LEWISTON — The Manhattan Short Film Festival starts Friday, Sept. 26, at The Public Theatre. For one weekend only, filmgoers in Lewiston will unite with audiences in over 300 cities spanning six continents to view and judge the work of the next generation of filmmakers from around the world when the Manhattan Short Film Festival screens at The Public Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26; 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27; and 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28.

Filmgoers will be handed a voting card upon entry and asked to vote for the one film they feel should win. Votes are tallied at each participating cinema and submitted to festival headquarters where the winner will be announced in New York City as well as posted on www.ManhattanShort.com at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 6. Only 126 votes of the 79,383 ballots separated the first and second place winner last year, so your vote will count.

In one week, audiences in all 50 states in the U.S., as well as over 100,000 people from as far north as St. Petersburg, Russia to as far south as Buenos Aires, Argentina, as far east as Kathmandu, Nepal and as far west as Perth, Australia, will come to view and vote on these 10 films.

With past finalists achieving the ultimate in recognition by being nominated and even winning the Oscar in the short film category, the Manhattan Short Film Festival has become known as a breeding ground for the next big filmmaker.

Of the 589 entries received from 47 countries, Manhattan Short selected 10 short films as finalists. Each film is 17 minutes or less in length. Countries represented this year include Netherlands, Mexico, England, Australia, Norway, Germany, France and the United States.

Manhattan Short is not only one of the largest short film festivals in the world today, but it is also the world’s first and only global film festival.

“While the goal of any festival is to discover and promote new talent, the real aim of this festival is bringing communities together via stories from around the world,” said Nicholas Mason, Manhattan Short founder and director.

“Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that what started as a small, relatively simple event when I projected a handful of short films onto the side of a truck on a downtown Manhattan street 17 years ago, would grow into what it is today, with communities all over the world getting together to celebrate via 10 short films …. It’s become like Earth Day — but with film.”

Tickets can be purchased at www.thepublictheatre.org or by calling 207-782-3200. Tickets are $8 for adults and students.

This event is not going to Cable TV or Video On Demand, so tell your friends and make a date of it. For more information, visit www.manhattanshort.com/trailer.html.

Finalists for 2014:

“97%” Netherlands

“Crime” United States

“On The Bridge” England

“Shift” Australia

“The Fall” Norway

“On/Off” France

“La Carnada” Mexico

“Mend And Make Do” England

“The Bravest, The Boldest” United States

“Rhino Full Throttle” Germany