For TV talent contests, allowing viewers to vote has become the norm. But when it comes to movies, casting ballots is usually restricted to, say, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members.

Here is your chance to have your say. During the Manhattan Short Film Festival, which is screened at venues — including the Garde Arts Center — around the country, theater-goers mark their ballots on best film and best actor. The votes are forwarded to the festival headquarters, and the winner is announced at 10 a.m. Oct. 3 on ManhattanShort.com.

Garde audiences will not only get to see the shorts, but they'll also get to ask questions of Manhattan Shorts founder Nick Mason during a Q&A session afterward.

The 10 film finalists, which were chosen from 844 submissions, are: "The Tunnel" (Norway), "Carousel" (England), "Kaputt" (Germany), "Ella Gets a Promotion?" (USA), "Hold On" (The Netherlands), "Bravoman" (Russia), "Overtime" (Australia), "Gorilla" (France), "I Am A Pencil" (Australia), and "The Last Journey of the Enigmatic Paul WR" (France).

And who knows if one of these will end up as an Oscar nominee? After all, two of the films in the 2015 festival went on to be nominated for an Academy Award and one ("Bear Story") won the best animated short Oscar.

Manhattan Short Film Festival, 3 p.m. Sunday, Garde Arts Center, State Street, New London; post-screening Q&A with Nick Mason; pre-screening dessert reception at 2 p.m. sponsored by Secor Subaru and catered by TVCCA Nurtition Program; $12; (860) 444-7373.