Two screenings of an international short film festival are coming to a Falls Church movie theater this weekend and next.
Paragon Theaters will host two screenings of the Manhattan Short Film Festival on Founders Row at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27 and Sunday, Oct. 4.
Moviegoers in Falls Church and over 500 other theaters around the world will vote to determine the festival’s Best Film and Best Actor awards. This year’s films are as follows:
- “Small Talk” (United States)
- “Mary is Missing” (Ireland)
- “Candy Bar” (Australia)
- “Vultures” (South Africa)
- “Life Goes On” (United Kingdom)
- “Hai Davai” (Moldova)
- “Pickup” (Russia)
- “When the Sea Was Calm” (Georgia)
- “Norheimsund” (Cuba)
- “Never Give Up” (Mexico)
The Manhattan Short festival has been taking place for the last 29 years. It gained international attention after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but this is the first time all 10 of the festival’s films are from different countries.
“Since 9/11 my vision for this festival has been to create a filmic Olympiad, an event consisting of ten quality shorts from ten separate countries that joins the world,” founding director Nicholas Mason said. “Finally in 2026 we’ve managed to do that. I’m very excited for the reaction it receives from our worldwide audiences.”
Tickets in Falls Church start at $14.50 for adults.
