Yellow (Afghanistan) Submitted photo

The 26th annual Manhattan Short Film Festival will be shown at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 29, and Saturday, Sept. 30, at The Public Theatre in Lewiston. This year’s Final Ten Films – from Australia, Afghanistan, Finland, Iran, Switzerland, UK and Canada, alongside three films from the USA – represent the best short films from among 850 submissions from 72 countries received for 2023. This film festival is special because the audience determines the winners. Every person watching the festival around the world will get a ballot to determine the Best Film and Best Actor awards. All Final Ten short films become automatically eligible for an Academy Award nomination after screening for a week in Los Angeles. For tickets call 207-782-3200 or visit thepublictheatre.org. The Public Theatre is located at 31 Maple St., Lewiston.