Film lovers will unite in more than 500 venues worldwide – including the NHTI campus – to view and judge the work of the next generation of filmmakers from around the world for the 26th Annual Manhattan Short Film Festival taking place Sept. 29 to Oct. 1. The festival screenings are approximetly 2.5 hours in length and feature all 10 finalist films. This is the 20th year these screenings will take place at NHTI.
NHTI’s Film Society, together with local film enthusiast Barry Steelman, will present the festival, which features the most creative short films in the world judged internationally by the cinema-going public. Many of the films from past festivals have gone on to be nominated for Academy Awards. For more information on the films being screened, visit the festival website at manhattanshort.com.
NHTI has a long, rich history of showing films to the community and region. The Manhattan Short Film Festival annually kicks off the NHTI Film Society’s season, this being its 23rd. The Film Society was started by former NHTI President Lynn Kilchenstein, former English Department chair Diana Levine, and professor Steve Ambra. NHTI has served as host site for the Somewhat North of Boston Film Festival for several years and hosted the state’s young filmmaker’s festival. The society has screened over 225 films as part of its Friday Night Film Series.
The Manhattan Shorts are well attended by NHTI students, faculty, and staff. Free admittance for NHTI students has been the hallmark, particularly for those in film studies courses. Attending the festival enriches these students’ studies.
For decades, Steelman, has been known as Concord’s “film guru.” For years he owned and operated Concord’s only independent film theatre, Cinema 93, and was the driving force behind the creation of Concord’s downtown independent film theatre, Red River Theatres.
NHTI’s screenings will be held Friday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 30, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 1, at 2 p.m. They will take place in Sweeney Hall Auditorium, S-122. Admission is $10 per person, cash or check, at the door. There are no advanced ticket sales. NHTI students (with their valid NHTI ID) will be admitted free.
For additional information about the films being screened, contact Steve Ambra, sambra@ccsnh.edu.
