Topeka Public Library to host short film festival

TOPEKA (KSNT) – The Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library will be holding the 26th Annual Manhattan Short Film Festival from Sept. 8 to Oct. 8.

Screenings will be held at the Marvin Auditorium where attendees will vote for the best short film and actor. The festival will include more than 500 different venues around the world and treat more than 100,000 film enthusiasts to films that come from seven different countries, according to a press release from the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library.

The event isn’t a touring festival but a celebration that takes place across the globe, according to the Manhattan Short website. The event will be held at locations in Concordia, Lenexa, McPherson, Oberlin, Overland Park, Wichita and Topeka. For a comprehensive list of confirmed venues, click here.

Finalists come from the U.S., Australia, Afghanistan, Finland, Iran, Switzerland, UK and Canada. The films were selected from 850 submissions from 72 different countries. The common theme this year: how we face adversity.

Short films from the festival have been nominated for Oscars in the past. Once an Oscar nominee is announced, partnering cinemas and audiences promote the film through social media, according to the Manhattan Short website.

There will be three screenings held at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library:

2 to 5 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 1

2 to 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 6

2 to 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 6

This year’s 10 short film finalists:

“Sunless” (U.S.)

“Voice Activated (Australia)

“Yellow” (Afghanistan)

“Tuulikki” (Finland)

“The Family Circus” (U.S.)

“Career Day” (U.S.)

“Snail” (Iran)

“The Record” (Switzerland)

“The Stupid Boy” (UK)

“Soleil De Nuit” (Canada)

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