Central Otago cinemagoers will once again have a say in who wins a global film festival this weekend when Central Cinema in Alexandra screens the entries in the 26th Manhattan Short Film Festival.

Board co-chair Tracy Blackwell said the cinema had been screening the Manhattan Film Festival for about 10 years now and was the only movie theatre in New Zealand to do so. 

“One of our members read about it and got in contact with the festival and they didn’t have anyone in New Zealand so they were happy to incorporate us into the festival,” she said.

The festival is unusual in that it does not have a judging panel or jury, but the short films selected go out to the world and audiences vote for their favourite.

“It’s screened in the same week every year at the same time worldwide,” Tracy said.

By virtue of their selection by MANHATTAN SHORT, each short film is automatically Oscar-qualified, giving audiences an early viewing of those that will be in competition.

The 10 finalists hail from seven countries with films from Australia, Afghanistan, Finland, Iran, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Canada, alongside three films from the United States.

Audience members get to vote for the best actor or actress, and best film, with their choices having equal standing with those from around the world.

“Apparently New Zealanders have a different take on things than elsewhere,” Tracy said.