New York Shorts International Film Festival is a non-profit organization that provides a showcase for emerging filmmakers from around the world. The festival is celebrating its 10 years and since starting the festival it has been committing to bringing the theatrical experience back to New York City.
This year, New York Shorts is showcasing 300 films from around the world with genres like comedy, documentary, drama, music videos, and many more.
The Shorts is providing a chance for all audience members to attend this year’s festival by providing an on-demand and in-person option. On-demand is a digital experience with films being available on The Shorts Network Youtube Channel until Nov. 4 with a subscription.
This year, the remaining days of the festival will be held at Cinema Village showcasing films like “Training Day” a drama directed by Kunga Choephel which is about a young man’s last days as a motel housekeeper gets turned upside down when he and his trainee discover a dead body. It will also include a documentary called, “The Show Must Go On,” directed by Paul Grant and Nathan Crane Cohen is about at the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic and in the midst of a PPE crisis, Broadway’s resilient community comes together to create the infrastructure to supple frontline medical workers with desperately needed hospital gowns.
Besides showing films, the festival will include music videos like “Sound of Silence” directed by Nicole Philippidis. The music video is a take on the classic Simon and Garfunkel song, “The Sound of Silence” and it was shot in Greenwich Village, during the pandemic lockdown in the fall of 2020. The video takes the viewer through the streets down a time of great uncertainty and social unrest.
“We had lockdowns, we had people afraid, we had tons of homeless people displaced, we had black lives matter movement with protests and riots going on,” said Philippidis. “The divide was tremendous even though we were going through the same thing. It was this big crazy ball of chaos, but it looked completely silent because everything was locked down so I wanted to show that through the eyes of a musician.”
After premiering at The Shorts on Nov. 4, it will be released for the whole public to see on her website at www.277films.com. Philippidis has a goal, to get enough people to watch her music video to help out for a good cost.
“My goal, I am really hoping is that this video gets enough interest so that people can maybe donate a dollar or two so we can donate these proceeds to help homelessness in the city because that was a big part in the music video,” said Philippidis.
The New York Shorts is the largest short film festival on the East Coast and for more information visit nyshorts.net.
