(COLLINGSWOOD, NJ) -- Asbury Shorts USA in association with the Garden State Film Festival are proud to present an evening of “The Worlds Best Short Films” at The Scottish Rite Auditorium on Thursday, October 5, 2023. This is a mix of globally honored short films from the past & present featuring an array of award-winning short films from around the globe hosted by Eric Ascalon. Showtime is 7:30pm.

Asbury Shorts USA, New York City’s longest-running short film exhibition and travel show, will partner with The Garden State Film Festival once again to present their nationally recognized: “An Evening of the World’s Best Short Films,” sponsored by The South Jersey Film Office Cooperative. This special screening of world-renowned short films from the past and present is strongly recommended for all audiences ages 16 and up. Asbury Shorts USA, now in its 42nd anniversary year, is a New York City-based national touring showcase of the world’s most renowned short films, specially selected for audiences who do not regularly attend film festivals. This eclectic showcase combines award-winning films from the past with new global festival honorees, creating a rare opportunity for audiences to view world-class short films on a real cinema screen rather than YouTube, smartphones, or computers. Academy Award–nominated director Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air, Thank You for Smoking, and Ghostbusters Afterlife) calls this event: “the best short-film show I’ve ever seen.” The October presentation will feature the best in short film comedy, drama, and animation in a fast-paced two-hour program.

“An Evening of the World’s Best Short Films” series has been presented at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Old Vic Theater in Chicago; Summer Stage in Central Park & the DGA Theater (Directors Guild of America) in Manhattan; the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, CA; Alamo Draft House in Dallas, Texas; Royal Festival Hall in London, U.K.; the Osprey Arts Center in Nova Scotia, Canada; The Vero Beach Museum of Art in Florida; the Leminske Theater in Berlin, Germany and other prestigious venues where audiences have enjoyed these amazing films.

General Admission tickets are $15 (plus fees) and available for purchase online. Scottish Rite Auditorium is located at 315 White Horse Pike in Collingswood, New Jersey.

Eric Ascalon, Esq., a Cherry Hill native, will be the guest host for the evening. Since 2019, Eric has served as chair of the board of directors of the nonprofit Garden State Film Festival, New Jersey’s premier independent film festival. His decade-long participation in the organization stemmed from a longstanding love for cinema, and an appreciation for the medium’s potential to inspire and act as a catalyst for positive change. In his professional life, Eric is the global director of community development for TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based mission-driven company dedicated to developing innovative solutions to the waste crisis. Outside the office, when he is not injuring himself on a ski slope, Eric is an avid trail runner and Ironman triathlete. He and his wife Tanya, an elementary school teacher in Burlington County, have three (amazing) children.