The Manhattan Film Festival (MFF) is an annual

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

. It was founded in 2006 by filmmakers Philip J. Nelson and Jose Ruiz Jr. MFF is currently operated by Mr. Nelson and Mr. Ruiz, along with a team of filmmakers, journalists, and exhibitors. It was founded as the Independent Features Film Festival. MFF is an annual event that has been held at prominent venues such as

Symphony Space Symphony Space, founded by Isaiah Sheffer and Allan Miller, is a multi-disciplinary performing arts organization at 2537 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Performances take place in the 760-seat Peter Jay Sharp Theatre (also called Pe ...

Quad Cinema The Quad Cinema is New York City's first small four-screen multiplex theater. Located at 34 West 13th Street in Greenwich Village, it was opened by entrepreneur Maurice Kanbar, along with his younger brother Elliott S. Kanbar in October 1972. I ...

, and the Academy Theater at Lighthouse. MFF has also been held at smaller venues like the Producers Club and the Hunter College Lang Auditorium, and currently screens all films at the legendary Cinema Village theater. In 2012, the Manhattan Film Festival was named ''25 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee: 2012'' by

MovieMaker Magazine ''MovieMaker'' is a magazine, website and podcast network focused on the art and business of filmmaking with a special emphasis on independent film. The magazine is published on a quarterly basis. See also * List of film periodicals Film period ...

. In response to increased submissions, the festival expanded its program from just under 150 selections to 163 in 2013.

Festival mission

According to the festival's press materials: ''The goal of the Manhattan Film Festival has always been to help independent filmmakers find an audience for their work and connect with like minded individuals in the indie film community. Every year, the festival works to program a diverse film lineup ranging from student filmmakers and first time directors/actors to the industry's most accomplished talent.'' To further support the independent film community in New York, the festival offers a widely popular revenue sharing program through their affiliate sponsor ScreenBooker, a rarity with most American film festivals and one of the features of MFF that accounted for its inclusion on multiple "Top Fests" lists, including two lists from MovieMaker Magazine.

Notable incidents

In July 2010, Manhattan Film Festival founders Philip J. Nelson and Jose Ruiz filed a lawsuit against the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

for unfair competition. The founders accused Tribeca Film Festival of stealing their idea for a virtual film festival. An

Indiewire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

article in 2013 quoted former festival participants as saying the festival was "rampantly disorganized". The article cited examples of last-minute venue changes, screening the wrong version of films, and failing to communicate with filmmakers. The article was quickly refuted by numerous readers of the publication. One article contributor noted the writer "works for the Tribeca Film Institute and is likely representing Tribeca by writing this ridiculous and bias article. Some of the filmmakers he interviewed have come forward and verified that Guerrasio left out important, positive statements, in an effort to slander the Manhattan Film Festival."

Notable films and awards

* The festival created the Buzz Award in 2007, presenting it to Apostles of Park Slope. The filmmaker, Jason Cusato went on to for
The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival
one of the most popular independent film festivals in Brooklyn. * In 2011, the festival screened ''

White Irish Drinkers ''White Irish Drinkers'' is a 2010 American drama film written and directed by John Gray and starring Nick Thurston and Geoffrey Wigdor. Premise Brooklyn, 1975: brothers Brian and Danny Leary are looking for a way out of their working-class neig ...

'', a film written and directed by John Gray. He is the creator of

Ghost Whisperer ''Ghost Whisperer'' is an American supernatural television series, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005, to May 21, 2010. The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon ( Jennifer Love Hewitt), who has the ability to see and communicate with ...

, a

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

television series starring

Jennifer Love Hewitt Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Hewitt began her career as a child actress and singer, appearing in national television commercials before joining the cast of the Disney Channel series ''Kids I ...

. * 2011, Jeff Stewart won Best Actor for his role in '' Under Jakob's Ladder''. He is best known in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

for his role as Reg Hollis in the ITV series

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

. His win at the festival inspired stories in the British media. Stewart even got a story in the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

as ''The Chelsea Guest Who Wouldn't Leave'' when the Hotel Chelsea abruptly closed its doors in 2011. * In 2012 the Film Heals Award was presented to a number of films, including Dreams Are Not Forgotten by Nigel Barker. * In 2012 the festival introduced the New York Spotlight Award, a recognition given to a locally made film that features New York City in a compelling and inspiring way. * In 2013 the New York Spotlight Award was given to two films: On The Radioman, which was received by Radioman himself and If These Knishes Could Talk. * In 2013, '' Yuck! A 4th Grader's Documentary About School Lunch'' was screened at the festival. A 20-minute documentary by 11-year-old, Zachary Maxwell. As a student at P.S. 130 in Little Italy, Maxwell documented the less-than-appetizing school lunches. This documentary won the festival's ''Buzz Award''. He was interviewed by such outlets as

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

and the

References

{{Reflist

External links

Manhattan Film Festival – Official Site
Film festivals in New York City Festivals in Manhattan Culture of Manhattan