Mumbai gears up for Manhattan Short Film Festival

The city will be hosting its second Manhattan Short Film Festival (MSFF) tomorrow (Wednesday, September 28). And as part of the festival - which is one of the world’s largest short film festivals - ten short films that made the cut out of over 500 entries from across 40 countries will be screened.

What sets this festival apart from the rest is that the jury here comprises the audience and the final winner from the ten shortlisted films will be selected based on their votes.

Talking about the festival and the films being screened this year, festival director Anil Sadarangani says, “The festival since its inception in 1998 has proven to be a platform for budding filmmakers across countries, as the shortlisted ten films are screened in over 200 cities across the globe. The entries have been increasing with every passing year and this time there were more than 500 entries.”  He adds, “The duration of the films is anything between eight to 18 minutes. As the previous year, this time too, the topics vary considerably. So there’s an Australian film about a young boy’s parents, who question their sexuality, then there’s a film from Scotland about two drug addicts, another film from Switzerland about a girl from a poor family who must decide to give up her unwanted child for adoption. There’s also Sexting, a film that stars the Hollywood actor Julia Stiles.”

There’s no Indian film this time around however that made it to the final ten. But highlighting the festival’s previous Indian connection, New-York based founder of the festival, Nicholas Mason reveals, “The MSFF shares a special relationship with India because the winner of the 2004 festival, Ashvin Kumar’s Little Terrorist, went on to earn a nomination at the Oscars in the Short Film category.”

Ashvin himself adds, “The short film genre is a great way for filmmakers to experiment without worrying about the factors that come into play when making a feature film. It also brings recognition to the filmmaker. You learn how to tell a story economically and within a time limit.”

But it’s not just filmmakers, the festival proves to be quite a treat for all cinema-lovers, points out Oscar-winner Bhanu Athaiya. “Last year, one saw a good selection of films from across the world, understandably worthy of making their mark at platforms like the Oscars. The caliber of films was excellent,” says the veteran designer.

At Amadeus, NCPA
from 4.00pm to 7.00pm