13 SHORTLISTED FILMS. 1 GRAND PRIZE WINNER. £30,000 TO SHOOT YOUR NEXT FILM. BFI MENTORING. VIRGIN MEDIA SHORTS IS THE REEL DEAL FOR EMERGING FILM-MAKERS.

Virgin Media Shorts 2013 is open for business! The competition will run until midday on Thursday July 18th so be sure to get your films entered. And remember, follow us on Twitter @VMShorts for all the latest shorts-related news, goings-on and general movie chit-chat. 

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?

Now in our sixth year, Virgin Media Shorts is the biggest short film competition in the UK. We're on hand every year, dedicated to unearthing undiscovered talent a give a helping leg up into the competitive movie industry. Whether you’re the next Tarantino, or you’re picking up a camera for the very first time, Virgin Media Shorts is here to showcase your work and present it on the grandest scale.

When the competition doors slam shut on July 18th, our curation panel will decide the final shortlist. And this is where you come in. For the second year running, we’re opening up a ‘lucky’ 13th spot - letting you, the fans, choose which lucky film will make up the 13th spot on the shortlist. We’ll announce the rules for Lucky 13 soon.
 

WHAT’S UP FOR GRABS?

As the only people to offer TV, broadband, phone and mobile, we’re in the perfect place to offer film-makers the biggest arena to showcase their work; online and on TV via Virgin Media’s On Demand service and our Shorts TiVo® app. We can give you a leg up in the film industry and give millions of people the chance to see your work.

The Grand Prize Winner

Decided by our panel of expert judges, one lucky film-maker will walk away with £30,000 funding to make their next film, along with money-can’t-buy expert mentoring from the UK’s leading film body, the British Film Institute.

The Nikon People's Choice Award

We hand the power over to you, the great British public, to vote for your favourite shortlisted film via our website. And if your film is in the mix, get your friends and family to vote and show their support on Facebook and Twitter. The Nikon People’s Choice Award Winner will receive £5,000 film funding, mentoring from the BFI and Nikon digital SLR camera equipment worth up to £5,000.

The TiVo® Award

Virgin Media customers get to vote with their remotes and crown our second ever TiVo® Award Winner. By voting through their TiVo® set top boxes, customers will choose their favourite of the 13 shortlisted films. The winner will win Virgin Media’s TiVo® service for a year (if they are an existing Virgin Media customer).

But that’s not all...

EVEN MORE TO GET EXCITED ABOUT:

• The 13 shortlisted film makers will have their work watched by our panel of movie industry judges, including This Is England director, Shane Meadows, Spike Island director Mat Whitecross, film critic James King and 2011 Grand Prize Winner, Jason Wingard (more to be announced soon).
• The final 13 shorts will be shown in cinemas nationwide, screening before the main feature.
• Even if your film doesn’t make it to the shortlist, we’ll make sure all our entries get as much exposure as possible via social media (Twitter, Facebook and YouTube) and our TiVo® app – your short could be reaching an audience of millions, even if you don’t make it to the final stage.
• The 13 shortlisted film makers are invited to attend our glitzy award ceremony in November where they’ll mingle with the judges, rub shoulders with the stars, meet their competition and be given the full red carpet treatment while the champagne flows steadily.

Our winners don’t just get their work seen by millions of movie lovers, they turn industry heads too. Our 2009 Grand Prize winner Luke Snellin with Mixtape was nominated for a BAFTA, is now a regular on the film festival scene and is set to direct his feature debut, The Wanderers later this year. Meanwhile, Oscar Sharp, who clinched a BIFA nomination for his 2010 winning film Sign Language is working on a new film starring Olivia Colman and Sean Dooley. 2011 winner Jason Wingard, director of the sc-fi thriller 2:20, is, with his BFI backing, in pre-production on his latest short. Finally, last year's winner, Jennifer Sheridan, has almost completed her follow-up to the adorable Rocket and recently submitted a script to the BFI. So, winning Virgin Media Shorts is certainly somewhat of a life-changer!

The best news is that Virgin Media Shorts is open to everyone. All it takes to stand out is a brilliant idea, executed well. Our BFI curators (who choose the shortlist) won’t dismiss your film just because it’s a bit rough around the edges.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR FILM LOVERS?

But if you prefer watching movies to making them, we’ve got plenty in store for you too. As well as seeing the country’s brightest new filmmaking talent before they hit the big time, registered users can:

• Join the discussion: comment on the films and share them via Facebook and Twitter
• Vote for your favourite film to win The Nikon People’s Choice Award when the shortlist is revealed in September
• Receive our regular e-newsletter and be the first to get the scoop on all things Shorts – the best entries, important dates, competitions, screenings and more
• Help nudge your favourite film into the shortlist for the first time ever with 'Lucky13'.

Ready to find out what all the fuss is about? Take a look at the showreel below summing up what made the 2011 Virgin Media Shorts award ceremony so fantastic, then start browsing this year’s entries or enter one yourself before 18th July 2013.

We can’t wait to see what you’ve all come up with this year.

Still not sure about something? Try the FAQ or email us.