The 2023 Manhattan Short Film Festival at TAMUC—博士 Student Ranks the 10 Finalists
9月29日，德州A&M University-商务 hosted the annual Manhattan Short Film Festival in David Talbot Hall. The festival is a global event held from September 28 through October 8 in over 500 cities across six continents. A&自2014年以来，移动商务每年都会举办该活动.
在节日上, attendees watch ten international short films and vote in the categories “Best Film” and “Best Actor.“最重要的是在全球范围内播出, all ten of the films also get screened for a full week at a movie theater in Los Angeles and become eligible for the Oscars.
虽然我不是影评人或学院成员，但我确实喜欢电影. And the Manhattan Short Film Festival allows average movie lovers 就像 me to be a part of this amazing process. Like many other participants, I attended and voted for my favorite film and favorite actor. Here are my rankings of the ten finalists, from worst to best, and what I thought of each film.
10. 《皇冠体育365》，导演:鲍里斯·维塞利诺夫，美国
“Sunless” revolves around two submarine pilots journeying to the world's deepest point when they hear a terrifying sound: a crack. 这是我最不喜欢的电影. 事实上，这是唯一一个我会说“我”的人 没有 就像. 在最近的泰坦号潜水器事件之后，感觉有点太快了. 后来我才知道这部电影被制作出来了 之前 the Titan went missing, but still…it felt somewhat unsettling and not in a good way. Between that and a lack of character development, this film 没有 do it for me.
9. 《皇冠体育365》(The Record)，乔纳森·拉斯卡尔(Jonathan Laskar)导演，瑞士
“The Record” is an animated film about a musical instrument store owner who is given a magic vinyl record that “reads your mind and plays your lost memories.店主听着, he uncovers a profoundly traumatic and suppressed memory from his childhood (I won't say what to avoid spoiling it for potential viewers). 动画是独一无二的, using repeated images of lines and grids and shifting from black and white to color. 音乐也很好听. 然而，我必须承认，我没有得到这部电影的信息. I thought it was an artistic film and a moving story but 没有 understand the symbolism or even what the magic record really did. 直到后来, 当一位观众向我解释时, 我能说的, “哦……我明白了。.“然而, 我听到许多其他与会者说这部电影是他们的最爱, 所以我对《皇冠体育365》的看法可能是少数.
8. 《皇冠体育365赌博》(Voice Activated)，导演:史蒂夫·安托波洛斯(Steve Anthopoulos)，澳大利亚
This film was about Trent, a young florist with a stutter trying to control a voice-activated car. 在电影的简短介绍中, the director shared that the story was based on his experience living with a stutter and trying to communicate with Siri. 《皇冠体育365赌博》有趣而独特，演技也非常出色. 然而, 与其他电影的复杂性相比, 它不是最深的, 这就是为什么它在我的名单上排名相对较低的原因.
7. 芬兰导演Teemu Nikki的《皇冠体育365》
Tuukikki (pronounced too-lee-key) is a young woman living with an over-controlling (seemingly insane) mother who keeps her locked in the house. 最初, 我认为这部电影是惊悚片, but there's a MAJOR plot twist in the last minute of the film that changed the genre entirely. 不付出任何代价, 我可以说这部电影讲述了精神疾病和复杂的, 有时, 看护人与所爱之人之间的紧张关系. 这让我震惊和激动，让我不知所措.
6. 《皇冠体育365》，导演:安德鲁·菲茨杰拉德，美国
保罗是一个陷入麻烦的年轻人，他酒后驾车发生了事故……再一次。. 让他免于牢狱之灾, 他的弟弟, 父亲, and mother decide to cover for him by coming up with a lie to explain the incident to the police. 在一个奇怪的转折中, the policeman on the scene ends up spending time and developing a somewhat odd relationship with the family that brings about a fundamental change in their family dynamics. 《皇冠体育365》幽默、怪诞，演技出色. 虽然在我看来不是最好的电影, 迈克尔·艾恩赛德, 扮演警察的演员, 赢得了我的最佳男主角奖.
5. 《皇冠体育365赌博》，由杰森·罗宾逊和克里斯·胡珀执导，美国
Former boy band superstar (and now accountant) Johnny Hazel is having a midlife crisis and spiraling into a deep depression. 当他的女儿让他来学校参加职业日时, 约翰尼最初挣扎，但发现一个新的激情和兴奋的生活. “Career Day” was hilarious and even included an original song and choreography performed by a group of middle-aged men. 有什么理由不去爱呢?
4. “Soleil De Nuit,” directed by Fernando López Escrivá and Maria Camila Arias, Canada
The title of this film translates as “Night Sun” and explores the relationship between colonizers and the colonized. 同时为即将到来的登月任务进行训练, an astronaut is interrupted by an elderly Native American man who won't leave the test site. The man finally concedes that he will leave and get out of the way if the astronaut promises to do a favor for him. 他解释说，他的人民, 阿提卡梅克族, 他们相信祖先的灵魂会去月球, 所以宇航员必须同意向灵魂传递信息. 这是另一部有转折的电影，我不想剧透, but I will tell you that it's very clever and will leave you with both laughter and lots to think about.
3. 《皇冠体育365》(Yellow)，埃勒姆·埃哈斯(Elham Ehsas)导演，阿富汗
当塔利班占领阿富汗的时候, they forced all women to wear burqas (full-body veils with only a mesh covering over the eyes). 《皇冠体育365》讲述的是一个女人第一次买罩袍和她的恐惧, 悲伤, 不确定的是她的权利被侵犯了. 虽然看起来有点浪漫, the implied love story gets lost in the more extensive and powerful commentary on women's rights in Afghanistan.
2. 《皇冠体育365赌博》(Snail)，导演:Aminreza Alimohammadi，伊朗
在“蜗牛,” a loving and devoted mother tries to help her 10-year-old son achieve his dream of becoming a singer. 虽然这孩子的才能值得怀疑, the mother gives him unconditional support and encouragement to do whatever she can to help him achieve his dreams. “Snail” is all about the steadfast love and care many of us get from our mothers. 它令人难以置信地感动，几乎让我流下了眼泪.
1. 《皇冠体育365》，菲尔·邓恩导演，英国
而基督教恐怖分子正在轰炸伦敦, 迈克尔, 一个有精神残疾的年轻人似乎沉浸在自己的世界里. 他的母亲担心他过于naïve和轻信, 但当一名自杀式炸弹袭击者试图炸毁一家商场时, 迈克尔拥抱了他, 体现了他学到的一句咒语:“上帝就是爱。.” This simplicity—in the message and 迈克尔 himself—saves him, the other mallgoers, and the bomber. It was an interesting (and brilliant) flip of the script to have the bombers be Christian extremists when, 经常, “恐怖分子”是一个与穆斯林有关的术语. 它传达的信息是，有时，拥有广泛的人 知识 对宗教的狂热会带来很多伤害. In reality, it's the simple message of love that has the most powerful impact. 因为强大的主题, 创意写作, 以及出色的表演, 我觉得《皇冠体育365》是最强的电影.
总体意见:10/10
不管我怎么看, 所有10部入围影片都有一个原因:它们的剧本都很好, well-shot, 好的演出, 和精心制作的, 这就是为什么制作这个清单是非常困难的. 很快, 来自世界各地的数百万观众的投票将被统计, including mine and the other 50-plus individuals who watched the film festival with me at A&移动商务. 官方获奖名单将于10月9日上午在网上公布 曼哈顿短片的网页.
Top photo: The Manhattan Short Film Festival captivated many faculty, staff, and students. 雷切尔·麦克沙恩摄.
