A street will shut down for the night in the United States’ most populated city. People in cars will find alternate routes, a difficult task in Manhattan, N.Y. In place of vehicles, people will walk Spring Street, watching the results come in for the Manhattan Short Film Festival.

“”I’d love to go to the event out there someday,”” said Jeff Yanc, director of The Loft Cinema.

Like many Tucsonans, Yanc won’t get that opportunity this year, so he’ll have to settle for watching the 12 finalists’ films here in the desert.

For Yanc, that means his hours at the office will run longer on Sept. 25, when the theater screens the short films at 7:30 p.m. Yanc will watch for free, but non-Loft employees will have to pay $8.

The films on display come from 10 countries, creating what Yanc said is the most international group of finalists he’s seen in The Loft’s three years participating in the film festival.

Beyond the varied origins of the films, Yanc said this is the strongest program yet.

One part of the program is “”Ripple,”” a British-made product with the tagline: “”One ordinary man, one woman, one egg, one chicken, one extraordinary day.””

Sounds nice. Turns out, the “”extraordinary day”” is actually a living nightmare, as unfortunate events befall Martin (Ben Crompton) during the 18-minute dark comedy.

Or, there’s the sobering “”Sour Milk.”” Set in Jerusalem, circa 1929, a seven-year-old girl and her mother walk to the market late in the night, only to become trapped in the violence and riots that were prevalent in the war-plagued region.

After the 12 films end, audience members write down the best film on a ballot The Loft will distribute during an intermission that splits up the 2 1/2 hour screening.

The votes are collected at The Loft and then sent East to New York. On Spring Street, the votes will pour in from over 114 cities across four continents. And on Sept. 28, people will pour into the empty street to hear the winner announced.