Library to host short film festival Oct. 4-6

More than 100,000 film lovers in more than 500 cities across six continents will soon gather in cinemas, museums, libraries and universities for the Finalists’ Films in the 26th-annual Manhattan Short Film Festival.

The Putnam County Public Library will host the festival locally, showcasing 10 short films that attendees will be able to view and vote on.

Manhattan Short is not a touring festival. Rather, it is a celebration that occurs simultaneously across the globe, bringing films to venues and allowing the audiences to select their favorites.

The festival will span three days from Oct. 4-6, with showings of the 10 short films available each day. All showings will take place in the Kiwanis Room from 5:30-8 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday and from 2-5 p.m. on Friday.

Each date will be a repeat showing of the following films:

• “Sunless:” As they pilot their submarine down into the world’s deepest point, two researchers must debate pressing on when a crack in their window port grows.

• “Voice Activated:” A florist with a stutter is forced to cooperate with a voice-activated car on the way to an important delivery.

• “Yellow:” In Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, a woman walks into a chadari store in Kabul to buy her first full-body veil and face an uncertain future.

• “Tuulikki:” When a young woman, dominated by an over-protective mother, plots her escape, their relationship dissolves into one of mutual suspicion.

• “The Family Circus:” A Vietnamese-American family’s plan to cover up a drunk-driving incident begins to unravel when their emotional baggage spills out in front of the police.

• “Career Day:” A once-promising 1990s pop star and his aging boy band reunite for his daughter’s elementary school career day. They go viral.

• “Snail:” A loving mother strives to make her young son’s singing dreams come true, but an audition takes a dramatic, unforeseen turn.

• “The Record:” An antique musical instrument dealer obsessively plays a magical vinyl record that, “reads your mind and plays your lost memories.” Even the forgotten ones.

• “The Stupid Boy:” In London, a broken man groomed for a terrorist attack is confronted by a local lad who sees things differently. But seeing things differently can be dangerous.

• “Soleil de Nuit:” While training for a moon landing, a group of Canadian astronauts are tasked with an added mission by a Native American elder.

For more information, call the library at 653-2755 or visit www.pcpl21.org.