Virgin Media Shorts 2011

The UK’s biggest short film competition returns for its 4^th year this April. The competition, run by Virgin Media, gives short filmmakers the opportunity to have their work showcased nationwide in cinemas and on television, through Virgin’s On Demand service. The films are also available to view on the Virgin Media Shorts website found here.

The past winners of the competition are The Black Hole (2008), made by Phil Sansom and Olly Williams, which went onto be shown at the Cannes Film Festival;

The Black Hole from Napoleon Ryan on Vimeo.

Mixtape (2009), which was made by Luke Snellin and was nominated for a BAFTA short film award;

MIXTAPE from Luke Snellin on Vimeo.

and most recently Sign Language (2010), made by Oscar Sharp.

The winner of the competition is given access to £30,000 to make their next film, and is provided with invaluable help and advice from both Virgin Media and the British Film Institute. 

The winner is decided by a judging panel, with past judges including Duncan Jones, Director of Moon (2009) and, more recently, Source Code (2011); Thandie Newton, star of 2000 summer blockbuster Mission Impossible 2 and critically acclaimed Crash (2004); Mike Newell, Director of the classic film Four Weddings and a Funeral (1995); and actor Kevin Spacey, best known for his performances in American Beauty (1999), Se7en (1995) and The Usual Suspects (1995).

This year’s judging panel is no less impressive, and features award winning Director Paul Greengrass, whose films include The Bourne Supremacy (2004), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) and United 93 (2006); and legendary actor John Hurt, whose career has spanned nearly 50 years and included such varied films as Alien (1979), The Elephant Man (1980), Hellboy (2004), V for Vendetta (2006) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part one (2010).

A lot of directors started their careers from making short films and have gone on to bigger things. Jared Hess’s cult classic Napoleon Dynamite (2004) was based on a short film he made called Peluca (2003), and Monsters (2010) Director Gareth Edwards was discovered by Vertigo Films after they saw his winning entry, Factory Farmed (2008) in the 2008 Sc-Fi London Film Festival.

The exposure given by the Virgin Media Shorts competition could be the opportunity fledgling directors need get their work seen by the ‘powers that be’ and could very well produce the next Stephen Spielberg or Christopher Nolan. Also, with the constant developments being made in digital filmmaking and media distribution it is entirely possible that short films themselves will gain a more mainstream audience in the future, as it becomes easier for budding filmmakers to produce and distribute their own high quality films to the masses.

The competition is open to anyone and everyone. All you have to do is make a film that is no longer than 2 minutes 20 seconds (including credits), which is suitable for a U/PG audience, and upload it to the Virgin Media Shorts website. Alongside the main prize there is also a ‘people’s choice’ award, voted for by the public and for which the winner receives new filmmaking equipment.  The deadline for entries is 7^th July 2011, don’t miss it.

Chris Haynes