Manhattan Short Film Festival at The Palace Danbury

MANHATTAN SHORT.. The World’s First Global Film Festival’s Founding Director will Open Festival at the Palace!

Audiences in over 250 cities, spanning 6 continents, unite for one week for one purpose . . . to judge the 10 finalists in the 18^th annual MANHATTAN SHORT FILM FESTIVAL.

Danbury, CT – Sept 9, 2015 – On Friday September 25, Nicholas Mason, founding director of the MANHATTAN SHORT FILM FESTIVAL will open the 18th annual Manhattan Short Film Festival at Danbury’s historic Palace Theatre. The festival will take place in over 250 cities, spanning six continents, between September 25 to October 4 for one purpose…  to view and vote on the work of the next generation of filmmakers from around the world.

“It’s an honor to have Nick Mason open this prestigious film festival in Danbury,” said Carol Spiegel, Managing Director of The Palace Danbury Theatre. “This will be the fifth consecutive year the film festival has graced the screen of The Palace. It has become a perennial film fan favorite!”

This year, MANHATTAN SHORT received 672 short film entries from 52 countries. The 10 Finalists hail from eight countries, with short films from Turkey and Kosovo representing their respective countries for the first time. These short films will not only entertain a global audience but will be judged by them as well. Cinema-goers will become instant film critics as they are handed a ballot upon entry that allows them to vote for the Best Film and Best Actor. MANHATTAN SHORT is the ultimate audience award that salutes the creative talents of both directors behind the camera and actors in front of it. Votes will be sent through to MANHATTAN SHORT HQ with the winner announced at ManhattanShort.com on Monday Oct 5, at 10 AM (EST)Listen (Finland), Dad’s In Mum (France) Bear Story (Chile), Forever Over (Germany) Shok (Kosovo), Grounded (France), Sundown (Turkey), Patch (Switzerland), El Camino Solo (USA), Bis Gleich (Germany).

This year’s MANHATTAN SHORT highlights the continued importance of women in film. Half of this year’s selections feature actresses ranging in age from children to senior citizens. Audiences from last year’s MANHATTAN SHORT also will be pleased to see rising star Marleen Lohse once again in Forever Over, making her the first actor, male or female, to appear in consecutive years in MANHATTAN SHORT. Two other short films (Bear Story and Patch) are sophisticated animations, as MANHATTAN SHORT continues to support this important art form. And as always, MANHATTAN SHORT offers short films set in a wide range of locales, from Turkish beaches and mountains on the Balkans, to the streets of Berlin and the backroads of America’s West Coast.

“In times like these, cross-border events like MANHATTAN SHORT that contribute towards greater tolerance and understanding are needed now more than ever. I want to thank and congratulate all the filmmakers and cinemas involved in this global cinematic event. This event is not going to cable TV or Video on Demand. It’s not streamed on the Internet. MANHATTAN SHORT is about communities bonding together via their local cinema,” said founding director, Nicholas Mason.

The first MANHATTAN SHORT was held in 1998, when 16 short films were shown onto a screen mounted on the side of a truck in Little Italy’s Mulberry Street in New York City, and has blossomed into a worldwide phenomenon. MANHATTAN SHORT is the only film festival on the planet that unfolds, simultaneously, in cinemas around the world, bringing over 100,000 film-lovers across six continents together for one week, to view the work of the next generation of filmmakers.

MANHATTAN SHORT FILM FESTIVAL will come to The Palace Danbury on Friday, September 25 starting at 8:00pm. Tickets cost $12 and may be purchased online at www.thepalacedanbury.com, by phone at 203-794-9944, or at the box office starting one hour before showtime.

The Palace Danbury is located at 165 Main Street, in Danbury, Connecticut. Free parking is readily available for theatre patrons in the parking lot behind the building. For more information about this and all upcoming shows visit www.thepalacedanbury.com

(Page Follows for links)

Download 300 dpi stills of the finalist films at           http://www.manhattanshort.com/p_press_finalist_stills.html

To see a list of cinemas taking part in 2013 at           http://www.manhattanshort.com/cinemas.html

To read interviews with Filmmakers at                       http://www.manhattanshort.com/finalists.html

View and link Film Trailer for Festival: at                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgbt8p5HSyg

Memoir Forum and Coffee House

Everyone has a story to tell and the Bethel Public Library wants to be the place to tell it! Join us for a memoir forum and coffeehouse-style open mic night on Wednesday September 30, 6:30-8:00 pm. Whether this is your first foray into the art of memoir, or your hundredth, we invite you to learn, share your story, or just sit back and listen.
Gail Hall Howard, a published memoirist and writing teacher, will facilitate the Library’s first event of this kind. Enjoy a lively discussion of the joys and challenges of memoir writing, listen to two published memoirists, and perhaps share your own memoir during the open mic session. The open mic session is limited to 5 readers for 7-minute spots. Selections read aloud must be suitable for all ages, though the evening is geared toward adults. Molten Java is graciously providing delicious regular and decaf coffee!
Registration is required and limited to 30.  We already have interest, so register soon! Register online atwww.bethellibrary.org, in person at the Reference Desk, or by calling the Library at 203-794-8756 x4.

All programs sponsored by the Bethel Public Library are open to the public and meet accessibility requirements for the disabled. Those needing special accommodations should contact the Library two weeks prior to the program date to make arrangements.

Sonny Carroll Orchestra

Join us for an evening of great music by the Sonny Carroll Orchestra. This is a well know 20-piece band, playing hits from the Great American Song Book. For more information, please click here Download Sonny Carroll Flyer.

FREE Flu Shots Available for the Uninsured

Free flu shots available

AmeriCares and Walgreens will offer free flu shots for the uninsured in Danbury from 3 to 7 p.m. Oct. 6 at Boehringer Ingelheim AmeriCares Free Clinic, 76 West St.

Flu shots will be available at no cost for eligible residents age 18 and older without health insurance. The walk-in clinic will offer immunizations on a first-come, first-served basis and administered by a Walgreens pharmacist. Participants cannot have any health insurance, including Medicaid.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone 6 months of age and older get vaccinated by October. The flu vaccine prevented about 7.2 million illnesses and 90,000 flu-related hospitalizations in the 2013-14 flu season, according to the CDC.

For more information about the flu clinic, call 203-658-9500 or visit americaresfreeclinics.org.

Discovering Musical Concepts Band

Starting Tuesday, September 8, the Danbury Music Centre will offer “Discovering Musical Concepts Band:” a weekly beginner band for adults.  The new ensemble, for adults starting wind, brass, or percussion instruments for the first time, will meet each Tuesday at noon.  Albert Montecalvo will lead the ensemble in weekly rehearsals at the Danbury Music Centre, 256 Main Street, Danbury, CT, 06810.

Tuition is $240 for the semester (September through December).  Students will need to rent or purchase an instrument, as well as the book Essential Elements Comprehensive Band Method, Book 1, published by Hal Leonard.  Adults interested in participating should contact the Danbury Music Centre at 203-748-1716 and/or pre-register online at www.danburymusiccentre.org.

This band will be an ideal opportunity for adults who have no prior experience playing an instrument – particularly those who wish they had had the chance earlier in life, and would like to make up for lost time by starting now in a friendly, group setting.

Director Albert Montecalvo says, “It will be a very relaxed atmosphere where people can come in, give it a try, and see how it works for them.  We will offer all of the band instruments: flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, any of the saxophones; trumpet, trombone, French horn, baritone horn, tuba, percussion.”

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