MANHATTAN SHORT – Film Festival 2026

ONE WORLD – ONE WEEK – ONE FESTIVAL

Join us on 2 October, when over 100,000 film lovers in over 500 cities across six continents gather for one reason…to view and vote on the Finalists’ Films in the 28th Annual MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival when the film festival returns to The J in 2026

MANHATTAN SHORT is more than just one of the largest short film festivals in the world today, it is the world’s first and only global film festival where you get to have a say!

Ten short films selected from over a thousand entries around the world will screen in venues across six continents for one simultaneous week only.

Audiences at each venue are handed a voting card and asked to vote for the one film and actor they think is best. Votes are sent through to Manhattan Short HQ who announce the winner’s shorty after.

The J will even send out an email to let you know the results!

Every Film Selected for MANHATTAN SHORT 2026 will be Automatically Qualified for the Oscars of 2027

With finalists from previous years going on to be nominated and even win the Oscar in the short film category, MANHATTAN SHORT is a wonderful opportunity to see the next generation of feature filmmakers from around the world.

Always a fantastically curated collection of thought provoking and inspiring and sometimes very funny short films.

“The World’s most people powered Film Festival.”

Recommended 15yrs+. Possible strong language, violence and adult themes.

For the avid film goer and a wee bit of trivia click here to read “how it all began” (Nicholas Mason the founding director of MANHATTAN SHORT is originally from Sydney) manhattanshort how-it-all-began

Duration 2 Hours 40 mins including an interval.