotion led to his first opera based on one of the writer’s texts. Verdi’s enthusiasm gave him the will of achieving “something extraordinary” with the iconic writers work.

In this version, Christof Loy directs the action in a classic timeless space with surrealistic touches dominated by blacks and whites, adding to the great dramatic intensity

Advance tickets available at Highway 61 Coffeehouse: $15 / At the door: $18

• Film

Toy Gun - Crime comedy at the Strand

Set in what could be the same universe as FARGO and THE BIG LEBOWSKI, TOY GUN is a fun, crime-themed comedy about a meek young man who sets out to prove to his ex-wife that he is courageous and masculine by impulsively robbing a bank. The ensuing police investigation hilariously suspects everyone except our anti-hero, leading him to believe that he's gotten away with it …

Genre(s): Action / Comedy / Crime
Running Time: 90 minutes
Cast: Luke Allen Gale (Captain America: The First Avenger), John Hannah (The Mummy, Four Weddings and a Funeral), Anthony LaPaglia (The Client, Autumn in New York), Julian Sands (Ray Donovan)
Director: Marco Serafini

See the trailer

Saturday, September 16 at 7 PM

Discount advance tickets available at Highway 61 Coffeehouse