Manhattan Short Film Festival at The Movies at Meadville A Review

When was the last time you saw a movie from Bulgaria?

Recently local cinephiles were treated to an annual event that showcases outstanding short films from around the world.

And vote their opinions with fellow moviegoers at 500+other venues across the globe.

Yes, it's back.

For one night only, the “Manhattan Short” film festival returned to the Movies at Meadville theater to show obscure films to people who wouldn't ordinarily have a chance to see them.

For almost 20 years the Movies at Meadville has hosted the event where film buffs can vote on their favorite movie which, in the past, have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best
Short Film.

Ten short films were shown from various nations including Ireland, Ukraine, Italy, Australia and more. Two were from the United States. Three films had a comic bent; the remainders were dramas.

Timewise the longest short film was 22 minutes; the briefest was just five minutes in length.

Beyond the rarity of just seeing movies from another nation shown on a local screen, locals can learn about other cultures and their concerns, some of which are specific to that nation, others are worldwide.

“Mother,” an 8-minute film from Ukraine, is a serio-comic depiction of a daughter wanting to flee her home with her mother on the day Russia invaded their nation. The girl is frantic but the mother is calm and refuses to leave. After all, her mother is busy painting her toenails. A “Life Goes On” or “Keep Calm and Carry On” analogy?

“Alarms” from France concerns Pierre, who's in charge of a construction project that's way behind schedule. With labor issues, his boss and local officials hounding him, he forgets personal chore—demonstrating to him that there's much more important things in his life than work.

While “Alarms” depicts something that could happen within the United States, “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent” makes any American glad he lives here and has certain inalienable rights. In “Man,” a train is stopped by a paramilitary group searching for a person. A civilian on the train criticizes their leader and refuses to back down. And is thus removed from the train to go God knows where, his fate uncertain.

With current concerns over Artificial Intelligence and how it so closely replicates human beings, “I Am Not A Robot,” from the Netherlands, portrays a future that may not be so far off in the future; while on a comic bent, “Pathological,” from the United States is a funny web of lies that comes true. Too true.

This year the event's producers made a wise decision of selecting the most humorous film, “Jane Austen's Period Drama” from the United States, to be the night's final film. Easily the funniest film, it ended the night on a happy, high note—although I promise you, you'll never think of the expression “period drama” the same way again!

While everyone in attendance seemed to enjoy the festival, it was somewhat marred when the subtitles from certain films were cut off and shown below the screen, making them difficult to read and making some film's difficult to follow.

Nonetheless, bravo for the Movies at Meadville theater for giving locals a taste of international film making, be it only for one night!

Let's hope Manhattan Short returns to our area again in 2025!

G. Greenleaf

       For more information on the Manhattan Short international film festival, visit ManhattanShort.com