The 29th Annual
MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival
PRESENTED BY FILMS AT MANSHIP
When and Where: Wednesday, September 30, 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. in Manship Theatre
Genre: Shorts
Ticket Price: $9.50, including fees
Add-on option for a meal and a movie at Capital City Grill!
About the festival
Discover your inner film critic by casting your vote for Best Film and Best Actor in the 29th Annual Manhattan Short Film Festival screening! You'll join film lovers simultaneously in over 500 venues across the globe gathering to see the Ten Finalist in this year's event.
With past finalists garnering Oscar nominations and short films continuing to move into the Hollywood mainstream, come see this entertaining program featuring the best short films in the world today! Ballots will be supplied when you arrive.
2026 festival shorts:
Small Talk:
Directed by: Eduardo Moral
Country: USA
Time: 8:40
Synopsis: In a neon-drenched future where AI has consumed nearly every profession, a weary cab driver preserves the last traces of humanity the only way he can... through small talk.
Marry is Missing:
Directed by: Aisling Byrne
Country: Ireland
Time: 22:00
Synopsis: When care worker Mary vanishes without a trace, Detective Foley arrives at the Yellow Tree Day Service, and investigations begin. As reports from the eyewitnesses become more and more confounding, we are asked to explore the reliability of truth, the strangeness of fiction, and the people we choose to believe.
Candy Bar:
Director: Nash Edgerton
Country: Australia
Running Time: 6:19
Synopsis: A young girl thinks a man in the candy bar line looks like her dad.
Vultures:
Directed by: Dian Weys
Country: South Africa
Time: 15:00
Synopsis: In the volatile moments after a car crash, before the authorities arrive, a hot-headed yet desperate tow truck driver fiercely protects his tow. But the situation quickly spirals out of his control.
Life Goes On:
Directed by: Kat Butterfield & Daniel Audritt
Country: United Kingdom
Time: 19:00
Synopsis: Bill is in end-of-life care waiting for the sweet release of death - but unfortunately for him, he's stuck in an infinite time loop, causing the day to restart the second his heart stops...
Hai Davai:
Directed by: Vlad Gradescu
Country: Moldova
Time: 16:00
Synopsis: On the cusp of leaving her rural Moldovan village for a new life abroad, Nina is stopped, quite literally, by an old superstition: a black cat crosses the road. Citing bad luck, her worried grandmother refuses to let her pass.
Pickup:
Directed by: Viktoriia Lapushkina
Country: Russia
Time: 3:00
Synopsis: At a pickup workshop, every girl gets a mission — flirt, charm, and win. For Di, the shyest one in the room, the task is simple: ask a guy to buy her coffee. Passing by her more confident “competitors,” she ends up on a rooftop smoking area, where she meets Alex — a man about to end his life.
Norheimsund:
Directed by: Ana. A. Alpizar
Country: Cuba
Time: 12:00
Synopsis: A girl's long-distance romance with an older Norwegian man promises to pull her and her mother from their austere life in Cuba, but her dreams are shaken when she realizes he isn't as idyllic as he seems.
When the Sea was Calm:
Director and Animator: Mamuka Tkeshelashvili
Country: Georgia
Running Time: 18:00
Synopsis: When the Sea Was Calm is a silent, hand-crafted Georgian animated short that transforms memories of pre-war Sokhumi into a poetic story of childhood, first love, exile, and the dream of return.
Never Give Up!
Directed by: Tamás Yvan Topolánszky
Country: Hungary, Mexico
Time: 19:58
Synopsis: Alone in the desert, a young boy attempts to cross the U.S.—Mexico border guided only by his mother’s final words: never give up. An unexpected source of hope leads him toward a twist that redefines survival.
MEAL AND A MOVIE AT CAPITAL CITY GRILL
Select movie tickets quantity
Select number of meals
Select reservation time
Meal Options:
Smoked salmon salad + bread pudding
Fried redfish served over a bed of rice and topped with shrimp etouffee + bread pudding
We will let Capital City Grill know you’re coming! Each meal option is $35, including tax and 20% gratuity. You can order beverages and any other menu items separately at the restaurant.
Location
Capital City Grill is in our building! The entrance is located on 100 Lafayette Street. As you’re leaving Capital City Grill, you’ll take a quick walk across the Shaw Center Plaza to enter the Manship Theatre lobby. Park once and enjoy a fun time downtown!
Check out our theatre!
Take a 3D tour of Manship Theatre! No matter where you sit, you'll feel close to the action. The first and second mezzanines are positioned over the orchestra ring, so every seat offers an intimate, exciting view of the stage.
Manship Theatre does not authorize third party ticket sellers. Any ticket purchased outside the Manship Theatre Website may not be valid. All patrons, regardless of age, must have a ticket to attend performances. Please carefully consider whether a performance is appropriate for children before planning to attend.