Manhattan Short Film Festival 2026

The 29th Annual

MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival.

ONE WORLD – ONE WEEK – ONE FESTIVAL

You Be the Judge!

Discover your inner film critic by casting your vote for Best Film and Best Actor in the 29th Annual MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival screening Sept.24-Oct, 4, 2026. 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 supplied upon entry.

MANHATTAN SHORT 2026 Finalists:

For the first time in its history MANHATTAN SHORT has selected ten films from ten countries with films from USA, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, United Kingdom, Moldova, Russia, Cuba, Georgia and Mexico making up MANHATTAN SHORT 2026. “Since 9/11 my vision for this Festival has been to create a filmic Olympiad. An event consisting of ten quality shorts from ten separate countries that joins the world, and finally in 2026 we’ve managed to do that. I’m very excited for the reaction it receives from our worldwide audiences”, says Nicholas Mason, founding director of MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival.

Small Talk (USA), Mary is Missing (Ireland), Candy Bar (Australia), Vultures (South Africa), Life Goes On (United Kingdom), Hai Davai (Moldova), Pickup (Russia), Norheimsund (Cuba), When the Sea was Calm (Georgia), Never Give Up (Mexico).

Read Interviews with each Finalist: https://www.manhattanshort.com/finalists.html

The Featured Musical Artist for 2026 is Madeline Rosene. Her song Love & Algorithms will play during intermission at MANHATTAN SHORT 2026. “There’s a TV show being produced right now that’s just waiting for this song to come along” — Nicholas Mason.