Created to help uncover some of the best up and coming British filmmaking talent, the UK's biggest short film competition Virgin Media Shorts has revealed the successful film makers to make this year's shortlist.
Whittled down from over 800 entries, 13 emerging directors can now look forward to having their work judged by industry heavyweights including BAFTA Award winning director, Shane Meadows (This is England, Dead Man's Shoes, Made of Stone), respected actor of stage and screen, David Tennant and director Mat Whitecross (Spike Island). Virgin Media Shorts, which is now in its sixth year, is the largest competition of its kind in the UK. It has quickly has established itself as a real driving force, providing British film talent with a step up in a challenging industry, working in partnership with the BFI (British Film Institute).
The finalists are now contenders to win the Grand Prize of £30,000 funding to make their next film and of course, the invaluable mentoring and guidance from the BFI.12 of the final films were shortlisted by the Virgin Media Shorts curation panel, made up of industry representatives, with an additional 13th film, voted for by the public. All 13 films will now face our expert judging panel to determine the Grand Prize winner, before the glitzy awards ceremony on 7th November.
The shortlist, which consists of successful entries from all over the UK, is:
The Big Day by Karl Falconer
Touch by Nimer Rashad
A Favour by James Bradley
Brando-ing by Malcolm Roy Greenhill
Spring Clean by Ed Clifton, Ed Daggett and Michael Stranney
The Man Who Couldnt Stop Putting Things In Bins by Louis Paxton and Patrick Kondracki
Stick Out by Anthony Farquhar-Smith
RVG by Ian Bucknole
Handuken by Chris Chung
Homey by Ben Garfield
Niche in the Market by Rod Main
Just Say Hi by John McPhail
Jetpack Jack by Oliver Lee (the Lucky 13th')
The shortlist, which was unveiled at an event at the historical Curzon Cinema in London's Soho, and simultaneously on virginmediashorts.co.uk, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, also marks the launch of The Nikon People's Choice Award giving film fans from across the UK, the chance to support their favourite, by voting on Twitter (by stating the name of the film followed by #VMShortsVote) and via Facebook. 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 shortlisted film makers will be hoping to follow in the steps of previous winners such as Jason Wingard, a talented director and two time Virgin Media Shorts winner. Since picking up his prize, Jason has worked with BBC Comedy North and, with the help of the BFI, is currently finalising his latest short film project. Since his win Jason's career has gone from strength to strength, to the extent that he is now sitting on the panel of judges.
Virgin Media Shorts also gives shortlisted film makers the opportunity to have their work showcased to millions of people across the country through cinemas nationwide, on TV (showcased in a dedicated app on Virgin Media's TiVo service) and online. A unique opportunity for those trying to break into such a notoriously competitive industry.
Dana Strong, chief operating officer at Virgin Media, said: Here at Virgin Media, we're extremely proud to be supporting such wonderful British film talent. The quality of this year's entries is amazing and I can't wait to see which of the films picks up our TiVo Award, voted by Virgin Media customers.
Most recent headlines
01/01/2026
Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Announces 2026 Noel Schajris Scholarship The scholarship will cover tuition and housing for one Berklee College of Music stud...
01/01/2026
New year, new games, all with RTX 5080-powered cloud energy. GeForce NOW is kicking off 2026 by looking back at an unforgettable year of wins and wildly high fr...
31/12/2025
Back to All News
NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix Scores Again With the Lions-V...
30/12/2025
As the College Football Playoff Enters the Quarterfinals, ESPN Blows Out Its Meg...
30/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Original ArticlesTake a look back at all our coverage of big-time productions, game-changing technologies, and state-of-the-art new faci...
30/12/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., Dec. 30, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its fourth quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, J...
30/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
30/12/2025
It marked the first civilian operational authorization for a HAPS flight in Europe, led by Space42's subsidiary, Mira Aerospace
The flight demonstrated HAP...
29/12/2025
San Francisco 49ers Strike Gold With Halftime Laser SpectacularStunning display caps $200 million renovation of Levi's Stadium techBy Dan Daley, Audio Edito...
29/12/2025
The Cup's Around the Corner: An Inside Look at Broadcast Preparations for th...
29/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Longform VideoWatch the standout keynote conversations, deep dives, and panel discussions from the year for free on SVG PLAY!By Brandon ...
29/12/2025
From crisper Lossless audio and immersive music videos in beta to new Audiobooks+ plans, custom transitions between tracks, and in-app Messages, we keep levelin...
29/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today!By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
P...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's The Great Flood and Culinary Class Wars 2 Top Gl...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things By the Numbers: How the Global Phenomenon Shap...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
Created to help uncover some of the best up and coming British filmmaking talent, the UK's biggest short film competition Virgin Media Shorts has revealed the successful film makers to make this year's shortlist.
