Union Board brings Manhattan Short Film Festival to Bloomington

Bloomington was one out of 195 cities worldwide that participated in the 12th annual Manhattan Short Film Festival.

It featured 10 films, all 15 minutes or less in length. The audience voted on their favorite after the screening of all 10 films. More than 100,000 people from around the world screen the films and vote.

Union Board brought the festival to the Whittenberger Auditorium Sept. 30 through Oct. 2. 

“This event is really fitting for Bloomington,” said Courtney Vlaming, a junior and Union Board Films committee member. “There is an international feel to Bloomington.”
The 10 films were selected from an initial pool of 440 entries from 43 countries. The 10 selected films came from different countries including the U.K., Croatia, France and Australia.

Themes of the films spanned many genres. “Watching,” “Party” and “The Pool” were psychological thrillers. The German film “12 Years” was an animated short that was less than four minutes long. The films “War” from Italy and “Madagascar” from France centered on themes of love, death and family.

“The films are different from typical films — they are from around the world and viewers actually participate in voting,” said Brian Mockabee, a junior and Union Board Films committee member.

Bob Brookshire, a Bloomington citizen and regular attendee, said he enjoys short films and the festival.

“The thing about Academy Award short films is that you never get to see them because no one shows them,” he said. “I’ve seen some wonderful little films.”
Brookshire said Bloomington is a good venue because of the university.

“There are many cities in the Midwest where this festival wouldn’t go over very well,” he said.

Shirin Hassan, an Australian citizen turned Bloomington resident, attended the festival for the first time Thursday.

“It’s amazing that you can get a story in that short amount of time,” she said. “You wouldn’t see this sort of thing in the regular movies.”

Union Board brought the festival in an effort to incorporate films at the Whittenberger other than those seen in blockbuster movie theaters.

“People are reluctant to sit down for entire foreign films,” Vlaming said. “The festival shows short segments that are more manageable for people. It gives you a taste of 10 different countries.”