The BisonBison Film Festival is hosting the annual Manhattan Short Film Festival at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25, at 2 p.m., in the historic Poncan Theatre.

The Manhattan Short Film Festival is a unique experience that occurs simultaneously in theaters across six continents.

Started in 1998, Manhattan Short is a competition for filmmakers around the world to submit short films, which are then voted on by the global audience. This year, 678 films were submitted from 52 countries and the 10 finalists were selected to be shown from Sept. 23 through Oct. 2, at hundreds of international venues.

The votes in Ponca City are tallied along with those from other audiences around the globe, and the winners are announced Oct. 3.

“This is an exciting event to have in Ponca City,” said BisonBison Film Festival board president Shanley Wells-Rau. “Just imagine, thousands of people from all areas of the world are watching and voting on the same films that we vote on here. A Ponca City vote counts just as much as a vote from Paris, London, Sydney or Cape Town.

“Last year, two of the shorts shown at the Poncan were nominated for Oscars,” said Wells-Rau. “The film, ‘Bear Story’ won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short. The film 'Shok’ was nominated for Best Short. It was fun watching the Oscars and realizing two of the shorts shown here in Ponca were nominated, and one movie won.”

Billed as the “World’s first global film festival,” the Manhattan Short Film Festival is a new way to experience films that local audiences might not otherwise have the opportunity to see.

Ponca City audiences will get their chance to experience this one-of-a-kind film festival and vote for their favorite at the film screenings at the Poncan Theatre.

The Films:

• The Tunnel, directed by André Øvredal. Country: Norway. Synopsis: An overcrowded future. A terrible solution. A family stuck in traffic jam.
• Bravoman, directed by Evelina Barsegian. Country: Russia. Synopsis: Andrey is paid to rouse theater audiences from their seats, a job that turns him into a cynic until he meets a woman whose appreciation of the stage brings her to tears.
• Kaputt, directed by Volker Schlecht & Alexander Lahl. Country: Germany. Synopsis: An animated documentary about Hoheneck, the main prison for women in former East Germany.
• Ella Gets a Promotion?, directed by Mike Pusateri and Richard Diaz. Country: USA. Synopsis: Ella, a talented and loyal employee, finally gets the promotion she deserves. Or does she? A humorous look at duplicitous behavior in today's corporate America.
• Hold On, directed by Charlotte Scott-Wilson. Country: Netherlands. Synopsis: A young, talented cellist suddenly develops stage fright after one of her cello strings breaks during an important performance.
• Overtime, directed by Emma McKenna & Craig D. Foster. Country: Australia. Synopsis: It's getting late on a Friday night and Ralph is keen to get out of the office, but the boss won't let him. No big deal, right? It's just that the full moon is rising and Ralph is a werewolf.
• Carousel, directed by Kal Weber. Country: England. Synopsis: A man doles out a torrent of accumulated wisdom to a teen with unexpected results.
• Gorilla, directed by Tibo Pinsard. Country: France. Synopsis: Hollywood, 1952. Henry Corso performs as a costumed gorilla on horror movies and adventure movies. For Jungle Jenna, he must terrorize the leading actress lost in a fake jungle. But scaring the woman he desires is going to be particularly tricky for the gorilla man.
• I Am A Pencil, directed by Joe D'Arcy. Country: Australia. Synopsis: Freedom of expression is the star of this animated film inspired by those who marched in protest on Jan. 11, 2015 after the Charlie Hebdo massacre in France.
• The Last Journey of the Enigmatic Paul W.R., directed by Romain Quirot. Country: France. Synopsis: Mankind's only hope of salvation rests upon the shoulders of the enigmatic Paul WR, the most talented astronaut of his generation. Mysteriously, a few hours before the mission launch, Paul has disappeared.

Tickets to the Manhattan Short Film Festival are $10 each and are available at the Poncan Theatre box office or by calling (580) 765-0943 or by contacting a BisonBison Film Festival board member.

The mission of the BisonBison Film Festival is to recognize and showcase the work of student filmmakers enrolled in academic programs in the mid-America region. For more information, visit www.bisonbisonfilmfestival.org.