The dreary weather may have kept some at home but around three dozen keen movie buffs gathered at the Tenterfield Cinema on Thursday night for the 2016 rendition of the Manhattan Film Festival.
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Their votes for best film and best actor will be added to votes from around the world to determine this year’s winners, in an annual tradition that was brought to Tenterfield 13 years ago by former Library and Cultural Services manager Robin Riley who was also there to enjoy the night.
Carol Curtis of Bolivia is also a regular attendee at the film festival. While she loves the company and experience, she said she found this year’s selection a little on the sombre side, with not much in the way of light relief.
“They were all very deep,” she said.
Ms Curtis said the short film nights are always a very interesting and she often goes to see movies – including the more arty ones – but likes to see some lighter options in the mix.
She was impressed that two Australian films made the cut, with only 10 selected from across the globe and screened worldwide during the same week.
She said the Aussie flicks were very different, and she actually cast her vote for one of them, Overtime, about an officeworker who is wary of a full moon when required to work late.
“It was really clever, with a bit of mystery, and well done,” she said.
The second film, I am a pencil, was an animated short that didn’t appeal to Ms Curtis’s taste.
For favourite actor she voted for Charlie Chan Dagelet, who starred in Hold on about a young, talented cellist suddenly developing stage fright after one of her cello strings breaks during an important performance.
There were some clear favourites among the Tenterfield audience, with Hold on and I am a pencil garnering the most votes from the audience. Ms Dagelet’s performance engaged the vast majority of the local viewers and she ran away with the vote for best actor.
Votes from more than 100,000 filmgoers from around the world will now be collated to determine this year’s best film and best actor.
Historically it has been a close race between first and second so every vote counts.
While she may not agree with the selection of finalists in this year’s festival, Ms Curtis said she’ll be back.
“I’ll front up again next year. It’s always interesting, and there’s lots of variety.”
She’s impressed that it is possible to participate in such an event, and wishes more people would take advantage of the opportunity.
