Salina Art Center

12th Annual Manhattan Short Film Festival

September 25 – 27, 2009
at the Art Center Cinema
150 S. Santa Fe

10 short films screening 532 times in 173 cities
spanning five continents in one week!

Salina, KS – Area filmgoers will have the opportunity to unite with audiences in 173 cities across five continents to view and judge the next generation of filmmakers when the 12th Annual Manhattan Short Film Festival screens at Art Center Cinema, 150 S. Santa Fe, Salina, Kansas, September 25–27, at 2:00 pm each day.
                                       
This year the festival received 428 entries from 36 countries around the world from which ten short films—all 14 minutes and under in length—were selected. Countries represented this year include the USA, Australia, Mozambique, UK, Israel, Spain, France, Sweden and Italy in what festival organizers describe as a “Cinematic Olympiad.”

These films will not only entertain a global audience but be judged by them as well. Filmgoers will be handed a voting card upon entry to each participating venue and asked to vote for the one film they feel should win. Votes will be tallied and forwarded to the festival’s headquarters in New York, where the winner will be announced on Tuesday,
September 29, at 9:15 pm.

The Manhattan Short Film Festival has come to be known as one of the best launching pads for filmmakers in the world today. Some of the past finalists have achieved the highest recognition the industry has to offer by going on to be nominated for, and even winning, an Oscar in the short film category.  “While the goal of any festival is to discover and promote future talent, the ultimate aim of this festival is to bring communities together via ten stories from around the world. There is no better insight to what is happening in the world or how the world is feeling than through the eyes, ears and lenses of these short filmmakers,” said Manhattan Short founding director Nicholas Mason. “From the festival’s humble beginnings when I projected a handful of short films onto a screen mounted onto the side of a truck on a downtown Manhattan street 12 years ago, to where we are now just blows my mind. In keeping with our mission to unite the world via compelling short films, we’re gearing up to further expand the festival’s reach by screening in every continent around the world during the same week, with venues in Africa scheduled in 2010. This is a one-of-a-kind festival and anyone can be a part of it. It’s huge!”

Tickets for the Manhattan Short Film Festival at the Art Center Cinema are $7.00 ($6.00 for Salina Art Center members) and may be purchased at the door. For more information visit http://www.salinaartcenter.org, or call the Art Center at 785-827-1431.
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­­­­­­­­­­­­­The Salina Art Center is located at 242 S. Santa Fe. The Art Center Cinema is located a block away at 150 S. Santa Fe, Salina, Kansas.  Art Center galleries are open Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 5:00 pm, and Sunday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm.  Business office hours are 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Monday through Friday.